Hosted OpenClaw VPS uses Bring Your Own Key (BYOK).
That means you provide the API key for the model provider you want to use, while OpenClaw VPS handles the hosting, monitoring, updates, and recovery around the bot.
This is one of the most important parts of the hosted setup, so it is worth understanding clearly.
What BYOK Means In Practice
BYOK separates two different parts of the product:
- OpenClaw VPS manages the hosted bot environment
- Your provider key controls model access and model-side usage billing
So when you start a hosted bot, you are not buying a bundled model plan from us. You are using your own provider access inside the hosted environment we manage for you.
That gives you more control over:
- which provider you use
- which model you choose
- how your model spend is handled
- when you want to rotate or replace a key
Why Hosted OpenClaw Uses BYOK
BYOK solves a few problems cleanly.
1. You keep model choice in your hands
If you want to change providers or switch models later, you are not locked into one bundled setup.
2. Your API usage stays tied to your own account
That makes it easier to understand your model-side costs and manage them directly.
3. Hosted OpenClaw VPS can focus on the infrastructure side
The hosted service is about removing the work of:
- provisioning the VPS
- keeping the bot available
- monitoring and recovery
- updates and operational cleanup
BYOK lets us do that without pretending the model layer is the same thing as hosting.
What You Still Get With Hosted OpenClaw VPS
BYOK does not mean you are on your own.
You still get the value of managed hosting:
- web chat included free
- Telegram available now
- private-by-default hosted deployment
- monitoring and recovery
- updates handled for you
- support when setup gets stuck
The easiest way to think about it is:
You bring the key. We handle the environment around it.
What Happens During Setup
The basic flow is:
- Start your hosted bot
- Choose your supported provider
- Paste in your API key
- Validate that the key works
- Start using the bot in web chat
- Add Telegram later if you want an external channel
The dashboard is built to keep this simple. If the key is invalid, you should know early instead of finding out after a longer setup chain.
Common BYOK Questions
“Does BYOK make setup harder?”
Not much, if the rest of the product is handled well.
The hardest part of self-hosting is usually not pasting a key. It is everything around the key:
- the VPS
- uptime
- updates
- recovery
- logs
- operational drift
Hosted OpenClaw VPS is designed to remove that infrastructure burden while keeping provider control with you.
“Can I change my key later?”
Yes. If you need to rotate or replace your key, update it in the dashboard configuration area.
“Does BYOK replace hosted billing?”
No. These are separate.
- Hosted OpenClaw VPS billing covers the managed bot environment
- Your provider billing covers your model usage
That separation is intentional.
The Main Benefit
The biggest benefit of BYOK is not just flexibility. It is cleaner boundaries.
You do not have to choose between:
- full DIY self-hosting
- or a black-box bundled AI subscription
Instead, you get a middle ground that is usually better:
- you control the model key
- you keep visibility into model choice
- you do not have to manage the VPS yourself
For most hosted OpenClaw customers, that is the right tradeoff. You keep control where it matters, while avoiding the ops work that slows everything down.