Self-host OpenMausBot, the open-source Grok Bot alternative

On your computer (pick another name if my-openmausbot is taken):

ssh exe.dev new --name=my-openmausbot
ssh my-openmausbot.exe.xyz

All remaining installation commands run on the VM, as exedev.

Install Node.js 24 and OpenMausBot#

OpenMausBot needs Node.js 24 or newer. Install it from NodeSource, then the pinned release into ~/.local:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_24.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs
npm install --global --prefix "$HOME/.local" openmausbot@0.1.138
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
node --version
claude --version

Expect Node 24 and a Claude Code version. Claude Code comes with the VM's image; OpenMausBot drives it.

Run the server#

openmausbot service install writes a systemd unit for the server on 127.0.0.1:8799. The drop-in sends every Claude bot through exe.dev's LLM integration; the key is a placeholder, since exe.dev adds the real credentials outside the VM. OMB_PUBLIC_URL makes pairing links use the VM's address.

openmausbot service install --port 8799
sudo install -m 644 ~/.openmausbot/openmausbot.service /etc/systemd/system/openmausbot.service
sudo mkdir -p /etc/systemd/system/openmausbot.service.d
sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/openmausbot.service.d/exe-dev.conf >/dev/null <<EOF
[Service]
Environment=OMB_PUBLIC_URL=https://$(hostname).exe.xyz
Environment=OMB_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=exe-llm-integration
Environment=OMB_ANTHROPIC_API_URL=https://llm.int.exe.xyz
EOF
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now openmausbot
sleep 15
openmausbot doctor

Expect ready and claude among the engines. Then try a bot:

openmausbot run MausBot "Reply with exactly: pong"

Install the bots' browser#

The first command installs Chrome's libraries as root, the second the browser itself for exedev:

sudo -H env PATH="$PATH" openmausbot browser install --with-deps
openmausbot browser install
sudo systemctl restart openmausbot
sleep 15
openmausbot doctor

Expect Bots' browser: installed.

Turn on Docker#

For the private desktop. The VM's image has Docker but leaves it off:

sudo systemctl enable --now docker.service
docker info --format '{{.ServerVersion}}'

Set up the web app proxy#

The exe.dev proxy handles HTTPS and login. nginx passes requests and the live desktop's WebSockets to the loopback-only server, and hands it the visitor's address, which the exe.dev proxy appends last. Every request from outside still needs a paired device. This replaces the image's default site:

sudo tee /etc/nginx/sites-available/openmausbot >/dev/null <<'EOF'
map $http_upgrade $omb_connection {
    default upgrade;
    ""      close;
}
# The exe.dev proxy appends the client's address last.
map $http_x_forwarded_for $omb_client {
    "~(?<last>[^,\s]+)\s*$" $last;
    default                 $remote_addr;
}
server {
    listen 8000 default_server;
    listen [::]:8000 default_server;
    server_name _;
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8799;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection $omb_connection;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $omb_client;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto https;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $host;
        proxy_buffering off;
        proxy_read_timeout 1d;
        proxy_send_timeout 1d;
        client_max_body_size 100m;
    }
}
EOF
sudo rm -f /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default
sudo ln -sf /etc/nginx/sites-available/openmausbot /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/openmausbot
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl enable --now nginx && sudo systemctl reload nginx
curl -fsS http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/health

Expect "app":"openmausbot" through nginx.

Pair your browser#

Open https://my-openmausbot.exe.xyz/ and sign in to exe.dev first. Then, on the VM:

openmausbot pair --label Browser

Open the printed https://…/pair#code=… link in that browser within five minutes and click Connect. List or sign out devices with openmausbot sessions.

On your computer, create the desktop VM and turn on its Docker (my-mausbot-desk is an example name):

ssh exe.dev new --name=my-mausbot-desk
ssh my-mausbot-desk.exe.xyz sudo systemctl enable --now docker.service

On my-openmausbot, make a key for it:

ssh-keygen -q -t ed25519 -N "" -C "openmausbot@$(hostname)" -f ~/.ssh/mausbot_desk

On your computer, let that key into the new VM, and only that one, as a VM-scoped SSH key:

ssh my-openmausbot.exe.xyz cat .ssh/mausbot_desk.pub | ssh exe.dev ssh-key add --vm=my-mausbot-desk

Back on my-openmausbot, give it an SSH alias and check that Docker answers through it:

cat >> ~/.ssh/config <<'EOF'
Host mausbot-desk
  HostName my-mausbot-desk.exe.xyz
  User exedev
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/mausbot_desk
  IdentitiesOnly yes
  ControlMaster auto
  ControlPath ~/.ssh/cm-%r@%h-%p
  ControlPersist 60m
  ServerAliveInterval 15
  ServerAliveCountMax 3
  ConnectTimeout 10
EOF
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/config
ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new mausbot-desk true
docker -H ssh://mausbot-desk info --format '{{.ServerVersion}}'

In the web app:

1. Settings → AI → API keys → Computers and browser: enter mausbot-desk under Self-hosted VPS and save.
2. Settings → General: turn on Advanced mode.
3. In the bot's screen panel, choose Cloud desktop, then Self-hosted VPS under Cloud provider.

The bot's desktop starts on my-mausbot-desk; the first start builds its image there. For more bots, repeat with a new VM, key and alias, and set the alias in the panel's gear → Access → Server (SSH alias). More in OpenMausBot's Bring Your Own VPS guide.

The key lets OpenMausBot run anything on that VM, which is the point: keep only the bot's work there.

On the VM, stop the server for a consistent copy:

mkdir -p ~/backups/openmausbot && chmod 700 ~/backups ~/backups/openmausbot
sudo systemctl stop openmausbot &&
(umask 077; tar czf ~/backups/openmausbot/openmausbot-$(date +%F).tar.gz -C "$HOME" .openmausbot)
sudo systemctl start openmausbot

To restore, replace BACKUP.tar.gz with the archive's filename:

test ! -e ~/.openmausbot.before-restore &&
tar tzf ~/backups/openmausbot/BACKUP.tar.gz >/dev/null &&
sudo systemctl stop openmausbot &&
mv ~/.openmausbot ~/.openmausbot.before-restore &&
tar xzf ~/backups/openmausbot/BACKUP.tar.gz -C "$HOME" &&
sudo systemctl start openmausbot &&
sleep 15 && openmausbot bots

Try a chat before removing ~/.openmausbot.before-restore. Paired devices come back with the backup. OpenMausBot also has an encrypted in-app backup under Settings → Backups (in Advanced mode).

Read the releases first; it changes quickly. Take a backup, then on the VM, with the version you chose:

sudo systemctl stop openmausbot
npm install --global --prefix "$HOME/.local" openmausbot@0.1.138
sudo systemctl start openmausbot
sleep 15
openmausbot status

Ask Shelley, or check on the VM:

openmausbot doctor
systemctl status openmausbot --no-pager
journalctl -u openmausbot -n 50 --no-pager

If the app asks you to pair this device, the browser isn't paired yet or its session was revoked. Run openmausbot pair for a fresh link.