Files
openclaw/docs/gateway/operator-scopes.md
synth 151c549494 fix(browser): uploads fail when the browser runs on a remote node (#115291)
* fix(browser): resolve upload paths on the owning browser node, not the Gateway

When a browser session is proxied to a remote node, the upload action
previously ran resolveExistingUploadPaths on the Gateway, pinning paths
to a filesystem the node cannot see and rejecting node-local files. The
node-side /hooks/file-chooser route already re-resolves paths against
its own filesystem, so skip Gateway-local resolution whenever the
request is proxied and forward the requested paths as-is.

Fixes openclaw/openclaw#115251

* fix(browser): transfer uploads to remote browser nodes

* fix(browser): normalize upload abort errors

---------

Co-authored-by: Vincent Koc <vincentkoc@ieee.org>
2026-07-29 20:31:46 +08:00

148 lines
8.5 KiB
Markdown

---
summary: "Operator roles, scopes, and approval-time checks for Gateway clients"
read_when:
- Debugging missing operator scope errors
- Reviewing device or node pairing approvals
- Adding or classifying Gateway RPC methods
title: "Operator scopes"
---
Operator scopes gate what a Gateway client can do after it authenticates.
They are a control-plane guardrail inside one trusted Gateway operator domain,
not hostile multi-tenant isolation. For strong separation between people,
teams, or machines, run separate Gateways under separate OS users or hosts.
Related: [Security](/gateway/security), [Gateway protocol](/gateway/protocol),
[Gateway pairing](/gateway/pairing), [Devices CLI](/cli/devices).
## Roles
Every Gateway WebSocket client connects with one role:
- `operator`: control-plane clients such as CLI, Control UI, automation, and
trusted helper processes.
- `node`: capability hosts (macOS, iOS, Android, headless) that expose
commands through `node.invoke`.
Operator RPC methods require the `operator` role; node-originated methods
require the `node` role.
## Scope levels
| Scope | Meaning |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `operator.read` | Read-only status, lists, catalog, logs, session reads, and other non-mutating calls. |
| `operator.write` | Mutating operator actions: sending messages, invoking tools, updating talk/voice settings, node command relay. Also satisfies `operator.read`. |
| `operator.admin` | Administrative access. Satisfies every `operator.*` scope. Required for config mutation, updates, native hooks, reserved namespaces, and high-risk approvals. |
| `operator.pairing` | Device and node pairing management: list, approve, reject, remove, rotate, revoke. |
| `operator.approvals` | Exec and plugin approval APIs. |
| `operator.questions` | Listing, reading, answering, and resolving interactive questions. |
| `operator.talk` | Creating, steering, and closing Talk sessions without general Gateway write access. `operator.write` also satisfies this scope. |
| `operator.talk.secrets` | Reading Talk configuration with secrets included. |
Unknown future `operator.*` scopes require an exact match unless the caller
already holds `operator.admin`.
## Method scope is only the first gate
Each Gateway RPC has a least-privilege method scope that decides whether a
request reaches its handler. Params-aware methods derive that scope before
dispatch so authorization failures have one canonical structured response:
- `agent` needs `operator.write` for ordinary turns and `operator.admin` for
`/new` or `/reset` session lifecycle commands.
- `node.invoke` needs `operator.write` for ordinary relay commands and
`operator.admin` for `browser.proxy`, `browser.proxy.upload.v1`, `fs.listDir`,
and `terminal.upload`.
- `talk.config` needs `operator.read`; `includeSecrets: true` also needs
`operator.talk.secrets`.
- `talk.client.*`, `talk.session.*`, `talk.speak`, and `talk.mode` need
`operator.talk` (or the compatible broader `operator.write`).
Some handlers then apply stricter checks based on the concrete thing being
approved or mutated:
- `device.pair.approve` is reachable with `operator.pairing`, but approving an
operator device can only mint or preserve scopes the caller already holds.
- `node.pair.approve` is reachable with `operator.pairing`, then derives extra
approval scopes from the pending node's declared command list.
- `chat.send` is a write-scoped method, but the `/config set` and
`/config unset` chat commands require `operator.admin` on top of that,
regardless of the caller's chat-send scope.
This lets lower-scope operators perform low-risk pairing actions without
making all pairing approval admin-only.
Session mutation RPCs are authorized by their negotiated operator scopes,
independent of the connecting client's `client.id` or `client.mode`. Client
identity can still affect connection and device-auth policy, but it neither
grants nor removes session mutation authority.
## Device pairing approvals
Device pairing records are the durable source of approved roles and scopes.
An already-paired device does not get broader access silently: a reconnect
that asks for a broader role or broader scopes creates a new pending upgrade
request.
Approving a device request:
- A request with no operator role does not need operator scope approval.
- A request for a non-operator device role (for example `node`) requires
`operator.admin`, even though `device.pair.approve` itself only needs
`operator.pairing`.
- A request for `operator.read`, `operator.write`, `operator.approvals`,
`operator.questions`, `operator.pairing`, `operator.talk`, or
`operator.talk.secrets` requires
the caller to already hold that scope, or `operator.admin`.
- A request for `operator.admin` requires `operator.admin`.
- A repair request with no explicit scopes can inherit the existing operator
token's scopes; if that token is admin-scoped, approval still requires
`operator.admin`.
Non-admin shared-secret and trusted-proxy sessions can only approve
operator-device requests within their own declared operator scopes; approving
non-operator roles is admin-only even when those sessions can otherwise use
`operator.pairing`.
For paired-device token sessions, management is self-scoped unless the caller
has `operator.admin`: a non-admin caller sees only its own pairing entries, and
can approve, reject, rotate, revoke, or remove only its own device entry.
## Node pairing approvals
Legacy `node.pair.*` methods use a separate Gateway-owned node pairing store.
WS nodes use device pairing (`role: node`) instead, but the same approval
vocabulary applies. See [Gateway pairing](/gateway/pairing) for how the two
stores relate.
`node.pair.approve` derives extra required scopes from the pending request's
command list:
| Declared commands | Required scopes |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| none | `operator.pairing` |
| ordinary node commands | `operator.pairing` + `operator.write` |
| `system.run`, `system.run.prepare`, `system.which`, `browser.proxy`, `browser.proxy.upload.v1`, `fs.listDir`, or `system.execApprovals.get/set` | `operator.pairing` + `operator.admin` |
Approving a node declaration records its command surface. For `computer.act`,
the node advertises that surface only after Computer Control is enabled locally;
once the pairing update is approved, invoking it through `node.invoke` requires
write scope but not admin scope for each action. Commands classified as
dangerous or privacy-heavy still require a persistent
`gateway.nodes.commands.allow` entry in addition to pairing.
Node pairing establishes identity and trust; it does not replace a node's own
`system.run` exec approval policy.
## Shared-secret auth
Shared gateway token/password auth is treated as trusted operator access for
that Gateway. OpenAI-compatible HTTP surfaces, `/tools/invoke`, and HTTP
session-history endpoints restore the full default operator scope set for
shared-secret bearer auth, even if a caller sends narrower declared scopes.
Identity-bearing modes, such as trusted proxy auth or private-ingress `none`,
can still honor explicit declared scopes. Use separate Gateways for real trust
boundary separation.