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The macOS app surfaces OpenClaw skills via the gateway; it does not parse skills locally.

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Data source

  • skills.status (gateway) returns all skills plus eligibility and missing requirements, including allowlist blocks for bundled skills.
  • Requirements come from metadata.openclaw.requires in each SKILL.md.

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Install actions

  • metadata.openclaw.install defines install options (brew/node/go/uv/download).
  • The app calls skills.install to run installers on the gateway host.
  • Operator-owned security.installPolicy (enabled, targets, exec) runs before installer metadata. block results and policy failures stop the install. A warn result also stops the gateway-backed request: review it with the matching direct CLI when one exists, or change the policy to allow the reviewed request, then retry.
  • If every install option is download, the gateway surfaces all download choices.
  • Otherwise the gateway picks one preferred installer using current install preferences (skills.install.preferBrew, skills.install.nodeManager) and host binaries: Homebrew first when preferBrew is enabled and brew is present, then uv, then the configured node manager, then Homebrew again if available (even without preferBrew), then go, then download.
  • Node install labels reflect the configured node manager, including yarn.

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Env/API keys

  • The app stores keys in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json under skills.entries.<skillKey>.
  • skills.update patches enabled, apiKey, and env.

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Remote mode

  • Install and config updates happen on the gateway host, not the local Mac.
  • When skill files, config, Mac-node connectivity, its catalog, or its executable inventory changes, the gateway emits skills.changed after invalidating its authoritative snapshot. An open Skills pane then refetches skills.status, including changes that finish while an earlier request is still in flight.