Getting Started
Crow can be set up in several ways depending on your use case:
Choose Your Path
Oracle Cloud Free Tier (Recommended Free) ⭐
A permanent cloud server that never sleeps, never expires, and costs nothing. Uses local SQLite — no external database needed.
Google Cloud Free Tier
A permanent free VM (1GB RAM, 30GB disk) in the US. Great as a secondary instance for multi-cloud chaining with Oracle Cloud.
Home Server (Pi / Always-On Machine)
Run Crow on a Raspberry Pi, old laptop, NUC, or any always-on Linux box. One-command install.
Desktop Install (Personal Machine)
Run Crow locally, connected directly to Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, and other tools. No cloud needed.
Managed Hosting (Easiest)
Pre-configured Crow instance — no setup, no maintenance. Your own subdomain at username.crow.maestro.press with Crow's Nest, blog, AI integrations, daily backups, and SSL included.
Other Options
- Docker — Self-host the gateway with Docker Compose. Best for developers who want full control.
- Cloud Deploy (Legacy) — Archived Render deployment guide. Oracle Cloud is recommended for new deployments.
Multi-Instance Chaining
Run Crow on multiple free-tier clouds and chain them together. Your memories sync automatically, and you can call tools on any instance from any other. Set up Oracle Cloud + Google Cloud, then chain them.
What You'll Get
Crow is modular — start with memory and the dashboard, then add features as you need them:
Core (always included):
- Persistent memory — remembers across conversations and platforms
- Project management — organize research, data connectors, sources, and multi-format citations (APA, MLA, Chicago)
- Full-text search — find anything stored in memory or projects
- Crow's Nest — visual web interface for managing your Crow instance
Optional layers (add when ready):
- 20+ integrations — Gmail, GitHub, Slack, Notion, Trello, and more
- Encrypted P2P sharing — share memories and projects with other Crow users
- File storage — upload and manage files with S3-compatible storage (requires MinIO)
- Blog platform — publish posts with Markdown, RSS feeds, and themes
- Self-hosting add-ons — install Ollama, Nextcloud, Immich, Obsidian, and Home Assistant from the Extensions panel
- Auto-updates — opt-in automatic updates from GitHub
What's public? Your blog is the only thing visible to the outside world, and only posts you explicitly publish with public visibility appear there. Your Crow's Nest, data, and MCP endpoints are private by default. See the Security Guide for the full breakdown.
Running many integrations?
See the Context & Performance guide for ways to optimize tool loading and reduce context window usage.
Requirements
- Node.js 18+ (for all self-hosted options)
- A free Oracle Cloud account (for cloud deploy)
- Raspberry Pi 4+ with 4 GB RAM (for Crow OS)
- An account on at least one AI platform (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.)