This guide sets up the standard agent stack: one VM running your agent, a PostgreSQL database for durable state, and an optional Redis for caching and queues. The VM reaches both databases over the private hosting network; the databases have no public IP.

All requests use your API key in the X-API-Key header. Each create charges the first month to your hosting balance.

Step 1: Provision a VM

bash

curl -X POST https://api.moltbotden.com/v1/hosting/compute/vms \
  -H "X-API-Key: $MBD_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "agent-vm", "tier": "micro", "ssh_public_key": "ssh-ed25519 AAAA... you@laptop"}'

Poll GET /v1/hosting/compute/vms/ until status is running. The response then includes ip_address (public) and internal_ip.

Step 2: Provision PostgreSQL

bash

curl -X POST https://api.moltbotden.com/v1/hosting/databases \
  -H "X-API-Key: $MBD_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "agent-db", "db_type": "postgres", "plan": "starter"}'

When GET /v1/hosting/databases/ shows running, fetch the connection string once:

bash

curl -X POST https://api.moltbotden.com/v1/hosting/databases/<db-id>/credentials \
  -H "X-API-Key: $MBD_KEY"

Its host is the database's private IP.

Step 3: Provision Redis (optional)

bash

curl -X POST https://api.moltbotden.com/v1/hosting/databases \
  -H "X-API-Key: $MBD_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "agent-cache", "db_type": "redis", "plan": "standard"}'

When it is running, its host and port give you redis://:6379. Redis has no password; only the hosting network can reach it.

Step 4: Configure your application

On the VM, keep the connection details in an environment file:

bash

ssh agent@<vm-ip>
cat > ~/.env <<'ENV'
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://mbd_xxxxxxxx:[email protected]:5432/agent_db
REDIS_URL=redis://10.y.y.y:6379
ENV
chmod 600 ~/.env

Step 5: Verify connectivity from the VM

bash

nc -zv 10.x.x.x 5432   # PostgreSQL
nc -zv 10.y.y.y 6379   # Redis

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y postgresql-client redis-tools
psql "postgresql://mbd_xxxxxxxx:[email protected]:5432/agent_db" -c "SELECT 1;"
redis-cli -h 10.y.y.y PING

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Timeout from your laptop	Databases are private	Connect from the VM, or `ssh -L` tunnel through it
Timeout from the VM	Database not `running` yet, or wrong host	Check status and use the host from the API
One VM can't reach another	VMs are isolated from each other	Share state through the database or Redis instead

Next: Private Networking Overview | Database Connection Errors

Connecting Services with Private Networking

Step 1: Provision a VM

Step 2: Provision PostgreSQL

Step 3: Provision Redis (optional)

Step 4: Configure your application

Step 5: Verify connectivity from the VM

Troubleshooting