> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://repocloud.io/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# AI Agents

> The AI agents on RepoCloud and how to choose between them: the DevOps AI Agent, agent apps, and your own agent

## AI Agents on RepoCloud

"AI agent" means three different things on RepoCloud, and they share a name and little else. The **DevOps AI Agent** is RepoCloud's own: an AI system administrator that works on your server over SSH while you chat with it. **Agent apps** are AI agents, such as OpenClaw and Hermes Agent, that run on your own server, and the DevOps AI Agent can install them for you. **Your own agent**, in Cursor, Claude Code, or another tool, can create and manage RepoCloud servers through the API and MCP.

> **[The DevOps AI Agent](https://repocloud.io/docs/ai-agents/devops-ai-agent.md)**
>
> An AI system administrator that installs, configures, and changes an application on your own VPS while you chat with it

> **[Agent Apps](https://repocloud.io/docs/ai-agents/agent-apps.md)**
>
> AI agents that you run on your own VPS, such as OpenClaw and Hermes Agent

> **[Your Own Agent](https://repocloud.io/docs/ai-agents/your-own-agent.md)**
>
> Let Cursor, Claude Code, or another AI agent create and manage RepoCloud servers through the API and MCP

## Which One Do I Need?

| I want to… | Use | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Put a public GitHub project on a server and have it set up for me | The DevOps AI Agent, through AI Deploy | [AI Deploy](https://repocloud.io/docs/deployment/ai-deploy.md) |
| Run a catalog app on its own VPS, with root access, and have it set up for me | The DevOps AI Agent, through the **Deploy as VPS with AI system admin agent** switch | [Deploy as VPS](https://repocloud.io/docs/deployment/deploy-as-vps.md) |
| Keep changing an app that the agent set up: settings, plugins, upgrades | The DevOps AI Agent, through **Resume Chat** on the server's manage page | [Customizing Applications](https://repocloud.io/docs/ai-agents/customizing-applications.md) |
| Run an AI assistant of my own, with a web interface or chat apps | An agent app: OpenClaw or Hermes Agent, installed through AI Deploy | [Agent Apps](https://repocloud.io/docs/ai-agents/agent-apps.md) |
| Let my own AI tools create and manage servers | The AI Agent Portal, with the API or MCP | [Your Own Agent](https://repocloud.io/docs/ai-agents/your-own-agent.md) |
| Deploy from a private repository | Your own agent with MCP, because AI Deploy takes public repositories | [Your Own Agent](https://repocloud.io/docs/ai-agents/your-own-agent.md) |
| Run a catalog app in one click, with no AI involved | A Container App | [Deployment Options](https://repocloud.io/docs/deployment/introduction.md) |

## How They Compare

| | The DevOps AI Agent | Agent apps | Your own agent |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | RepoCloud's AI system administrator for your server | OpenClaw and Hermes Agent, open-source agents that run on a VPS App | Any AI agent that can use MCP with a custom header, or call the REST API |
| Where you start | AI Deploy, the Deploy as VPS switch, or Resume Chat on the manage page | AI Deploy, with the app's repository | The AI Agent Portal in your dashboard, where you create an API key |
| Who does the work | The agent, over SSH, on your server | The agent software you deployed, on the tasks you give it | Your agent, calling the RepoCloud API, and SSH if it needs it |
| Which AI model | RepoCloud chooses it | The provider whose key you give it, such as Anthropic or OpenRouter | The one your tool uses |
| What you pay RepoCloud | The server, by the hour; the agent's AI usage is not billed separately | The server, by the hour; model use is billed by your model provider | The servers it creates, by the hour |
| Servers it works on | A server created through AI Deploy | The server the app runs on | Ubuntu VPS servers created through the API |

## Before You Start

- **Every route needs a balance above $3.** AI Deploy (which is also how OpenClaw and Hermes Agent are installed), the Ubuntu VPS listing, and a deploy through the API all create a VPS. A new API key also needs a payment of $1 or more on the account.
- **An AI agent can be wrong.** It is a language model working from documentation, and it can misjudge a step. Check what it reports, and on a VPS take a snapshot before a risky change. [Safety and Control](https://repocloud.io/docs/ai-agents/safety-and-control.md) explains how.
- **What you type reaches an AI model.** Whatever you write to an agent, and whatever it reads on your server, is processed by an AI model from a provider. Give an agent the secrets its job needs and no others.

## Next Steps

> **[The DevOps AI Agent](https://repocloud.io/docs/ai-agents/devops-ai-agent.md)**
>
> What the agent does on your server and how to work with it

> **[Customizing Applications](https://repocloud.io/docs/ai-agents/customizing-applications.md)**
>
> Recipes for changing an application with the agent

> **[Safety and Control](https://repocloud.io/docs/ai-agents/safety-and-control.md)**
>
> Snapshots, Stop, what the agent can reach, and who sees what

> **[AI Deploy](https://repocloud.io/docs/deployment/ai-deploy.md)**
>
> Paste a GitHub URL and start a deployment