Cloud Deploy

Archived — Legacy Deployment Path

This page documents the Render + Turso deployment method, which is no longer supported and is kept for reference only. Turso cloud database support has been removed from Crow. Multi-device sync is now handled by Hypercore P2P replication with local SQLite. This guide is no longer maintained.

For a permanent free server, use the Oracle Cloud Free Tier guide. For a managed option, see managed hosting.

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Legacy: Render + Turso Deployment

Render Free Tier Limitations

• Sleeps after 15 minutes of inactivity — first request after sleep takes ~30 seconds
• Ephemeral disk — local files are lost on redeploy, requiring Turso as an external database
• Two dependencies — you need both a Render account and a Turso account
• Cold starts — every time the service wakes from sleep, all MCP connections must reconnect

For a free server that avoids all of these issues, use Oracle Cloud instead.

Step 1: Create a Turso Database

1. Sign up at turso.tech (free tier works)
2. Create a database named crow
3. Copy your Database URL (starts with libsql://)
4. Create an auth token and copy it

Security note: Your Turso credentials (database URL and auth token) grant full access to your Crow database. Treat them like passwords — never share them publicly or commit them to code. See the Security Guide for more details.

Step 2: Deploy to Render

1. Fork the Crow repository on GitHub
2. Go to Render Dashboard → New → Blueprint
3. Connect your forked repo — Render will detect the render.yaml
4. Set the required environment variables:
   • TURSO_DATABASE_URL — your Turso database URL
   • TURSO_AUTH_TOKEN — your Turso auth token
5. Click Apply — Render will deploy automatically

Step 3: Initialize the Database

After deployment, open the Render shell for your service and run:

npm run init-db

Or trigger it via the health endpoint — the database tables are created automatically on first request.

Step 4: Connect Your AI Platform

Once deployed, visit https://your-service.onrender.com/setup to see:

• Which integrations are connected
• Your MCP endpoint URLs for each platform
• Instructions for adding API keys

Then follow the platform-specific guide:

• Claude Web & Mobile
• ChatGPT
• Gemini
• Grok
• Cursor
• Windsurf
• Cline
• Claude Code

Step 5: Add Integrations (Optional)

Security note: API keys are like passwords — each one grants access to a service on your behalf. Only add keys for services you actually need, and never share them. If a key is ever exposed, revoke it immediately at the service's website and create a new one. See the Security Guide for step-by-step instructions.

Add API keys for external services in your Render dashboard under Environment:

Integration	Environment Variable	Get Key
GitHub	GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN	GitHub Settings
Brave Search	BRAVE_API_KEY	Brave API
Slack	SLACK_BOT_TOKEN	Slack Apps
Notion	NOTION_TOKEN	Notion Integrations
Trello	TRELLO_API_KEY + TRELLO_TOKEN	Trello Power-Ups
Google Workspace	GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID + GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET	Google Cloud Console

See the full list on the Integrations page.

After adding keys, Render restarts automatically. Refresh your /setup page to confirm they're connected.

What's publicly accessible after deployment?

When deployed to Render, your instance is on the public internet. Here's what that means:

• Blog (/blog) — Public, but only posts you explicitly publish with public visibility appear
• Crow's Nest (/dashboard) — Blocked from public IPs (returns 403). Only accessible from your Tailscale network or localhost
• MCP endpoints — Protected by OAuth 2.1. Only authorized AI clients can access your tools
• Setup page (/setup) — Shows connection status but never exposes API keys

Nothing personal is visible unless you publish it. See the Security Guide for details.

Verify

curl https://your-service.onrender.com/health

Visit /setup on your deployed URL to see integration status and endpoint URLs.

Try it out — after connecting your AI platform, say:

"Remember that today is my first day using Crow" "What do you remember?"

Many integrations?

If you have several integrations enabled, use the /router/mcp endpoint instead of connecting each server individually. It consolidates the full tool surface (126+ tools) into 10 category tools, a major context-window reduction. See the Context & Performance guide.

Now connect your AI: Claude · ChatGPT · All platforms