Deployment Models

Clawdie-AI supports two first-class deployment targets. Both run the same core runtime — Bastille jails, PostgreSQL (skills, memory, ops databases), nginx, Telegram channel, rc.d service. The difference is how the host gets set up.

Model 1: Cloud / VPS (current production)

Use when: You want Clawdie running on a remote server you can SSH into.

VPS / cloud host (FreeBSD 15)
  └── Bastille jails
        ├── git            (shared Git Service)
        ├── cms            (shared Web Service)
        ├── ollama/llama   (shared Local AI Models, optional)
        └── db             (optional jail; host by default via DB_RUNTIME=host)

Strapi admin UI is disabled by default; enable it explicitly with CMS_ADMIN_UI=YES.

Setup path:

git clone → just install → configure .env → service {agent} start

See install and the ansible-freebsd skill for the full provisioning sequence.

Characteristics:

Headless, SSH/Tailscale access
Managed via Ansible playbooks
ZFS snapshots via Sanoid for disaster recovery
No desktop required

Model 2: Bare-metal ISO

Use when: You want to plug a USB into your own hardware and have a complete Clawdie system in one reboot — desktop included.

USB image
  └── bsdinstall (FreeBSD base + ZFS + bootloader)
  └── first boot provisioning (setup.txt seed, TUI fallback)
        ├── GPU detection → kld_list → Lumina desktop
        └── setup.sh → same jails as Model 1
  └── one reboot → running system

Setup path:

dd if=clawdie-iso-baremetal-DD.mmm.YYYY.img of=/dev/daX → boot → answer wizard → done

See the Clawdie-ISO repo for the full build and release notes: https://codeberg.org/Clawdie/Clawdie-ISO

Characteristics:

Lumina desktop (FreeBSD-native, outpaddling/desktop-installer)
1 reboot for common hardware (GPU via pciconf, no intermediate reboot)
Local access, no cloud dependency
Same Clawdie-AI core as Model 1

Shared core

Everything in this repository is shared between both models:

Component	Both models
Agent runtime	`src/`
Jail definitions	`setup/`
Memory pipeline	`scripts/memory/`
Skills	`.agent/skills/`
Onboarding wizard	`setup/onboarding.ts`
Ansible playbooks	`infra/ansible/`

The ISO build lives in a separate Clawdie-ISO repo and calls just install (or npm run install) after base OS install — the same entry point used in Model 1.

install — Model 1 install orchestrator
iso — ISO install path
Clawdie-ISO repo: https://codeberg.org/Clawdie/Clawdie-ISO
Bastille — jail lifecycle (both models)
Warden — ZFS layout (both models)

Deployment Models

Model 1: Cloud / VPS (current production)

Model 2: Bare-metal ISO

Shared core

Related docs