Getting Started
Delegate 1 is designed to run in the cloud, 24/7 — so your delegate is always reachable whether you call it, text it, or email it. You deploy it once on a small cloud server, point your phone number and email address at it, and it’s yours.
You don’t need to be a developer, but you do need to be comfortable with a terminal and a cloud server. The setup takes around 30–45 minutes end to end.
What you’ll need
| Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|
| A cloud server | Any Linux VPS with Docker installed — DigitalOcean, Hetzner, AWS Lightsail, etc. 1 vCPU / 1 GB RAM is enough to start. |
| A domain name (or subdomain) | So your delegate has a real URL — e.g. delegate.yourdomain.com |
| OpenAI API key | Powers the AI, voice, and memory. Get one here. |
Phone and email are optional extras — you can add them after the base setup is working.
Deploy (30 minutes)
1. Set up your server
Spin up a Linux VPS from any cloud provider. Once you have SSH access, install Docker:
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
2. Create a project folder and .env
mkdir delegate1 && cd delegate1
curl -o .env https://raw.githubusercontent.com/adamd9/delegate1/main/.env.example
nano .env
Add your OpenAI key and your public URL:
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
FRONTEND_URL=https://delegate.yourdomain.com
ADMIN_PASSWORD=choose-a-strong-password
3. Download the compose file and start
curl -o docker-compose.yml https://raw.githubusercontent.com/adamd9/delegate1/main/docker-compose.yml
docker compose up -d
Docker pulls the pre-built image from GitHub and starts the container. Your data is stored in ./data/runtime-data — back that folder up to keep your notes and memories.
Verify it’s running:
docker compose logs -f
# look for: Server running on http://localhost:8081
4. Point your domain at the server
In your DNS provider, add an A record pointing your subdomain to your server’s IP address. Then set up a reverse proxy to terminate SSL and forward traffic to port 8081.
Using Caddy (easiest — handles SSL automatically):
apt install -y caddy
Edit /etc/caddy/Caddyfile:
delegate.yourdomain.com {
reverse_proxy localhost:8081
}
systemctl reload caddy
Caddy automatically obtains and renews an HTTPS certificate. Done.
5. Sign in and complete setup
Open https://delegate.yourdomain.com in your browser. Log in with the ADMIN_PASSWORD you set, then use Settings to add any additional API keys (Twilio for phone/SMS, email credentials, etc.).
Your delegate is live.
What’s next
With your delegate running in the cloud, the features that make it most useful are the real-world channels:
- Phone & SMS — give your delegate a real phone number via Twilio
- Email — connect an email address so you can email it like a colleague
- Memory — your delegate remembers you across conversations automatically
- MCP servers — connect tools like calendars and task managers
Running locally (developers only)
If you want to run Delegate 1 on your own machine for development or testing:
git clone https://github.com/adamd9/delegate1.git
cd delegate1
npm install
cp .env.example .env # add OPENAI_API_KEY
npm run dev # starts on http://localhost:8081
See Prerequisites, Installation, and Configuration for the full detail.
Running locally means your delegate is only reachable when your computer is on. Phone and email channels require a public URL — use ngrok or similar for local testing.