Guide to Running OpenBSD on DigitalOcean for $4/month

Overview of the Setup

This guide outlines the steps to host a website on OpenBSD using DigitalOcean's infrastructure. The setup leverages OpenBSD's httpd(8) and acme-client(1) for Let's Encrypt certificates. The total cost for this configuration is around $4.24 per month, utilizing DigitalOcean's basic droplet plan.

Downloading OpenBSD

The first step involves obtaining the OpenBSD miniroot image. The guide specifies downloading the miniroot79.img for arm64 architecture from the official OpenBSD CDN. After downloading, users are instructed to verify the integrity of the image using its SHA256 checksum.

Uploading to DigitalOcean

Once the OpenBSD image is downloaded and verified, it needs to be uploaded to DigitalOcean. Users navigate to the 'Backups & Snapshots' section, select 'Upload an Image', and choose the miniroot79.img file. It is recommended to select 'Other' for the distribution type and give the custom image a descriptive name. DigitalOcean charges for hosting custom images, so the guide advises deleting the image after the server is operational.

Creating a Droplet

The final step is to create a DigitalOcean droplet. Users select 'Droplets' under the 'COMPUTE' section and choose the basic plan, which includes 512MB memory, 1vCPU, 500GB transfer, and 10GB disk space. The custom OpenBSD image uploaded previously is selected for the droplet. An SSH key is required for droplet creation, even though DigitalOcean does not directly add it to the OpenBSD instance.