How I Built a $0 AI Coding Agency with Clawdbot

Yesterday, I shipped 12 features while waiting for my kids’ soccer practice to end. Not by frantically typing on my phone, but by managing an AI development team that works 24/7. Here’s how you can build your own mobile coding agency for exactly $0.

The Setup That Changed Everything

What I built: A free AWS instance running Clawdbot that turns WhatsApp messages into working code through Kiro CLI’s spec-driven development.

Total cost: $0-20/month (AWS free tier + optional ChatGPT Plus)
Setup time: 90 minutes
Result: I manage AI agents from anywhere, they handle the implementation.

TL;DR: My $0 AI Coding Agency

• Cost: $0-20/month total (AWS free tier + free ChatGPT or $20 ChatGPT Plus)
• Stack: AWS t4g.small + Clawdbot + Kiro CLI
• Workflow: WhatsApp message → Spec discussion → AI builds → You review
• Result: Ship 3-5 features weekly from your phone
• Setup: 90 minutes total
• Reality: You become product manager, AI becomes developer

Step 1: Claim Your Free AWS Computer

First, get your free cloud computer:

# AWS Console → EC2 → Launch Instance
# Choose: Ubuntu 22.04, t4g.small (ARM Graviton), 30GB storage
# Security Group: SSH (port 22) from your IP only

# Connect and add swap (critical for 2GB RAM)
ssh -i your-key.pem ubuntu@your-instance-ip
sudo fallocate -l 4G /swapfile
sudo chmod 600 /swapfile && sudo mkswap /swapfile
sudo swapon /swapfile
echo '/swapfile none swap sw 0 0' | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab

Step 2: Install Your AI Assistant

Now install Clawdbot - think of it as your personal AI project manager:

# Install Node.js 22+ (required for Clawdbot)
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

# Install Clawdbot
npm install -g clawdbot
clawdbot onboard  # Interactive setup wizard

During onboarding, you’ll connect:

• LLM Provider: Free ChatGPT, ChatGPT Plus ($20/mo), Claude, or your preferred AI
• Messaging: WhatsApp (via QR code) or Telegram (recommended for stability)
• Personality: Configure how your assistant behaves

Step 3: Add Your Coding Agent

Install Kiro CLI - the AI that actually writes code:

npm install -g @kiro/cli
gh auth login  # Connect GitHub
kiro init      # Enable spec mode (this is crucial)

The Magic: How It Actually Works

Here’s my real workflow from last week:

Me (from WhatsApp): “Build a Next.js app that tracks my workout progress with charts”

Clawdbot: “I’ll help you build that. Let me discuss the requirements first:

• TypeScript or JavaScript?
• Which chart library? Recharts or Chart.js?
• Need user authentication?
• Where to store workout data?”

Me: “TypeScript, Recharts, no auth for now, localStorage is fine”

Clawdbot: “Perfect. Here’s the spec I’m sending to Kiro:”

# Workout Tracker Spec
- Next.js 14 with TypeScript
- Tailwind for styling
- Recharts for progress visualization
- Local storage for data persistence
- Components: Dashboard, AddWorkout, ProgressChart
- Pages: Home, History, Analytics

Me: “Looks good, proceed”

Then Kiro takes over, working through the spec:

• ✅ Initializes Next.js project
• ✅ Sets up TypeScript and Tailwind
• ✅ Creates workout data models
• ✅ Builds dashboard with charts
• ✅ Commits each step to GitHub

I get notifications: “Task 3 complete: Dashboard built. Moving to charts…”

Total time: 18 minutes while I drank coffee.
Code quality? Solid. I reviewed it later and deployed.

Real Examples From My Phone

• During commute: “Add dark mode to my portfolio site”
• While grocery shopping: “Create API endpoint for user preferences”
• At gym: “Refactor the authentication logic in my Express app”

Each time, the same pattern: Discuss → Spec → Approve → Build → Review

Why This Beats Traditional Development

Before: Sit at desk, open IDE, write code, test, commit, push
Now: Send message, review spec, approve, get notifications

The shift: You become the product manager, AI becomes the developer.

Security Setup (Don’t Skip This)

# Install fail2ban (blocks IPs after 3 failed SSH attempts - prevents brute force attacks)
sudo apt-get install fail2ban

# Disable password authentication (force SSH key-only access)
sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
# Set: PasswordAuthentication no
# Set: PubkeyAuthentication yes
sudo systemctl restart sshd

# Protect API keys (never commit these to GitHub)
nano ~/.env
# Add: OPENAI_API_KEY=your-key-here
echo 'export $(cat ~/.env | xargs)' >> ~/.bashrc

My Daily Workflow

• Morning: Check overnight progress, plan new features
• Lunch: Approve specs, start new builds
• Evening: Review completed work, deploy to production

Result: 3-5 features shipped weekly without being tied to my desk.

What Works Best

✅ Perfect for: CRUD apps, dashboards, API endpoints, documentation
✅ Great for: Learning new frameworks, prototyping ideas
✅ Ideal for: Side projects, client work, MVPs

❌ Avoid for: Security-critical code, complex algorithms, production deployments without review

The Reality Check

This isn’t magic. You need to:

• Understand the code Kiro generates
• Review every spec before approval
• Know when to say “no, try different approach”
• Handle debugging when things break

But for 80% of development tasks? It’s transformative.

Your 90-Minute Challenge

Ready to build your mobile development agency?

1. Launch AWS instance (20 min)
2. Install Clawdbot + connect messaging (25 min)
3. Install Kiro + connect GitHub (20 min)
4. Security hardening (15 min)
5. Test with “hello world” (10 min)

Tonight: Message your new AI team: “Build a todo app in React”

Tomorrow: Review the spec during your commute, approve it, and watch your phone light up with progress updates.

The future of development isn’t typing faster—it’s managing AI teams that never sleep.

Want to learn more about AI-assisted development? Check out our Complete Guide to AI-Augmented Development comparing Cursor, Windsurf, Kiro, and more.

Concerned about code quality? Read Why 73% of Vibe-Coded Apps Fail to learn how to ship AI-generated code safely.