Skip to main content

​
Quickstart

Get Lite Claw running on Railway with Telegram access.
This guide covers the minimum setup. For production hardening, see Deployment.

​
Prerequisites

You’ll need accounts on these services (all have free tiers):

​
Step 1: Get Your API Keys

1

Create a Telegram Bot

  1. Message @BotFather on Telegram
  2. Send /newbot and follow the prompts
  3. Copy the bot token (looks like 123456:ABC-DEF...)
2

Get OpenRouter API Key

  1. Sign up at openrouter.ai
  2. Add $5-10 credits
  3. Create an API key
3

Create Neon Database

  1. Create a new project at neon.tech
  2. Copy the connection string
4

Create Upstash Redis

  1. Create a new database at upstash.com
  2. Copy the REST URL and token

​
Step 2: Deploy to Railway

1

Clone the repository

2

Install dependencies and run checks

3

Create Railway project

  1. Go to railway.app and create a new project
  2. Connect your GitHub repo (auto-deploy on push) or use Railway CLI
4

Set environment variables

In Railway, add these required variables:
Use a strong OWNER_CLAIM_CODE and a long random OWNER_CLAIM_PEPPER (at least 16 chars). These protect ownership bootstrap.
OPENWEATHER_API_KEY is optional, but required if you want weather responses.
5

Deploy

If connected to GitHub, push your branch. If using CLI:

​
Step 3: Claim Your Bot

Once deployed, open Telegram and message your bot: