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Gateway service runbook

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What it is

• The always-on process that owns the single Baileys/Telegram connection and the control/event plane.
• Replaces the legacy gateway command. CLI entry point: openclaw gateway.
• Runs until stopped; exits non-zero on fatal errors so the supervisor restarts it.

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How to run (local)

openclaw gateway --port 18789
# for full debug/trace logs in stdio:
openclaw gateway --port 18789 --verbose
# if the port is busy, terminate listeners then start:
openclaw gateway --force
# dev loop (auto-reload on TS changes):
pnpm gateway:watch

• Config hot reload watches ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json (or OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH).
  • Default mode: gateway.reload.mode="hybrid" (hot-apply safe changes, restart on critical).
  • Hot reload uses in-process restart via SIGUSR1 when needed.
  • Disable with gateway.reload.mode="off".
• Binds WebSocket control plane to 127.0.0.1:<port> (default 18789).
• The same port also serves HTTP (control UI, hooks, A2UI). Single-port multiplex.
  • OpenAI Chat Completions (HTTP): /v1/chat/completions.
  • OpenResponses (HTTP): /v1/responses.
  • Tools Invoke (HTTP): /tools/invoke.
• Starts a Canvas file server by default on canvasHost.port (default 18793), serving http://<gateway-host>:18793/__openclaw__/canvas/ from ~/.openclaw/workspace/canvas. Disable with canvasHost.enabled=false or OPENCLAW_SKIP_CANVAS_HOST=1.
• Logs to stdout; use launchd/systemd to keep it alive and rotate logs.
• Pass --verbose to mirror debug logging (handshakes, req/res, events) from the log file into stdio when troubleshooting.
• --force uses lsof to find listeners on the chosen port, sends SIGTERM, logs what it killed, then starts the gateway (fails fast if lsof is missing).
• If you run under a supervisor (launchd/systemd/mac app child-process mode), a stop/restart typically sends SIGTERM; older builds may surface this as pnpm ELIFECYCLE exit code 143 (SIGTERM), which is a normal shutdown, not a crash.
• SIGUSR1 triggers an in-process restart when authorized (gateway tool/config apply/update, or enable commands.restart for manual restarts).
• Gateway auth is required by default: set gateway.auth.token (or OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN) or gateway.auth.password. Clients must send connect.params.auth.token/password unless using Tailscale Serve identity.
• The wizard now generates a token by default, even on loopback.
• Port precedence: --port > OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT > gateway.port > default 18789.

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Remote access

• Tailscale/VPN preferred; otherwise SSH tunnel:
  Copy

  ssh -N -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789 user@host
  
• Clients then connect to ws://127.0.0.1:18789 through the tunnel.
• If a token is configured, clients must include it in connect.params.auth.token even over the tunnel.

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Multiple gateways (same host)

• macOS: bot.molt.<profile> (legacy com.openclaw.* may still exist)
• Linux: openclaw-gateway-<profile>.service
• Windows: OpenClaw Gateway (<profile>)

• OPENCLAW_SERVICE_MARKER=openclaw
• OPENCLAW_SERVICE_KIND=gateway
• OPENCLAW_SERVICE_VERSION=<version>

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Dev profile (--dev)

openclaw --dev setup
openclaw --dev gateway --allow-unconfigured
# then target the dev instance:
openclaw --dev status
openclaw --dev health

• OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR=~/.openclaw-dev
• OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH=~/.openclaw-dev/openclaw.json
• OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT=19001 (Gateway WS + HTTP)
• browser control service port = 19003 (derived: gateway.port+2, loopback only)
• canvasHost.port=19005 (derived: gateway.port+4)
• agents.defaults.workspace default becomes ~/.openclaw/workspace-dev when you run setup/onboard under --dev.

• Base port = gateway.port (or OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT / --port)
• browser control service port = base + 2 (loopback only)
• canvasHost.port = base + 4 (or OPENCLAW_CANVAS_HOST_PORT / config override)
• Browser profile CDP ports auto-allocate from browser.controlPort + 9 .. + 108 (persisted per profile).

• unique gateway.port
• unique OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH
• unique OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR
• unique agents.defaults.workspace
• separate WhatsApp numbers (if using WA)

openclaw --profile main gateway install
openclaw --profile rescue gateway install

OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH=~/.openclaw/a.json OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR=~/.openclaw-a openclaw gateway --port 19001
OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH=~/.openclaw/b.json OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR=~/.openclaw-b openclaw gateway --port 19002

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Protocol (operator view)

• Full docs: Gateway protocol and Bridge protocol (legacy).
• Mandatory first frame from client: req {type:"req", id, method:"connect", params:{minProtocol,maxProtocol,client:{id,displayName?,version,platform,deviceFamily?,modelIdentifier?,mode,instanceId?}, caps, auth?, locale?, userAgent? } }.
• Gateway replies res {type:"res", id, ok:true, payload:hello-ok } (or ok:false with an error, then closes).
• After handshake:
  • Requests: {type:"req", id, method, params} → {type:"res", id, ok, payload|error}
  • Events: {type:"event", event, payload, seq?, stateVersion?}
• Structured presence entries: {host, ip, version, platform?, deviceFamily?, modelIdentifier?, mode, lastInputSeconds?, ts, reason?, tags?[], instanceId? } (for WS clients, instanceId comes from connect.client.instanceId).
• agent responses are two-stage: first res ack {runId,status:"accepted"}, then a final res {runId,status:"ok"|"error",summary} after the run finishes; streamed output arrives as event:"agent".

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Methods (initial set)

• health — full health snapshot (same shape as openclaw health --json).
• status — short summary.
• system-presence — current presence list.
• system-event — post a presence/system note (structured).
• send — send a message via the active channel(s).
• agent — run an agent turn (streams events back on same connection).
• node.list — list paired + currently-connected nodes (includes caps, deviceFamily, modelIdentifier, paired, connected, and advertised commands).
• node.describe — describe a node (capabilities + supported node.invoke commands; works for paired nodes and for currently-connected unpaired nodes).
• node.invoke — invoke a command on a node (e.g. canvas.*, camera.*).
• node.pair.* — pairing lifecycle (request, list, approve, reject, verify).

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Events

• agent — streamed tool/output events from the agent run (seq-tagged).
• presence — presence updates (deltas with stateVersion) pushed to all connected clients.
• tick — periodic keepalive/no-op to confirm liveness.
• shutdown — Gateway is exiting; payload includes reason and optional restartExpectedMs. Clients should reconnect.

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WebChat integration

• WebChat is a native SwiftUI UI that talks directly to the Gateway WebSocket for history, sends, abort, and events.
• Remote use goes through the same SSH/Tailscale tunnel; if a gateway token is configured, the client includes it during connect.
• macOS app connects via a single WS (shared connection); it hydrates presence from the initial snapshot and listens for presence events to update the UI.

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Typing and validation

• Server validates every inbound frame with AJV against JSON Schema emitted from the protocol definitions.
• Clients (TS/Swift) consume generated types (TS directly; Swift via the repo’s generator).
• Protocol definitions are the source of truth; regenerate schema/models with:
  • pnpm protocol:gen
  • pnpm protocol:gen:swift

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Connection snapshot

• hello-ok includes a snapshot with presence, health, stateVersion, and uptimeMs plus policy {maxPayload,maxBufferedBytes,tickIntervalMs} so clients can render immediately without extra requests.
• health/system-presence remain available for manual refresh, but are not required at connect time.

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Error codes (res.error shape)

• Errors use { code, message, details?, retryable?, retryAfterMs? }.
• Standard codes:
  • NOT_LINKED — WhatsApp not authenticated.
  • AGENT_TIMEOUT — agent did not respond within the configured deadline.
  • INVALID_REQUEST — schema/param validation failed.
  • UNAVAILABLE — Gateway is shutting down or a dependency is unavailable.

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Keepalive behavior

• tick events (or WS ping/pong) are emitted periodically so clients know the Gateway is alive even when no traffic occurs.
• Send/agent acknowledgements remain separate responses; do not overload ticks for sends.

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Replay / gaps

• Events are not replayed. Clients detect seq gaps and should refresh (health + system-presence) before continuing. WebChat and macOS clients now auto-refresh on gap.

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Supervision (macOS example)

• Use launchd to keep the service alive:
  • Program: path to openclaw
  • Arguments: gateway
  • KeepAlive: true
  • StandardOut/Err: file paths or syslog
• On failure, launchd restarts; fatal misconfig should keep exiting so the operator notices.
• LaunchAgents are per-user and require a logged-in session; for headless setups use a custom LaunchDaemon (not shipped).
  • openclaw gateway install writes ~/Library/LaunchAgents/bot.molt.gateway.plist (or bot.molt.<profile>.plist; legacy com.openclaw.* is cleaned up).
  • openclaw doctor audits the LaunchAgent config and can update it to current defaults.

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Gateway service management (CLI)

openclaw gateway status
openclaw gateway install
openclaw gateway stop
openclaw gateway restart
openclaw logs --follow

• gateway status probes the Gateway RPC by default using the service’s resolved port/config (override with --url).
• gateway status --deep adds system-level scans (LaunchDaemons/system units).
• gateway status --no-probe skips the RPC probe (useful when networking is down).
• gateway status --json is stable for scripts.
• gateway status reports supervisor runtime (launchd/systemd running) separately from RPC reachability (WS connect + status RPC).
• gateway status prints config path + probe target to avoid “localhost vs LAN bind” confusion and profile mismatches.
• gateway status includes the last gateway error line when the service looks running but the port is closed.
• logs tails the Gateway file log via RPC (no manual tail/grep needed).
• If other gateway-like services are detected, the CLI warns unless they are OpenClaw profile services. We still recommend one gateway per machine for most setups; use isolated profiles/ports for redundancy or a rescue bot. See Multiple gateways.
  • Cleanup: openclaw gateway uninstall (current service) and openclaw doctor (legacy migrations).
• gateway install is a no-op when already installed; use openclaw gateway install --force to reinstall (profile/env/path changes).

• OpenClaw.app can bundle a Node-based gateway relay and install a per-user LaunchAgent labeled bot.molt.gateway (or bot.molt.<profile>; legacy com.openclaw.* labels still unload cleanly).
• To stop it cleanly, use openclaw gateway stop (or launchctl bootout gui/$UID/bot.molt.gateway).
• To restart, use openclaw gateway restart (or launchctl kickstart -k gui/$UID/bot.molt.gateway).
  • launchctl only works if the LaunchAgent is installed; otherwise use openclaw gateway install first.
  • Replace the label with bot.molt.<profile> when running a named profile.

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Supervision (systemd user unit)

[Unit]
Description=OpenClaw Gateway (profile: <profile>, v<version>)
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/openclaw gateway --port 18789
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
Environment=OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN=
WorkingDirectory=/home/youruser

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target

sudo loginctl enable-linger youruser

systemctl --user enable --now openclaw-gateway[-<profile>].service

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now openclaw-gateway[-<profile>].service

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Windows (WSL2)

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Operational checks

• Liveness: open WS and send req:connect → expect res with payload.type="hello-ok" (with snapshot).
• Readiness: call health → expect ok: true and a linked channel in linkChannel (when applicable).
• Debug: subscribe to tick and presence events; ensure status shows linked/auth age; presence entries show Gateway host and connected clients.

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Safety guarantees

• Assume one Gateway per host by default; if you run multiple profiles, isolate ports/state and target the right instance.
• No fallback to direct Baileys connections; if the Gateway is down, sends fail fast.
• Non-connect first frames or malformed JSON are rejected and the socket is closed.
• Graceful shutdown: emit shutdown event before closing; clients must handle close + reconnect.

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CLI helpers

• openclaw gateway health|status — request health/status over the Gateway WS.
• openclaw message send --target <num> --message "hi" [--media ...] — send via Gateway (idempotent for WhatsApp).
• openclaw agent --message "hi" --to <num> — run an agent turn (waits for final by default).
• openclaw gateway call <method> --params '{"k":"v"}' — raw method invoker for debugging.
• openclaw gateway stop|restart — stop/restart the supervised gateway service (launchd/systemd).
• Gateway helper subcommands assume a running gateway on --url; they no longer auto-spawn one.

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Migration guidance

• Retire uses of openclaw gateway and the legacy TCP control port.
• Update clients to speak the WS protocol with mandatory connect and structured presence.