Choose a cloud server

Use a Linux virtual machine with Docker Engine and persistent disk storage. Hetzner and DigitalOcean can run the same Nod stack as a Mac mini. Railway has a separate VM sandbox product worth considering for short experiments.

Start with two CPU cores, 8 GB of memory, and 50 GB of disk. This is a starting size, not a measured minimum. Browser tasks and local models can need more capacity.

Choose a provider

Offers checked on 2026-10-23. Verify eligibility, remaining credit, and the displayed price before creating resources. Model providers charge separately.

Provider	Use it for	Free offer and limits
Hetzner Cloud	A persistent VPS with control over Docker, storage, and firewall rules.	Paid hosting. Its referral-credit program has ended; don't rely on old free-credit links.
DigitalOcean	A persistent VPS, or a short test covered by signup credit.	The first team receives US$5 for 90 days. A valid payment method is required before creating a Droplet. Credit does not make continued hosting free.
Railway	A bounded VM experiment when capacity is available.	Anonymous VMs have 2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, and a 60-minute build window. Registered trials receive US$5 for 30 days. VM lifecycle and memory limits still apply.

If you need a free-only test, confirm the credit before starting and delete resources before it runs out. Hetzner is not a free-trial option under the terms above.

Hetzner Cloud

Create a project and add your SSH public key. Choose Ubuntu 24.04 on an AMD64 or ARM64 server with at least 8 GB RAM and 50 GB of disk.
Check the price before creating it. Hetzner bills allocated servers even when powered off; removing a server and any separately allocated resources ends their charges.
Add a cloud firewall allowing SSH from your address. For public HTTPS, also allow inbound TCP 80 and 443.
Connect through SSH and install Docker Engine with Compose.
Follow Host your own server. Open an SSH tunnel before local browser access, or configure a domain and HTTPS.

Use Nod's backup procedure to preserve the database, files, and keys together. Keep a copy outside the VM.

DigitalOcean

Check the signup credit in the Control Panel. Older guides advertising a standard US$200 credit do not describe the current offer.
Create a Droplet with Ubuntu 24.04, at least two vCPUs, 8 GB RAM, and 50 GB persistent disk. Add your SSH public key. Check the hourly price and any optional paid resources before creation.
Add a cloud firewall allowing SSH from your address. For public HTTPS, also allow inbound TCP 80 and 443.
Connect through SSH, install Docker Engine with Compose, and follow Host your own server.
For a disposable test, export a backup and remove the Droplet and related resources before the credit expires or runs out.

The normal Nod stack includes PostgreSQL. A managed database is optional and is not needed for this setup.

Railway: understand the VM limits

Railway's Sandboxes are Linux VMs, separate from its ordinary deployed services. They include a Docker daemon and CLI, so running sibling containers is possible. Deploying Nod's server image as an ordinary Railway service alone does not create its Docker runtime, browser, or workspace.

Free and Trial Sandboxes are limited to two vCPUs and 2 GB RAM. They are destroyed after up to five idle minutes; only paid plans can disable that timeout. Active SSH, port-forwarding, or command sessions defer idle destruction. Background containers alone do not. Checkpoints preserve a disk snapshot, but they are not a replacement for a consistent database backup.

Railway also offers an anonymous VM:

ssh railway.new

It requires no account or card, identifies you by your SSH key, and gives you 60 minutes to build. There is then a 24-hour window to claim the VM; unclaimed files are deleted. The preview URL is restricted to your IP until claimed. Availability is capacity-dependent. This is a separate trial flow: its page does not guarantee a disk size or list Docker among its installed tools.

Before transferring Nod, check the VM:

df -h
free -m
docker version
docker compose version

Use the prebuilt bundle matching the VM's Linux architecture. A 2 GB VM may run out of memory when building from source, and a successful installation does not establish that it has enough memory for your browser tasks. Keep the server configuration and token private.

Use a persistent VPS for an unattended assistant. Don't keep the only copy of your conversation, credentials, or files in a disposable trial VM. These Railway instructions describe the platform constraints; they do not establish a verified Nod deployment there.

Other cloud accounts

The same installation works on a conventional Ubuntu VM from another provider. If you already have an eligible trial, these are alternatives:

Provider	Suggested starting VM	Trial terms
AWS Free plan	Ubuntu 24.04, `m7i-flex.large`, 50 GB EBS.	Eligible new customers receive US$100 plus up to US$100 through activities. Choose Free plan. It ends after six months or credit exhaustion.
Google Cloud	Ubuntu 24.04, `e2-standard-2`, 50 GB persistent disk.	Eligible new customers receive US$300 for 90 days. Keep the trial plan; resources stop unless you upgrade.

Check EC2 free-tier eligibility or Google's machine sizes before choosing a VM. Small always-free machines have less memory than the starting size above. An existing paid account follows different billing rules.

Finish the network setup

For public access, point a domain at the VM and use Nod's HTTPS setup. Open only ports 80 and 443 for the proxy and keep SSH restricted. An SSH tunnel works without a domain.

Docker warns that published container ports can bypass ufw rules. Use the provider firewall too, and don't publish PostgreSQL, the browser, the workspace, or the Docker API. See Docker's firewall limitations.

Before a trial expires, export a backup and decide whether to move or keep the server. Stopping a VM can leave disks and addresses allocated. Follow the provider's removal flow when you finish a disposable test.