Deploy Droid on a VPS Server

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What this doc covers

• Set up the Droid CLI on a Virtual Private Server (VPS) for remote access from anywhere
• Configure SSH authentication with key pairs for secure, passwordless server connections
• Use droid exec for headless automation tasks and system administration on your server

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1. Prerequisites and installation

• The Droid CLI is installed locally - Follow the installation guide
• Factory account - Sign up at factory.ai
• VPS provider account - This tutorial uses Hetzner, but works with any VPS provider (DigitalOcean, Linode, AWS EC2, etc.)
• Basic terminal familiarity - You’ll be running commands in your local terminal and on the server

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2. Why use droid on a VPS?

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3. Setup and basic usage

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Step 1: Generate SSH keys with droid

# Start droid in your local terminal
droid

# Ask droid to create the key pair
> Create a new SSH key pair called example

• ~/.ssh/example - Private key (keep this secret, never share)
• ~/.ssh/example.pub - Public key (safe to share, will be added to your VPS)

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Step 2: Copy the public key

# Ask droid to copy the public key to your clipboard
> Copy the public key to the clipboard

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Step 3: Create your VPS and add the SSH key

1. Create a new server:
   • Choose your server type (e.g., CPX22 - $4.99/month)
   • Select a location (e.g., Ashburn, Virginia)
   • Keep default options
2. Add your SSH key:
   • In the “SSH Keys” section, click “Add SSH Key”
   • Paste the public key you copied
   • Name it “example” (or any descriptive name)
   • Add the key to the server
3. Name and create:
   • Optionally name your server (e.g., “example-vps”)
   • Click “Create” and wait for the server to spin up

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Step 4: Configure SSH for easy access

# In droid
> Add 123.45.67.89 to my SSH config file with an alias called example so I can connect easily

Host example
    HostName 123.45.67.89
    User root
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/example

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Step 5: Connect and install Droid on the VPS

# In a new terminal window, connect to your VPS
ssh example

# Install the Droid CLI on the VPS
curl -fsSL https://app.factory.ai/cli | sh

# Activate the installation
source ~/.bashrc  # or source ~/.zshrc if using zsh

# Verify installation
droid --version

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Step 6: Authenticate Droid on the VPS

# Run droid for the first time
droid

1. It displays a URL and an authentication code
2. Copy the code
3. Click the URL (or paste it in your browser)
4. Paste the code to authenticate
5. You’re now logged in and can use droid on your VPS

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4. Advanced example: System administration with droid

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Setting up Nginx with Docker

# In your VPS, with droid running
> Set up Nginx with Docker and serve a hello world page

1. Install Docker if not already present
2. Create a basic Nginx configuration
3. Create an HTML file with “Hello World”
4. Set up and run the Docker container
5. Configure networking and ports

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5. Droid exec: Headless automation and custom agents

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What is droid exec?

• Scheduled automation tasks
• Building custom agent frameworks
• Integrating droid into scripts and applications
• Running quick queries from CI/CD pipelines

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Basic droid exec usage

# Simple query with a fast model (GLM 4.7)
droid exec --model glm-4.7 "Tell me a joke"

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Advanced: System exploration

# Ask droid to explore your system and find specific information
droid exec --model glm-4.7 "Explore my system and tell me where the file is that I'm serving with Nginx"

1. Search for Nginx configuration files
2. Identify the document root
3. Locate the HTML/content files being served
4. Report back with file paths and relevant configuration

Configuration file: /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
Content file: /var/www/html/index.html
Docker setup: /home/user/docker-compose.yml
Server running on: port 80

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6. Remote access from anywhere

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Using Termius for mobile SSH access

• macOS, Windows, Linux (desktop)
• iOS and Android (mobile)

1. Install Termius on your device
2. Add your SSH key:
   • In Termius, go to Keychain
   • Add a new key
   • Import your private key (~/.ssh/example)
3. Add your VPS host:
   • Create a new host
   • Hostname: Your VPS IP address
   • Username: root (or your configured user)
   • Key: Select the key you imported
4. Connect: Tap the host to connect

# On your phone via Termius
ssh example

# Run droid
droid

# Or use droid exec for quick queries
droid exec --model glm-4-flash "Check system resources and uptime"

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Real-world scenarios

• Travel troubleshooting: Server goes down while you’re away? SSH in from your phone and let droid help diagnose and fix the issue
• On-call debugging: Respond to alerts from anywhere with AI-assisted investigation
• Quick queries: Check system status, review logs, or make configuration changes without needing your laptop

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Next steps

1. Explore automation: Start with simple droid exec commands and build up to custom scripts
2. Set up monitoring: Use droid to help configure system monitoring and alerting
3. Create scheduled tasks: Combine droid exec with cron jobs for recurring automation
4. Join the community: Share your use cases and learn from others in the Factory Discord

• Droid CLI documentation
• Droid Exec Reference
• Custom Droids Guide