Cloud computer and your own VPS

Boat cloud computer

Add a Boat API key in App Settings to provision an isolated hosted Linux desktop. The computer can sleep and wake, and supported sessions provide a live viewer for temporary human control. Trial accounts automatically retry creation with the provider's shorter auto-stop ceiling when required.

Boat is a third-party paid service after its trial. HydroBot stores the configured credential locally and does not expose it to the renderer.

Every engine with computer tools (Claude, Codex, ACP, Pi, and OpenAI-compatible connections such as OpenRouter) uses the Boat desktop with the bot's own model and sign-in in direct chats, groups and cloud routines. For an API connection, choose a model that supports both images and tools. Screenshots reach that model at native resolution; tool approvals and Take control still apply. A model without computer tools can't use the cloud computer: choose another model, or set Works on to Auto.

On Auto, a conversation works on the Boat only after the bot moves it there (it asks to switch with select_computer). Auto by itself never reads, wakes or creates a Boat, so it adds no cloud computer calls to an ordinary message.

Bring your own VPS

HydroBot can control Docker on an x86_64 Linux server through an SSH config alias. The agent process stays on your local machine; only Docker commands and the managed desktop container run on the VPS.

Your SSH alias should include connection multiplexing, keepalives, and a connect timeout. Connect manually once to approve the host key, then verify:

ssh my-vps true
docker -H ssh://my-vps info

The SSH user needs Docker access, which is root-equivalent on that server. Use a dedicated VPS and firewall inbound traffic to SSH only.

The managed container publishes no ports, has no host mounts, and is checked before every attach. Its filesystem should be treated as disposable; move important results out before deleting or upgrading the container.

Take control opens the VPS desktop inside HydroBot through a temporary SSH tunnel. noVNC remains on the container's private bridge network; only a random loopback port is opened on your computer, and the tunnel closes with the viewer.

Auto reuses an already-ready VPS without changing its lifecycle. To let Auto create or wake this bot's managed container, enable Start VPS automatically for that bot. This permission is off by default. When neither the VPS nor a local fallback is available, HydroBot shows the exact VPS failure instead of silently omitting computer tools.