Innovative AI Agent Operates on a $7 Monthly VPS Using IRC for Communication

2026-03-26 · Hacker News AI · Original

A developer has deployed an AI agent on a budget-friendly VPS, costing just $7 per month. This setup features two agents on distinct servers: the public agent, known as nullclaw, is a lightweight 678 KB Zig binary that utilizes about 1 MB of RAM and connects to an Ergo IRC server. Users can interact with nullclaw through a gamja web client integrated into the developer's website. The private agent, called ironclaw, is responsible for handling email and scheduling tasks, accessible exclusively through Tailscale using Google's A2A protocol. The system utilizes tiered inference, employing Haiku 4.5 for conversational exchanges, which is efficient and cost-effective, and Sonnet 4.6 for specialized tool usage only when necessary. The cost-efficient model caps daily expenses at $2.