Getting Started
Set up your first Jarble AI bot deployment in under five minutes.
Deploy your first AI bot in under five minutes. This guide walks you through account creation, runtime selection, LLM configuration, and your first deployment.
Create Your Account
Sign up at jarble.ai/login using Google, GitHub, or email. Authentication is handled by Auth0 -- your credentials are never stored on Jarble servers.
After signing in you land on the Dashboard, which shows all of your deployments. New accounts start with a free trial that includes enough credits to test a bot end-to-end.
Create a Deployment
Click New Bot on the dashboard to open the onboarding wizard. The first step asks for a deployment name -- a human-friendly label shown on the dashboard and in the web chat header.
Tip
Names are display-only and can be changed later from the deployment configuration panel.
Choose a Runtime
A runtime is the engine that powers your bot. Jarble currently offers two options:
OpenClaw (Recommended) -- Full-featured Node.js runtime with MCP tool support, rich UI rendering (charts, tables, 3D, maps), and multi-platform messaging. Best for production bots that need interactive components.
ZeroClaw -- Lightweight Python runtime for simple text-based chat. Lower resource usage, faster startup. Good for quick experiments or bots that only need basic conversational abilities.
Most users should start with OpenClaw. You can always create additional deployments with a different runtime later.
Configure Your LLM
Your bot needs an LLM (Large Language Model) to generate responses. You have two options: use Included Credits (powered by OpenRouter, billed through Jarble) or Bring Your Own Key.
Included Credits
Select a monthly spending cap ($5 -- $100/mo). Jarble provisions an OpenRouter key automatically and routes requests through 200+ models. The default model is openrouter/auto, which picks the best model for each request.
Bring Your Own Key (BYOK)
Paste an API key from any supported provider. The wizard auto-detects the provider based on the key prefix:
| Provider | Key Prefix | Models | Get a Key |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenRouter | sk-or- | 200+ models | openrouter.ai/keys |
| Anthropic | sk-ant- | Claude Opus 4, Sonnet 4, Haiku 3.5 | console.anthropic.com |
| OpenAI | sk- | GPT-4o, GPT-4o Mini, o1 | platform.openai.com |
| Google AI | AIza | Gemini 2.0 Pro, Gemini 2.0 Flash | aistudio.google.com |
Tip
If you have a Claude Max subscription, your sk-ant-oat* token is automatically detected and uses Bearer authentication. No extra configuration needed.
Deploy
Review the hardware defaults (CPU, memory, storage) and click Deploy. Jarble provisions a Kubernetes pod with your chosen runtime and LLM configuration. The deployment status progresses through these stages:
- Creating -- Pod is being provisioned and dependencies are installing.
- Running -- Bot is live and ready to receive messages.
First-time deployments typically take 30--90 seconds. Status updates stream in real time via SSE -- no need to refresh the page.
If the deployment stays in "Creating" for more than two minutes, check the Logs tab in the deployment configuration panel for errors.
Chat with Your Bot
Once the status shows Running, click on the deployment to open the web chat interface at /d/[id]. Type a message and your bot responds in real time.
With the OpenClaw runtime, your bot can render rich UI components directly in the conversation:
- Charts (line, bar, area, pie, radar, scatter)
- Data tables with sorting and pagination
- Interactive forms and button groups
- Maps, code editors, and image galleries
- 3D visualizations and custom sandboxed components
These appear as interactive canvas blocks inline with the chat. You can drag to reorder, split multi-item components into individual cards, or merge compatible cards together.
Connect Messaging Platforms
Optionally connect your bot to one or more messaging platforms. Open the deployment configuration panel and navigate to the Platforms tab.
Telegram -- Create a bot via @BotFather, paste the bot token, then approve the pairing code sent by your bot.
Discord -- Create an application in the Developer Portal, copy the bot token, and invite the bot to your server.
Slack -- Create a Slack app with Socket Mode enabled. You need both the Bot Token (xoxb-) and App Token (xapp-).
WhatsApp -- Scan a QR code from the Platforms tab to pair via WhatsApp Web. No developer account required.
Tip
Platform credentials are encrypted with AES-256-GCM before storage. Jarble never has access to your plaintext tokens at rest.
Next Steps
Your bot is live. Here is where to go from here:
- Platform Guide -- Runtimes, providers, messaging platforms, and deployment lifecycle in depth.
- Components -- All 37 canvas components your bot can render, with props and examples.
- Marketplace -- Browse, install, and publish custom components and service bundles.