openclaw/docs/cli/approvals.md

summary, read_when, title

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CLI reference for `openclaw approvals` and `openclaw exec-policy`	You want to edit exec approvals from the CLI You need to manage allowlists on gateway or node hosts	Approvals

openclaw approvals

Manage exec approvals for the local host, gateway host, or a node host. By default, commands target the local approvals state in SQLite. Use --gateway to target the gateway, or --node to target a specific node.

Alias: openclaw exec-approvals

Related:

• Exec approvals: Exec approvals
• Nodes: Nodes

openclaw exec-policy

openclaw exec-policy is the local convenience command for keeping the requested tools.exec.* config and the local host approvals state aligned in one step.

Use it when you want to:

• inspect the local requested policy, host approvals state, and effective merge
• apply a local preset such as YOLO or deny-all
• synchronize local tools.exec.* and local exec approvals state

Examples:

openclaw exec-policy show
openclaw exec-policy show --json

openclaw exec-policy preset yolo
openclaw exec-policy preset cautious --json

openclaw exec-policy set --host gateway --security full --ask off --ask-fallback full

Output modes:

• no --json: prints the human-readable table view
• --json: prints machine-readable structured output

Current scope:

• exec-policy is local-only
• it updates the local config file and the local approvals state together
• it does not push policy to the gateway host or a node host
• --host node is rejected in this command because node exec approvals are fetched from the node at runtime and must be managed through node-targeted approvals commands instead
• openclaw exec-policy show marks host=node scopes as node-managed at runtime instead of deriving an effective policy from local approvals state

If you need to edit remote host approvals directly, keep using openclaw approvals set --gateway or openclaw approvals set --node <id|name|ip>.

Common commands

openclaw approvals get
openclaw approvals get --node <id|name|ip>
openclaw approvals get --gateway

openclaw approvals get now shows the effective exec policy for local, gateway, and node targets:

• requested tools.exec policy
• host approvals-file policy
• effective result after precedence rules are applied

Precedence is intentional:

• the host approvals state is the enforceable source of truth
• requested tools.exec policy can narrow or broaden intent, but the effective result is still derived from the host rules
• --node combines the node host approvals state with gateway tools.exec policy, because both still apply at runtime
• if gateway config is unavailable, the CLI falls back to the node approvals snapshot and notes that the final runtime policy could not be computed

Replace approvals from a file

openclaw approvals set --file ./exec-approvals.json
openclaw approvals set --stdin <<'EOF'
{ version: 1, defaults: { security: "full", ask: "off" } }
EOF
openclaw approvals set --node <id|name|ip> --file ./exec-approvals.json
openclaw approvals set --gateway --file ./exec-approvals.json

set accepts JSON5, not only strict JSON. Use either --file or --stdin, not both.

"Never prompt" / YOLO example

For a host that should never stop on exec approvals, set the host approvals defaults to full + off:

openclaw approvals set --stdin <<'EOF'
{
  version: 1,
  defaults: {
    security: "full",
    ask: "off",
    askFallback: "full"
  }
}
EOF

Node variant:

openclaw approvals set --node <id|name|ip> --stdin <<'EOF'
{
  version: 1,
  defaults: {
    security: "full",
    ask: "off",
    askFallback: "full"
  }
}
EOF

This changes the host approvals state only. To keep the requested OpenClaw policy aligned, also set:

openclaw config set tools.exec.host gateway
openclaw config set tools.exec.security full
openclaw config set tools.exec.ask off

Why tools.exec.host=gateway in this example:

• host=auto still means "sandbox when available, otherwise gateway".
• YOLO is about approvals, not routing.
• If you want host exec even when a sandbox is configured, make the host choice explicit with gateway or /exec host=gateway.

This matches the current host-default YOLO behavior. Tighten it if you want approvals.

Local shortcut:

openclaw exec-policy preset yolo

That local shortcut updates both the requested local tools.exec.* config and the local approvals defaults together. It is equivalent in intent to the manual two-step setup above, but only for the local machine.

Allowlist helpers

openclaw approvals allowlist add "~/Projects/**/bin/rg"
openclaw approvals allowlist add --agent main --node <id|name|ip> "/usr/bin/uptime"
openclaw approvals allowlist add --agent "*" "/usr/bin/uname"

openclaw approvals allowlist remove "~/Projects/**/bin/rg"

Common options

get, set, and allowlist add|remove all support:

• --node <id|name|ip>
• --gateway
• shared node RPC options: --url, --token, --timeout, --json

Targeting notes:

• no target flags means the local approvals state
• --gateway targets the gateway host approvals state
• --node targets one node host after resolving id, name, IP, or id prefix

allowlist add|remove also supports:

• --agent <id> (defaults to *)

Notes

• --node uses the same resolver as openclaw nodes (id, name, ip, or id prefix).
• --agent defaults to "*", which applies to all agents.
• The node host must advertise system.execApprovals.get/set (macOS app or headless node host).
• Approvals are stored per host in the SQLite state database. Legacy ~/.openclaw/exec-approvals.json files are imported by openclaw doctor --fix.

Related

• CLI reference
• Exec approvals