vps-setup

/sentinel:vps-setup — Install Claude Code on a VPS

Guided walkthrough to install and authenticate Claude Code on a remote server via SSH. The user runs commands from their local machine (Git Bash, Terminal, etc.) connecting to the VPS. Claude guides each step and verifies before moving on.

Arguments passed: $ARGUMENTS

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Prerequisites to confirm with user

Before starting, collect:

1. VPS IP address — ask if not provided
2. SSH access — ask which user they connect as (root? ubuntu? other?)
3. SSH key location — default ~/.ssh/id_ed25519, ask to confirm
4. Operating system — assume Ubuntu/Debian unless stated otherwise

Test connectivity first:

ssh -i <key_path> <user>@<ip> "echo 'Connection OK'"

If this fails, troubleshoot SSH before proceeding.

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Step 1: Create a non-root user

Why this is required: Claude Code blocks --dangerously-skip-permissions when running as root for security reasons. The Telegram gateway needs this flag, so a non-root user is mandatory — not optional.

If user is already connecting as a non-root user, skip to Step 2.

Guide the user to run these commands on the VPS:

# Connect as root (or current user with sudo)
ssh -i <key_path> root@<ip>

# Create the claude user
sudo adduser claude --disabled-password --gecos ""
sudo usermod -aG sudo claude

# Allow passwordless sudo (needed for service management)
echo "claude ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL" | sudo tee /etc/sudoers.d/claude

# Copy SSH key for the new user
sudo mkdir -p /home/claude/.ssh
sudo cp ~/.ssh/authorized_keys /home/claude/.ssh/
sudo chown -R claude:claude /home/claude/.ssh
sudo chmod 700 /home/claude/.ssh
sudo chmod 600 /home/claude/.ssh/authorized_keys

Verify: ssh -i <key_path> claude@<ip> "whoami" should return claude.

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Step 2: Install Claude Code CLI

ssh -i <key_path> claude@<ip>

# Install Claude Code (native binary, no Node.js needed)
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

# Add to PATH for current session
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

# Verify
claude --version