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OpenClaw runs one Gateway (the master) on a host and connects every client to it. The Gateway owns sessions, auth profiles, channels, and state; everything else is a client.
  • Operators (you, or the macOS app): direct LAN/Tailnet WebSocket is simplest when the Gateway is reachable; SSH tunneling is the universal fallback.
  • Nodes (iOS/Android and other devices): connect to the Gateway WebSocket (LAN/tailnet or SSH tunnel).

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The core idea

The Gateway WebSocket binds to loopback by default, on port 18789 (gateway.port). For remote use, either expose it through Tailscale Serve / a trusted LAN-Tailnet bind, or forward the loopback port over SSH.

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Topology options

SetupWhere the Gateway runsBest for
Always-on Gateway in your tailnetPersistent host (VPS or home server), reached via Tailscale or SSHLaptops that sleep often but need the agent always-on. See exe.dev (easy VM) or Hetzner (production VPS).
Home desktopDesktop; laptop connects remotely via the macOS app’s remote mode (Settings → Connection → OpenClaw runs)Keeping the agent on hardware that stays powered on. Runbook: macOS remote access.
LaptopLaptop, exposed safely via SSH tunnel or Tailscale Serve (keep gateway.bind: "loopback")Single-machine setups. See Tailscale and Web.
For the always-on and laptop setups, prefer keeping gateway.bind: "loopback" and using Tailscale Serve for the Control UI, or a trusted LAN/Tailnet bind with gateway.remote.transport: "direct". SSH tunnel is the fallback that works from any machine.

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Command flow (what runs where)

One Gateway owns state and channels; nodes are peripherals. Example (Telegram message routed to a node tool):
  1. Telegram message arrives at the Gateway.
  2. Gateway runs the agent, which decides whether to call a node tool.
  3. Gateway calls the node over the Gateway WebSocket (node.invoke RPC).
  4. Node returns the result; Gateway replies to Telegram.
Nodes do not run the Gateway service. Only one Gateway should run per host unless you intentionally run isolated profiles (see Multiple gateways). macOS app “node mode” is just a node client over the Gateway WebSocket.

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SSH tunnel (CLI + tools)

ssh -N -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789 user@gateway-host
With the tunnel up, openclaw health and openclaw status --deep reach the remote Gateway via ws://127.0.0.1:18789. openclaw gateway status, openclaw gateway health, openclaw gateway probe, and openclaw gateway call can also target a forwarded URL via --url.
Replace 18789 with your configured gateway.port (or --port / OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT).
--url never falls back to config or environment credentials. Pass --token or --password explicitly; without them the client sends no credentials and the connection fails if the target Gateway requires auth.

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CLI remote defaults

Persist a remote target so CLI commands use it by default: 
{
  gateway: {
    mode: "remote",
    remote: {
      url: "ws://127.0.0.1:18789",
      token: "your-token",
    },
  },
}
When the Gateway is loopback-only, keep the URL at ws://127.0.0.1:18789 and open the SSH tunnel first. In the macOS app’s SSH-tunnel transport, the discovered Gateway hostname goes in gateway.remote.sshTarget (user@host or user@host:port); gateway.remote.url stays the local tunnel URL. If the remote port differs from the local one, set gateway.remote.remotePort. Host-key verification is strict by default (gateway.remote.sshHostKeyPolicy: "strict"). Set it to "openssh" to delegate to your effective OpenSSH config instead; review your user and system SSH settings before enabling it. For a Gateway already reachable on a trusted LAN or Tailnet, use direct mode: 
{
  gateway: {
    mode: "remote",
    remote: {
      transport: "direct",
      url: "ws://192.168.0.202:18789",
      token: "your-token",
    },
  },
}

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Credential precedence

Gateway credential resolution follows one shared contract across call/probe/status paths and Discord exec-approval monitoring. Node-host uses the same contract with one local-mode exception (it ignores gateway.remote.*).
  • Explicit credentials (--token, --password, or a tool’s gatewayToken) always win on call paths that accept explicit auth.
  • URL override safety:
    • CLI --url never reuses implicit config/env credentials.
    • Env OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_URL may use env credentials only (OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN / OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PASSWORD).
  • Local mode defaults:
    • token: OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN -> gateway.auth.token -> gateway.remote.token (remote fallback only when the local token is unset)
    • password: OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PASSWORD -> gateway.auth.password -> gateway.remote.password (remote fallback only when the local password is unset)
  • Remote mode defaults:
    • token: gateway.remote.token -> OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN -> gateway.auth.token
    • password: OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PASSWORD -> gateway.remote.password -> gateway.auth.password
  • Node-host local-mode exception: gateway.remote.token / gateway.remote.password are ignored.
  • Remote probe/status token checks are strict by default: they use gateway.remote.token only (no local token fallback) when targeting remote mode.
  • Gateway env overrides use OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_* only.

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Chat UI remote access

WebChat has no separate HTTP port; the SwiftUI chat UI connects directly to the Gateway WebSocket.
  • Forward 18789 over SSH (see above), then connect clients to ws://127.0.0.1:18789.
  • For LAN/Tailnet direct mode, connect clients to the configured private ws:// or secure wss:// URL.
  • On macOS, the app’s remote mode manages the selected transport automatically.

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macOS app remote mode

The macOS menu bar app drives the same setup end-to-end: remote status checks, WebChat, and Voice Wake forwarding. Runbook: macOS remote access.

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Security rules (remote/VPN)

Keep the Gateway loopback-only unless you are sure you need a bind.
  • Loopback + SSH/Tailscale Serve is the safest default (no public exposure).
  • Plaintext ws:// is accepted for loopback, private/LAN (RFC 1918), link-local, CGNAT, .local, and .ts.net hosts. Public remote hosts must use wss://.
  • Non-loopback binds (lan/tailnet/custom, or auto when loopback is unavailable) must use Gateway auth: token, password, or an identity-aware reverse proxy with gateway.auth.mode: "trusted-proxy".
  • gateway.remote.token / .password are client credential sources; they do not configure server auth by themselves.
  • Local call paths can use gateway.remote.* as a fallback only when gateway.auth.* is unset.
  • If gateway.auth.token / gateway.auth.password is explicitly configured via SecretRef and unresolved, resolution fails closed (no remote fallback masking).
  • gateway.remote.tlsFingerprint pins the remote TLS cert for wss://, including macOS direct mode. Without a stored pin, macOS only pins on first use after normal system trust passes; self-signed or private-CA Gateways need an explicit fingerprint or Remote over SSH.
  • Tailscale Serve can authenticate Control UI/WebSocket traffic via identity headers when gateway.auth.allowTailscale: true. HTTP API endpoints do not use that header auth and instead follow the Gateway’s normal HTTP auth mode. This tokenless flow assumes the Gateway host is trusted; set it to false for shared-secret auth everywhere.
  • Trusted-proxy auth expects a non-loopback identity-aware proxy by default. Same-host loopback reverse proxies require explicit gateway.auth.trustedProxy.allowLoopback = true.
  • Treat browser control like operator access: tailnet-only plus deliberate node pairing.
Deep dive: Security.

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macOS: persistent SSH tunnel via LaunchAgent

For macOS clients, the easiest persistent setup uses an SSH LocalForward config entry plus a LaunchAgent that keeps the tunnel alive across reboots and crashes.

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Step 1: add SSH config

Edit ~/.ssh/config: 
Host remote-gateway
    HostName <REMOTE_IP>
    User <REMOTE_USER>
    LocalForward 18789 127.0.0.1:18789
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa
Replace <REMOTE_IP> and <REMOTE_USER> with your values.

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Step 2: copy SSH key (one-time)

ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa <REMOTE_USER>@<REMOTE_IP>

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Step 3: configure the gateway token

openclaw config set gateway.remote.token "<your-token>"
Use gateway.remote.password instead if the remote Gateway uses password auth. OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN is still valid as a shell-level override, but the durable remote-client setup is gateway.remote.token / gateway.remote.password.

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Step 4: create the LaunchAgent

Save as ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.ssh-tunnel.plist: 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>ai.openclaw.ssh-tunnel</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>/usr/bin/ssh</string>
        <string>-N</string>
        <string>remote-gateway</string>
    </array>
    <key>KeepAlive</key>
    <true/>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>
</dict>
</plist>

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Step 5: load the LaunchAgent

launchctl bootstrap gui/$UID ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.ssh-tunnel.plist
The tunnel starts automatically at login, restarts on crash, and keeps the forwarded port live.
If you have a leftover com.openclaw.ssh-tunnel LaunchAgent from an older setup, unload and delete it.

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Troubleshooting

# Check if the tunnel is running
ps aux | grep "ssh -N remote-gateway" | grep -v grep
lsof -i :18789

# Restart the tunnel
launchctl kickstart -k gui/$UID/ai.openclaw.ssh-tunnel

# Stop the tunnel
launchctl bootout gui/$UID/ai.openclaw.ssh-tunnel
Config entryWhat it does
LocalForward 18789 127.0.0.1:18789Forwards local port 18789 to remote port 18789
ssh -NSSH without executing remote commands (port forwarding only)
KeepAliveRestarts the tunnel automatically if it crashes
RunAtLoadStarts the tunnel when the LaunchAgent loads at login