Files
openclaw/docs/platforms/mac/webchat.md
Peter Steinberger d537139521 feat(macos): adopt the shared read-only chat transcript cache (#100275)
* feat(macos): adopt shared read-only chat transcript cache

Cache-first cold open for the macOS chat window/panel: the last known
transcript and session list paint immediately from the shared SQLite
transcript cache, then live gateway history replaces them wholesale.
Recent chats stay browsable read-only while the gateway is unreachable;
sending remains gated by connection state.

- Wires OpenClawChatSQLiteTranscriptCache into WebChatSwiftUIWindowController;
  DB at ~/Library/Application Support/OpenClaw/chat-cache.sqlite.
- Gateway identity (MacChatTranscriptCache.gatewayID), derivable offline:
  local keys on the canonical gateway state dir; remote/direct keys on the
  full canonical URL (scheme, host, resolved port, percent-encoded
  path/query); remote/ssh keys on the SSH target plus the resolved remote
  gateway port, mirroring the tunnel port resolution. Unconfigured mode
  gets no cache.
- macOS file protection: no per-file Data Protection classes; iOS-only
  attribute stays gated behind #if os(iOS) in the shared store, and the
  per-user container plus FileVault protect at rest.
- Onboarding chat stays uncached (transient guided setup session).

Part of #100194

* feat(macos): wire the offline command outbox into chat windows

* style(macos): fix orphaned doc comment; regenerate docs map

* style(macos): doc-comment lint fix; regenerate docs map on current main
2026-07-06 05:57:16 +01:00

46 lines
2.2 KiB
Markdown

---
summary: "How the mac app embeds the gateway WebChat and how to debug it"
read_when:
- Debugging mac WebChat view or loopback port
title: "WebChat (macOS)"
---
The macOS menu bar app embeds the WebChat UI as a native SwiftUI view. It connects to the Gateway and defaults to the primary session for the selected agent (`main`, or `global` when `session.scope` is `global`), with a session switcher for other sessions.
- **Local mode**: connects directly to the local Gateway WebSocket.
- **Remote mode**: forwards the Gateway control port over SSH and uses that tunnel as the data plane.
## Launch and debugging
- Manual: Lobster menu -> "Open Chat".
- Auto-open for testing:
```bash
dist/OpenClaw.app/Contents/MacOS/OpenClaw --chat
```
(`--webchat` is accepted as a legacy alias.)
- Logs: `./scripts/clawlog.sh` (subsystem `ai.openclaw`, category `WebChatSwiftUI`).
## How it is wired
- Data plane: Gateway WS methods `chat.history`, `chat.send`, `chat.abort`, `chat.inject`, and events `chat`, `agent`, `presence`, `tick`, `health`.
- `chat.history` returns a display-normalized transcript: inline directive tags are stripped from visible text, plain-text tool-call XML payloads (`<tool_call>`, `<function_call>`, `<tool_calls>`, `<function_calls>`, including truncated blocks) and leaked model control tokens are stripped, pure silent-token assistant rows such as exact `NO_REPLY`/`no_reply` are omitted, and oversized rows can be replaced with a truncated placeholder.
- Session: defaults to the primary session as above; the UI can switch between sessions.
- Onboarding uses a dedicated session to keep first-run setup separate.
- Offline cache: the app keeps a small read-only cache of recent chat sessions and transcripts per gateway (`~/Library/Application Support/OpenClaw/chat-cache.sqlite`): cold opens paint the last known transcript immediately and refresh once the Gateway responds, and recent chats stay browsable while disconnected (sending stays disabled until the connection is back).
## Security surface
- Remote mode forwards only the Gateway WebSocket control port over SSH.
## Known limitations
- The UI is optimized for chat sessions, not a full browser sandbox.
## Related
- [WebChat](/web/webchat)
- [macOS app](/platforms/macos)