How to create your own AI agent: DIY or turnkey

How an AI agent differs from a chatbot

ChatGPT or Claude in a browser answer while you talk to them. Close the tab and the work stops, and next time the conversation starts almost from scratch.

An agent works on its own. It remembers people, agreements and decisions because it keeps its own knowledge base. It has tools: files, email, calendar, the server terminal. It runs tasks on a schedule and messages you when something needs doing. You give it a task in Telegram, as you would an employee, and get the result.

What your own AI agent is made of

• Model

  The part that thinks: Claude from Anthropic or GPT from OpenAI. Paid by subscription or via the API, per request.

• Harness

  The program that turns a model into an agent: it gives it files, a terminal, memory and a schedule. Examples are Claude Code, Codex, OpenClaw and Hermes Agent.

• Server

  So the agent runs around the clock, not only while your laptop is open. An Ubuntu VPS with 2 GB of RAM is enough, about 1,500 RUB a month.

• Channel

  A Telegram bot. You write to the agent in text or voice, and it answers there.

• Memory

  A knowledge base where the agent records people, decisions and task results. Ours is Obsidian notes you can open and edit by hand.

Three paths: no-code builder, DIY, turnkey

1. No-code builder

Cloud services where you assemble an agent with the mouse from ready-made blocks: automation builders such as n8n and Make, no-code bot platforms. It is fast, and you need no server.

But the agent can do only what the blocks allow, and its data and memory live with the platform. You pay per operation, and the bill grows with the load. A builder is good for one narrow task: answering a typical question, sorting requests into a spreadsheet. For an assistant that runs your affairs, it is usually not enough.

2. DIY from open source

OpenClaw and Hermes Agent are strong open-source projects with large communities, and the software is free. Everything else is on you.

• Rent a server and install the agent in the terminal: OpenClaw has the openclaw onboard wizard, Hermes has an install script, then hermes setup and the messenger gateway setup.
• Configure the gateway port and token, autostart and access lists, and connect Telegram.
• Then look after it yourself: updates can be breaking (in August 2026 OpenClaw third-party plugins had to be rewritten), and backups and server security are on you too.
• Pay for the model. As of October 28, 2026, the Anthropic help article says that third-party apps signed in with a Claude plan draw from the subscription limits. The rules changed during 2026: in spring, from April 4, third-party harnesses required extra payment or an API key.

There is a third DIY option: build the agent directly on Claude Code. The Claude subscription works there, but memory, scheduling, restarts after failures and the Telegram link you will have to write yourself. We went down that road, and NekoAgent grew out of it.

If you are comfortable in a Linux terminal and enjoy figuring things out, this path is a fair choice. Allow from an evening to several days to launch, plus regular time for upkeep.

3. Turnkey

You pay for the installation, and the agent appears on your server already set up. That is how NekoAgent works: we do the first install together on a call, about two hours, and further agents are installed with buttons in a Telegram bot in about twenty minutes.

The agent runs on Claude Code or Codex, so a regular Claude Pro or Max or ChatGPT subscription covers it. Memory lives in Obsidian on your server. The Iris support service monitors the agent around the clock and helps bring it back after failures (reasonable efforts, no guaranteed response time), makes daily encrypted backups and ships tested updates you install with one button.

Comparison: what you get on each path

How to choose

• One narrow task and no wish to run a server

  →A no-code builder

• You enjoy tinkering, have time and will look after the server yourself

  →OpenClaw, Hermes or your own agent on Claude Code

• You need an everyday assistant and have no time to fix it

  →Turnkey

Step by step: your own turnkey agent

1. Pick a plan on the agent page and pay in the @neko_docbot bot: one-off, in rubles, with a receipt.
2. Get a server: any Ubuntu VPS with 2 GB of RAM or more will do. We will tell you where to get one.
3. Subscribe to an AI: Claude Pro or Max for the Claude engine, ChatGPT for Codex. You pay the service directly.
4. We get on a call: together we connect the server, the engine and Telegram and show you how to work with the agent and how to train it further for your tasks.
5. Write to your agent in Telegram. Support is free for the first 30 days, then 750 RUB a month for every 5 agents.

Let's set up your agent together

Plans from 24,900 RUB for three installs. The first one is on a call with a curator, with training.

Plans and prices Ask a question

Key questions