What you need

A DigitalOcean account.
A Claude subscription or an Anthropic API key. AgentKennel runs the official Claude Code CLI; you sign in to Claude once, in the first terminal.
A Droplet you use for nothing else. Agents run with permission prompts off and have sudo on it: that is the point, and it is why it belongs on a dedicated server, not your laptop.

1. Copy the setup script

This is a cloud-init script. When the Droplet boots for the first time, it creates a user named agents with sudo, and runs the AgentKennel installer as that user with your password. The installer sets up Claude Code, the dashboard and a Let's Encrypt certificate.

With JavaScript on, this page puts a random password into the script for you.

cloud-init

#cloud-config
users:
  - default
  - name: agents
    shell: /bin/bash
    sudo: ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL
runcmd:
  - [bash, -c, "sudo -iu agents bash -c 'curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yanhs/agentkennel/master/install.sh | AGENTKENNEL_PASSWORD=CHANGE-ME bash -s -- --yes --no-guests' > /var/log/agentkennel-install.log 2>&1"]

The script installs from the master branch of the public repository, the same command as the README's one-line install, with --yes (ask nothing) and --no-guests (no other people work on this server). Its output goes to /var/log/agentkennel-install.log.

2. Create the Droplet

In the DigitalOcean control panel, click the green Create button at the top, then Droplet.
Choose Region: a data center near you.
Choose an image: Ubuntu 24.04 (LTS) x64 or Ubuntu 22.04 (LTS) x64.
Choose Size: see the size note below.
Choose Authentication Method: an SSH key or a password. Either works; you won't need SSH for this guide.
Above Finalize Details, expand Additional Options, enable Startup scripts, and paste the script from step 1 into the box that appears.
Under Finalize Details, name the Droplet and click Create Droplet.

Pick Ubuntu. DigitalOcean's image list currently offers Debian 13, and the AgentKennel installer supports Debian 12, not 13: on an unsupported system it stops without changes.

How big a Droplet?

The AgentKennel README doesn't name a minimum size. Memory decides how many terminals can be loaded at once: each loaded terminal is its own Claude Code process. AgentKennel keeps at most 12 loaded (AGENTKENNEL_MAX_ACTIVE), unloads one that has been idle for 2 hours, and brings it back when you click it. Start with the number of agents you expect to run at the same time; the Server tab shows how much memory each one uses. DigitalOcean can resize a Droplet later: power it off first, and pick a plan with a disk at least as large.

3. Wait, then open the dashboard

Give it 5 to 10 minutes. The installer gets a free name for the Droplet's IP address from sslip.io and a trusted certificate for it, so you don't need a domain. The address is the public IPv4 address with dashes instead of dots:

DigitalOcean shows the IP 203.0.113.7
you open https://203-0-113-7.sslip.io

4. Sign in to Claude in the first terminal

Press ＋ New. A terminal opens in ~/projects with Claude Code running in it. The first time, Claude Code asks for a colour theme, then how to log in: your Claude subscription or an API key. Follow its prompts. You do this once; every terminal after that uses the same login. Then give the agent its first task.

5. Change the password

The script, with the password in it, is stored in the Droplet's metadata at DigitalOcean. Anyone who can read your DigitalOcean account or that metadata can read it. After the first sign-in, open the dashboard's menu ⋯ → Password and set a new one.

Forgot it later? Open the server's console at DigitalOcean and run sudo -iu agents ~/agentkennel/install.sh --reset-password. It prints a new one-time link to set a new password; the old one and every signed-in browser stop working.

If the page doesn't open

If the address still doesn't load after 15 minutes, read the install log. In the control panel, open the Droplet and launch the Droplet Console, a terminal in the browser. (The VNC-based Recovery Console needs a root password.) Sign in there and run:

sudo tail -n 40 /var/log/agentkennel-install.log

A firewall in front of the Droplet? Allow TCP ports 80 and 443. Let's Encrypt needs port 80 to issue the certificate; the dashboard is served on 443.
No certificate? When it can't get one, the installer falls back to a self-signed certificate on https://<your-ip>:8765, which the browser warns about once. The log says which address it chose.
Unsupported system? The installer supports Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 24.04 and Debian 12 (x86_64 or aarch64). On anything else it stops without changes, and the log says so.

Next steps

Connect Telegram to drive the same terminals from a chat, with voice notes and buttons.
Run several agents at once: naming, the task board, and what stays loaded.
Use them from your phone.

Install AgentKennel on a DigitalOcean Droplet