Video Tutorial: Deploying Your Agent to a TEE

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Deployment Options

Below we’ll cover the two of the most popular approaches to deploying your elizaOS project:

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Quick Comparison

ComplexityMethodHow it WorksPlatformsCost
⭐Managed CloudPush to GitHub → Auto deployRailway, Render~$20/mo
⭐⭐Self-HostedDocker → Your VPSPhala, Hetzner, Coolify, DO~$10/mo
For Advanced Users: If you’re experienced with server administration and networking, you can deploy elizaOS like any Node.js application using your preferred infrastructure setup. The sections below are for developers looking for guided deployment paths.

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Option 1: Managed Cloud

The easiest deployment method, best for rapid prototyping. These platforms handle all of the complicated stuff automatically. This is a good option if you:
  • are a beginner,
  • don’t know how to use Docker/VPS services (and don’t want to learn)
  • aren’t expecting a huge amount of traffic,
  • have a relatively simple agent, or
  • are price insensitive
Cost Reality Check: A simple agent might cost ~$20 dollars per month, but as you scale up, the costs can quickly balloon. For this reason, it’s smart to set spending threshholds and closely monitor resource usage.

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Pros & Cons

✅ Pros❌ Cons
Zero server management - No Linux, Docker, or infrastructure knowledge neededVariable costs - Pricing based on usage (CPU, RAM, bandwidth, requests)
Deploy in minutes - Push to GitHub, connect your repo, and you’re liveCan get expensive - Heavy traffic or processing can push bills really high
Automatic everything - SSL certificates, scaling, updates, backupsLess control - Limited customization of infrastructure
Great developer experience - Built-in logs, metrics, rollbacksVendor lock-in - Harder to migrate to other platforms
Free tiers - Most platforms offer generous free plans to startResource limits - May not handle very high-performance requirements
Here are our top managed service recommendations: Railway website | Railway docs Railway is a solid, preferred option. They offer a free Trial plan with $5 of credits which is more than enough to test out. It also re-deploys everytime you push a change to Github, which is convenient. Here’s the steps from project creation => deployment:
1

Create your project

Terminal
elizaos create my-agent --type project
cd my-agent
2

Push to GitHub repo

Create a GitHub repository and push your code. Choose one approach:Option A: Public Repository (Recommended)
  • Create a PUBLIC GitHub repository
  • Keep .env in your .gitignore (stays secure)
  • You’ll add environment variables in Railway dashboard (Step 5)
Option B: Private Repository
  • Create a PRIVATE GitHub repository
  • Remove .env from your .gitignore
  • Commit your .env file (secure since repo is private)
  • ✅ Skip Step 5 - Railway will use your committed .env file
Both approaches work well. Public repos are more common for open-source projects, while private repos let you skip the environment variables step.
3

Sign up for Railway

  1. Go to railway.com
  2. Click “Sign in” and sign up with your GitHub account
Railway GitHub OAuth login screen
4

Deploy new project

  1. Click “Deploy New Project”
  2. Select “GitHub Repo”
  3. Select your project’s GitHub repository from the list
Railway new project selection screen
If you used Option A (Public Repository) and Railway starts auto-deploying immediately, stop the deployment - we need to add environment variables first! If you used Option B (Private Repository), you can let it deploy.
5

Add environment variables

Skip this step if you used Option B (Private Repository) - your .env file is already committed!For Option A (Public Repository), add your environment variables in Railway:
  1. Click on your service → Variables tab
Railway environment variables interface
  1. Add the variables your project needs:
env
# If your project has a frontend/web UI
ELIZA_UI_ENABLE=true

# If using Postgres (recommended for production)
POSTGRES_URL=your_postgres_connection_string

# Everything else in your .env
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_key
DISCORD_APPLICATION_ID=your_app_id
DISCORD_API_TOKEN=your_bot_token
... etc
What to add? Check your .env file to see which variables your specific project needs. The exact variables depend on your project’s configuration and integrations.
6

Deploy your app

  1. Once environment variables are set, click “Deploy” to start deployment
  2. Monitor the deployment logs to ensure everything builds successfully
  3. Wait for deployment to complete (you’ll see “Build completed” in logs)
7

Get your production URL

  1. Go to Settings → Networking
  2. Click “Generate Domain” (or add custom domain if you own one)
  3. Railway may ask you to specify the port - set it to 3000 (default)
  4. Your agent is now live at your generated URL!
Railway domain generation settings

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Render

Render website | Render docs Render is comparable to Railway, but its Free/Hobby plan is less generous and slower (Render turns your instance off when its not in use). Still it’s a good option.
1

Create your project

Terminal
elizaos create my-agent --type project
cd my-agent
2

Push to GitHub repo

Create a GitHub repository and push your code. Choose one approach:Option A: Public Repository (Recommended)
  • Create a PUBLIC GitHub repository
  • Keep .env in your .gitignore (stays secure)
  • You’ll add environment variables in Render dashboard (Step 5)
Option B: Private Repository
  • Create a PRIVATE GitHub repository
  • Remove .env from your .gitignore
  • Commit your .env file (secure since repo is private)
  • ⚠️ Still need Step 5 - Render requires env vars on their side even with private repos
Unlike Railway, Render always requires you to add environment variables on their platform, even if you have a private repo with committed .env file.
3

Sign up for Render

  1. Go to render.com
  2. Create a Render account with your GitHub profile
4

Select Web Service and connect GitHub

  1. Click “Web Services” when asked to select a service type
Render service type selection
  1. Select Git Provider → GitHub to give Render access to your repos
Render GitHub authorization
  1. Select the repository you want to deploy
5

Configure build settings

Render will ask you about Build and Start commands:
  • Build Command: bun install && bun run build
  • Start Command: bun run start
  • Instance Type: Free (Hobby) - works but slower, or paid for faster performance
Render automatically detects the port, so no port configuration needed!
6

Add environment variables

Put all your environment variables in here, even if you commited your .env file, you still need to add it on Render-side:Render environment variables configurationAdd your variables:
env
# If your project has a frontend/web UI
ELIZA_UI_ENABLE=true

# If using Postgres (can add PostgreSQL service in Render)
POSTGRES_URL=your_postgres_connection_string

# Everything else in your .env
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_key
DISCORD_APPLICATION_ID=your_app_id
DISCORD_API_TOKEN=your_bot_token
... etc
What to add? Check your .env file to see which variables your specific project needs. The exact variables depend on your project’s configuration and integrations.
7

Deploy and access your app

  1. Click “Create Web Service” to start deployment
  2. Monitor the build logs as Render builds and deploys
  3. Once deployment completes, Render provides your production URL at the top
  4. Visit your URL - your agent is now live!
Render production URL ready
Free tier note: Free (Hobby) services spin down after 15 minutes of inactivity and are slower. Upgrade to paid plans for always-on hosting and better performance.

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Option 2: Self-Hosted

Deploy on your own Virtual Private Server (VPS) for more control and predictable costs. Different platforms handle the build process differently. Some build from GitHub (like Coolify), others use Docker (like Phala).

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Pros & Cons

✅ Pros❌ Cons
Lower costs - Fixed monthly VPS cost regardless of trafficRequires server knowledge - Need basic Linux/Docker skills
Complete control - Full access to your infrastructureMore setup time - Initial configuration takes longer
Better security - Your data never leaves your serversYou handle maintenance - Updates, backups, monitoring are your responsibility
Predictable pricing - No surprise bills from traffic spikesDowntime risk - If your server goes down, you fix it
Performance control - Choose exact CPU/RAM specificationsLearning curve - Need to understand Docker, networking basics
Phala website | Phala docs | Video Tutorial Phala offers secure deployment with excellent elizaOS integration and a good CLI. Perfect for production agents requiring a good mix of cost-effective and good security.
1

Create your project

Terminal
elizaos create my-agent --type project
cd my-agent
Both regular projects and TEE projects include Docker files. Use regular projects unless you specifically need TEE security features.
2

Install prerequisites

Terminal
# Install Phala CLI
npm install -g @phala/cli

# Ensure Docker is installed and running
# Download from docker.com if needed
3

Setup accounts and authentication

  1. Create Phala account at dashboard.phala.network
  2. Add a credit card (small amounts for testing)
  3. Create API token in dashboard → API Tokens
  4. Authenticate:
Terminal
export PHALA_CLOUD_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

# Also login to Docker Hub
docker login
# Enter Docker Hub credentials
4

Configure environment variables

Set up your production .env file with the variables your project needs:
.env
# If using Postgres (recommended for production)
POSTGRES_URL=postgresql://user:password@host:5432/eliza

# If your project has a frontend/web UI
ELIZA_UI_ENABLE=true

# Everything else in your .env
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_key
DISCORD_APPLICATION_ID=your_app_id
DISCORD_API_TOKEN=your_bot_token
... etc
What to add? Check your .env file to see which variables your specific project needs. We recommend neon.tech for easy PostgreSQL setup.
5

Build and push Docker image

Terminal
# Build your Docker image
phala docker build --image my-agent --tag v1.0.0

# Push to Docker Hub
phala docker push
Once you have built and pushed the Docker image, add it to your .env:
.env
DOCKER_IMAGE=yourusername/my-agent:v1.0.0
6

Deploy to Phala Cloud

Terminal
phala cvms create --name my-agent --compose ./docker-compose.yaml --env-file ./.env
When prompted for resources:
  • vCPUs: 2 (sufficient for most agents)
  • Memory: 4096 MB (4GB recommended)
  • Disk: 40 GB
  • TEEPod: Select any online TEE pod
7

Access your live agent

After running the cvms create command, you’ll receive an App URL - this is your cloud dashboard where you can monitor everything.To access your agent:
  1. Visit the App URL provided after deployment (your cloud dashboard)
  2. In the dashboard, click Network → “Endpoint #1”
  3. This gives you your agent’s public URL
  4. Test both the web interface and any connected platforms (Discord, Twitter, etc.)

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Other Self-Hosted Options

Different approaches for self-hosting: Platform-Assisted (Like Managed Cloud, but bring-your-own VPS):
  • Coolify - Railway-like UI on your VPS, builds from GitHub automatically
  • Install: curl -fsSL https://cdn.coollabs.io/coolify/install.sh | bash on any VPS
Manual Docker Deployment:
  • Use any VPS provider: Hetzner, DigitalOcean, Netcup
  • Process: Build Docker image → Push to Docker Hub → docker run on VPS
Direct Node.js Deployment (No Docker):
  • Clone repo directly on VPS, install Node.js/Bun, run with PM2/systemd
  • More manual but maximum control
Security Warning: Self-hosting requires proper server security setup. If you’re new to server administration, you can accidentally expose sensitive data. Consider using managed cloud services (Option 1) which handle security for you, or follow platform-specific guides carefully.
Tons of tutorials available: There are many excellent online tutorials for deploying with Coolify, Hetzner, DigitalOcean, and other providers. Search for “[Provider Name] Docker deployment tutorial” or “[Provider Name] Node.js deployment” for platform-specific guides.

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What’s Next?

Create a Plugin

Extend your agent with custom functionality

Add Multiple Agents

Deploy multiple agents working together

Test a Project

Learn comprehensive testing strategies for your agents

Publish a Plugin

Share your custom plugins with the elizaOS community