openclaw/docs/nodes/troubleshooting.md

summary, read_when, title

summary	read_when	title
Troubleshoot node pairing, foreground requirements, permissions, and tool failures	Node is connected but camera/canvas/screen/exec tools fail You need the node pairing versus approvals mental model	Node troubleshooting

Use this page when a node is visible in status but node tools fail.

Command ladder

openclaw status
openclaw gateway status
openclaw logs --follow
openclaw doctor
openclaw channels status --probe

Then run node-specific checks:

openclaw nodes status
openclaw nodes describe --node <idOrNameOrIp>
openclaw approvals get --node <idOrNameOrIp>

Healthy signals:

• Node is connected and paired for role node.
• nodes describe includes the capability you're calling.
• Exec approvals show the expected mode/allowlist.

Foreground requirements

canvas.*, camera.*, and screen.* are foreground-only on iOS/Android nodes.

Quick check and fix:

openclaw nodes describe --node <idOrNameOrIp>
openclaw nodes canvas snapshot --node <idOrNameOrIp>
openclaw logs --follow

If you see NODE_BACKGROUND_UNAVAILABLE, bring the node app to the foreground and retry.

Permissions matrix

Capability	iOS	Android	macOS node app	Typical failure code
camera.snap, camera.clip	Camera (+ mic for clip audio)	Camera (+ mic for clip audio)	Camera (+ mic for clip audio)	*_PERMISSION_REQUIRED
screen.record	Screen Recording (+ mic optional)	Screen capture prompt (+ mic optional)	Screen Recording	*_PERMISSION_REQUIRED
computer.act	n/a	n/a	Accessibility + Screen Recording	COMPUTER_DISABLED, ACCESSIBILITY_REQUIRED
location.get	While Using or Always (depends on mode)	Foreground/Background location based on mode	Location permission	LOCATION_PERMISSION_REQUIRED
system.run	n/a (node host path)	n/a (node host path)	Exec approvals required	SYSTEM_RUN_DENIED

Pairing versus approvals

Three separate gates control whether a node command succeeds:

1. Device pairing: can this node connect to the gateway?
2. Gateway node command policy: is the RPC command ID allowed by gateway.nodes.commands.allow / gateway.nodes.commands.deny and platform defaults?
3. Exec approvals: can this node run a specific shell command locally?

Node pairing is an identity/trust gate, not a per-command approval surface. For system.run, the per-node policy lives in that node's exec approvals file (openclaw approvals get --node ...), not in the gateway pairing record.

Quick checks:

openclaw devices list
openclaw nodes status
openclaw approvals get --node <idOrNameOrIp>
openclaw approvals allowlist add --node <idOrNameOrIp> "/usr/bin/uname"

• Pairing missing: approve the node device first.
• nodes describe missing a command: check the gateway node command policy and whether the node actually declared that command on connect.
• Pairing fine but system.run fails: fix exec approvals/allowlist on that node.

For approval-backed host=node runs, the gateway also binds execution to the prepared canonical systemRunPlan. If a later caller mutates the command, cwd, or session metadata before the approved run is forwarded, the gateway rejects the run as an approval mismatch instead of trusting the edited payload.

Common node error codes

Code	Meaning
NODE_BACKGROUND_UNAVAILABLE	App is backgrounded; bring it to the foreground.
CAMERA_DISABLED	Camera toggle disabled in node settings.
*_PERMISSION_REQUIRED	OS permission missing/denied.
LOCATION_DISABLED	Location mode is off.
LOCATION_PERMISSION_REQUIRED	Requested location mode not granted.
LOCATION_BACKGROUND_UNAVAILABLE	App is backgrounded but only While Using permission exists.
COMPUTER_DISABLED	Enable Allow Computer Control in the macOS app, then approve the pairing update.
ACCESSIBILITY_REQUIRED	Grant Accessibility to the current OpenClaw app bundle in macOS System Settings.
SYSTEM_RUN_DENIED: approval required	Exec request needs explicit approval.
SYSTEM_RUN_DENIED: allowlist miss	Command blocked by allowlist mode. On Windows node hosts, shell-wrapper forms like cmd.exe /c ... are treated as allowlist misses in allowlist mode unless approved via the ask flow.

Fast recovery loop

openclaw nodes status
openclaw nodes describe --node <idOrNameOrIp>
openclaw approvals get --node <idOrNameOrIp>
openclaw logs --follow

If still stuck:

• Re-approve device pairing.
• Re-open the node app (foreground).
• Re-grant OS permissions.
• Recreate/adjust the exec approval policy.

For computer control, also verify that the node-local Computer Control toggle is enabled, its pairing update is approved, a vision-capable agent exposes the computer tool, and screen.snapshot succeeds with Screen Recording permission. A gateway.nodes.commands.deny entry always overrides a platform default or gateway.nodes.commands.allow.

Related

• Nodes overview
• Camera nodes
• Location command
• Computer use
• Exec approvals
• Gateway pairing
• Gateway troubleshooting
• Channel troubleshooting