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Nodes

A node is a companion device (macOS/iOS/Android/headless) that connects to the Gateway WebSocket (same port as operators) with role: "node" and exposes a command surface (e.g. canvas.*, camera.*, system.*) via node.invoke. Protocol details: Gateway protocol. Legacy transport: Bridge protocol (TCP JSONL; deprecated/removed for current nodes). macOS can also run in node mode: the menubar app connects to the Gateway’s WS server and exposes its local canvas/camera commands as a node (so openclaw nodes … works against this Mac). Notes:
  • Nodes are peripherals, not gateways. They don’t run the gateway service.
  • Telegram/WhatsApp/etc. messages land on the gateway, not on nodes.
  • Troubleshooting runbook: /nodes/troubleshooting

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Pairing + status

WS nodes use device pairing. Nodes present a device identity during connect; the Gateway creates a device pairing request for role: node. Approve via the devices CLI (or UI). Quick CLI: 
openclaw devices list
openclaw devices approve <requestId>
openclaw devices reject <requestId>
openclaw nodes status
openclaw nodes describe --node <idOrNameOrIp>
Notes:
  • nodes status marks a node as paired when its device pairing role includes node.
  • node.pair.* (CLI: openclaw nodes pending/approve/reject) is a separate gateway-owned node pairing store; it does not gate the WS connect handshake.

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Remote node host (system.run)

Use a node host when your Gateway runs on one machine and you want commands to execute on another. The model still talks to the gateway; the gateway forwards exec calls to the node host when host=node is selected.

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What runs where

  • Gateway host: receives messages, runs the model, routes tool calls.
  • Node host: executes system.run/system.which on the node machine.
  • Approvals: enforced on the node host via ~/.openclaw/exec-approvals.json.

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Start a node host (foreground)

On the node machine: 
openclaw node run --host <gateway-host> --port 18789 --display-name "Build Node"

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Remote gateway via SSH tunnel (loopback bind)

If the Gateway binds to loopback (gateway.bind=loopback, default in local mode), remote node hosts cannot connect directly. Create an SSH tunnel and point the node host at the local end of the tunnel. Example (node host -> gateway host): 
# Terminal A (keep running): forward local 18790 -> gateway 127.0.0.1:18789
ssh -N -L 18790:127.0.0.1:18789 user@gateway-host

# Terminal B: export the gateway token and connect through the tunnel
export OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN="<gateway-token>"
openclaw node run --host 127.0.0.1 --port 18790 --display-name "Build Node"
Notes:
  • The token is gateway.auth.token from the gateway config (~/.openclaw/openclaw.json on the gateway host).
  • openclaw node run reads OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN for auth.

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Start a node host (service)

openclaw node install --host <gateway-host> --port 18789 --display-name "Build Node"
openclaw node restart

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Pair + name

On the gateway host: 
openclaw nodes pending
openclaw nodes approve <requestId>
openclaw nodes list
Naming options:
  • --display-name on openclaw node run / openclaw node install (persists in ~/.openclaw/node.json on the node).
  • openclaw nodes rename --node <id|name|ip> --name "Build Node" (gateway override).

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Allowlist the commands

Exec approvals are per node host. Add allowlist entries from the gateway: 
openclaw approvals allowlist add --node <id|name|ip> "/usr/bin/uname"
openclaw approvals allowlist add --node <id|name|ip> "/usr/bin/sw_vers"
Approvals live on the node host at ~/.openclaw/exec-approvals.json.

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Point exec at the node

Configure defaults (gateway config): 
openclaw config set tools.exec.host node
openclaw config set tools.exec.security allowlist
openclaw config set tools.exec.node "<id-or-name>"
Or per session: 
/exec host=node security=allowlist node=<id-or-name>
Once set, any exec call with host=node runs on the node host (subject to the node allowlist/approvals). Related:

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Invoking commands

Low-level (raw RPC): 
openclaw nodes invoke --node <idOrNameOrIp> --command canvas.eval --params '{"javaScript":"location.href"}'
Higher-level helpers exist for the common “give the agent a MEDIA attachment” workflows.

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Screenshots (canvas snapshots)

If the node is showing the Canvas (WebView), canvas.snapshot returns { format, base64 }. CLI helper (writes to a temp file and prints MEDIA:<path>): 
openclaw nodes canvas snapshot --node <idOrNameOrIp> --format png
openclaw nodes canvas snapshot --node <idOrNameOrIp> --format jpg --max-width 1200 --quality 0.9

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Canvas controls

openclaw nodes canvas present --node <idOrNameOrIp> --target https://example.com
openclaw nodes canvas hide --node <idOrNameOrIp>
openclaw nodes canvas navigate https://example.com --node <idOrNameOrIp>
openclaw nodes canvas eval --node <idOrNameOrIp> --js "document.title"
Notes:
  • canvas present accepts URLs or local file paths (--target), plus optional --x/--y/--width/--height for positioning.
  • canvas eval accepts inline JS (--js) or a positional arg.

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A2UI (Canvas)

openclaw nodes canvas a2ui push --node <idOrNameOrIp> --text "Hello"
openclaw nodes canvas a2ui push --node <idOrNameOrIp> --jsonl ./payload.jsonl
openclaw nodes canvas a2ui reset --node <idOrNameOrIp>
Notes:
  • Only A2UI v0.8 JSONL is supported (v0.9/createSurface is rejected).

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Photos + videos (node camera)

Photos (jpg): 
openclaw nodes camera list --node <idOrNameOrIp>
openclaw nodes camera snap --node <idOrNameOrIp>            # default: both facings (2 MEDIA lines)
openclaw nodes camera snap --node <idOrNameOrIp> --facing front
Video clips (mp4): 
openclaw nodes camera clip --node <idOrNameOrIp> --duration 10s
openclaw nodes camera clip --node <idOrNameOrIp> --duration 3000 --no-audio
Notes:
  • The node must be foregrounded for canvas.* and camera.* (background calls return NODE_BACKGROUND_UNAVAILABLE).
  • Clip duration is clamped (currently <= 60s) to avoid oversized base64 payloads.
  • Android will prompt for CAMERA/RECORD_AUDIO permissions when possible; denied permissions fail with *_PERMISSION_REQUIRED.

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Screen recordings (nodes)

Nodes expose screen.record (mp4). Example: 
openclaw nodes screen record --node <idOrNameOrIp> --duration 10s --fps 10
openclaw nodes screen record --node <idOrNameOrIp> --duration 10s --fps 10 --no-audio
Notes:
  • screen.record requires the node app to be foregrounded.
  • Android will show the system screen-capture prompt before recording.
  • Screen recordings are clamped to <= 60s.
  • --no-audio disables microphone capture (supported on iOS/Android; macOS uses system capture audio).
  • Use --screen <index> to select a display when multiple screens are available.

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Location (nodes)

Nodes expose location.get when Location is enabled in settings. CLI helper: 
openclaw nodes location get --node <idOrNameOrIp>
openclaw nodes location get --node <idOrNameOrIp> --accuracy precise --max-age 15000 --location-timeout 10000
Notes:
  • Location is off by default.
  • “Always” requires system permission; background fetch is best-effort.
  • The response includes lat/lon, accuracy (meters), and timestamp.

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SMS (Android nodes)

Android nodes can expose sms.send when the user grants SMS permission and the device supports telephony. Low-level invoke: 
openclaw nodes invoke --node <idOrNameOrIp> --command sms.send --params '{"to":"+15555550123","message":"Hello from OpenClaw"}'
Notes:
  • The permission prompt must be accepted on the Android device before the capability is advertised.
  • Wi-Fi-only devices without telephony will not advertise sms.send.

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System commands (node host / mac node)

The macOS node exposes system.run, system.notify, and system.execApprovals.get/set. The headless node host exposes system.run, system.which, and system.execApprovals.get/set. Examples: 
openclaw nodes run --node <idOrNameOrIp> -- echo "Hello from mac node"
openclaw nodes notify --node <idOrNameOrIp> --title "Ping" --body "Gateway ready"
Notes:
  • system.run returns stdout/stderr/exit code in the payload.
  • system.notify respects notification permission state on the macOS app.
  • system.run supports --cwd, --env KEY=VAL, --command-timeout, and --needs-screen-recording.
  • For shell wrappers (bash|sh|zsh ... -c/-lc), request-scoped --env values are reduced to an explicit allowlist (TERM, LANG, LC_*, COLORTERM, NO_COLOR, FORCE_COLOR).
  • For allow-always decisions in allowlist mode, known dispatch wrappers (env, nice, nohup, stdbuf, timeout) persist inner executable paths instead of wrapper paths. If unwrapping is not safe, no allowlist entry is persisted automatically.
  • On Windows node hosts in allowlist mode, shell-wrapper runs via cmd.exe /c require approval (allowlist entry alone does not auto-allow the wrapper form).
  • system.notify supports --priority <passive|active|timeSensitive> and --delivery <system|overlay|auto>.
  • Node hosts ignore PATH overrides and strip dangerous startup/shell keys (DYLD_*, LD_*, NODE_OPTIONS, PYTHON*, PERL*, RUBYOPT, SHELLOPTS, PS4). If you need extra PATH entries, configure the node host service environment (or install tools in standard locations) instead of passing PATH via --env.
  • On macOS node mode, system.run is gated by exec approvals in the macOS app (Settings → Exec approvals). Ask/allowlist/full behave the same as the headless node host; denied prompts return SYSTEM_RUN_DENIED.
  • On headless node host, system.run is gated by exec approvals (~/.openclaw/exec-approvals.json).

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Exec node binding

When multiple nodes are available, you can bind exec to a specific node. This sets the default node for exec host=node (and can be overridden per agent). Global default: 
openclaw config set tools.exec.node "node-id-or-name"
Per-agent override: 
openclaw config get agents.list
openclaw config set agents.list[0].tools.exec.node "node-id-or-name"
Unset to allow any node: 
openclaw config unset tools.exec.node
openclaw config unset agents.list[0].tools.exec.node

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Permissions map

Nodes may include a permissions map in node.list / node.describe, keyed by permission name (e.g. screenRecording, accessibility) with boolean values (true = granted).

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Headless node host (cross-platform)

OpenClaw can run a headless node host (no UI) that connects to the Gateway WebSocket and exposes system.run / system.which. This is useful on Linux/Windows or for running a minimal node alongside a server. Start it: 
openclaw node run --host <gateway-host> --port 18789
Notes:
  • Pairing is still required (the Gateway will show a node approval prompt).
  • The node host stores its node id, token, display name, and gateway connection info in ~/.openclaw/node.json.
  • Exec approvals are enforced locally via ~/.openclaw/exec-approvals.json (see Exec approvals).
  • On macOS, the headless node host executes system.run locally by default. Set OPENCLAW_NODE_EXEC_HOST=app to route system.run through the companion app exec host; add OPENCLAW_NODE_EXEC_FALLBACK=0 to require the app host and fail closed if it is unavailable.
  • Add --tls / --tls-fingerprint when the Gateway WS uses TLS.

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Mac node mode

  • The macOS menubar app connects to the Gateway WS server as a node (so openclaw nodes … works against this Mac).
  • In remote mode, the app opens an SSH tunnel for the Gateway port and connects to localhost.