Files
openclaw/docs/concepts/presence.md
Peter Steinberger 55254c3a0b feat(nodes): route alerts to the active computer (#105083)
* feat(nodes): route alerts by active computer

* fix(ci): allowlist node presence mobile coverage

* test(prompts): refresh node presence snapshots

* fix(macos): await presence reporter actor hop

* fix(macos): type presence test delivery state

* docs(nodes): add active presence guide

* docs(nodes): format presence troubleshooting
2026-07-12 10:05:50 +01:00

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---
summary: "How OpenClaw presence entries are produced, merged, and displayed"
read_when:
- Debugging live status on the Control UI Devices page
- Investigating duplicate or stale instance rows
- Changing gateway WS connect or system-event beacons
title: "Presence"
---
OpenClaw "presence" is a lightweight, best-effort view of:
- the **Gateway** itself, and
- **user-visible clients connected to the Gateway** (mac app, WebChat, nodes, etc.)
Presence renders live connection metadata in the Control UI **Devices** page
and the macOS app's **Instances** tab.
This page covers the Gateway client roster. To detect the Mac you most recently
used and route node alerts there, see
[Active computer presence](/nodes/presence).
## Presence fields (what shows up)
Presence entries are structured objects with fields like:
- `instanceId` (optional but strongly recommended): stable client identity (usually `connect.client.instanceId`)
- `host`: human-friendly host name
- `ip`: best-effort IP address
- `version`: client version string
- `deviceFamily` / `modelIdentifier`: hardware hints
- `mode`: `ui`, `webchat`, `cli`, `backend`, `node`, `probe`, `test`
- `lastInputSeconds`: seconds since last user input, if known
- `reason`: free-form client-supplied string; the Gateway itself only emits `self`, `connect`, and `disconnect`
- `deviceId`, `roles`, `scopes`: device identity and role/scope hints from the connect handshake
- `ts`: last update timestamp (ms since epoch)
## Producers (where presence comes from)
Presence entries are produced by multiple sources and **merged**.
### 1) Gateway self entry
The Gateway always seeds a "self" entry at startup so UIs show the gateway host
even before any clients connect.
### 2) WebSocket connect
Every WS client begins with a `connect` request. On successful handshake the
Gateway upserts a presence entry for that connection.
#### Why ephemeral control-plane connections do not show up
CLI commands, backend RPC clients, and probes often connect briefly. To avoid
retaining that churn for the full presence TTL, clients in `cli`, `backend`,
or `probe` mode are **not** turned into presence entries. Test-mode clients
stay tracked because test suites use them as stand-ins for real clients.
### 3) `system-event` beacons
Clients can send richer periodic beacons via the `system-event` method. The mac
app uses this to report host name, IP, and `lastInputSeconds`.
### 4) Node connects (role: node)
When a node connects over the Gateway WebSocket with `role: node`, the Gateway
upserts a presence entry for that node (same flow as other WS clients).
## Merge + dedupe rules (why `instanceId` matters)
Presence entries are stored in a single in-memory map, keyed case-insensitively
by the first available of, in order: a paired device id, `connect.client.instanceId`,
or the per-connection id as a last resort.
Ephemeral control-plane clients are excluded from tracking entirely (see
above), so their connection ids never become keys. For every other client, the
connection id fallback means a client that reconnects without a stable
`instanceId` shows up as a **duplicate** row.
## TTL and bounded size
Presence is intentionally ephemeral:
- **TTL:** entries older than 5 minutes are pruned
- **Max entries:** 200 (oldest dropped first)
This keeps the list fresh and avoids unbounded memory growth.
## Remote/tunnel caveat (loopback IPs)
When a client connects over an SSH tunnel / local port forward, the Gateway
may see the remote address as `127.0.0.1`. To avoid recording that tunnel
address as the client's IP, connect handling omits `ip` entirely for
detected-local (loopback) clients rather than writing the loopback address
into the entry.
## Consumers
### Control UI Devices page
The **Devices** page joins `system-presence` with durable pairing and node
records. It pins the Gateway self beacon first and uses matching device or
instance ids for live platform, version, model, and input-recency metadata.
### macOS Instances tab
The macOS app renders the output of `system-presence` and applies a small status
indicator (Active/Idle/Stale) based on the age of the last update.
## Debugging tips
- To see the raw list, call `system-presence` against the Gateway.
- If you see duplicates:
- confirm clients send a stable `client.instanceId` in the handshake
- confirm periodic beacons use the same `instanceId`
- check whether the connection-derived entry is missing `instanceId` (duplicates are expected)
## Related
<CardGroup cols={2}>
<Card title="Active computer presence" href="/nodes/presence" icon="computer-mouse">
How physical Mac input selects an active node and routes connection alerts.
</Card>
<Card title="Typing indicators" href="/concepts/typing-indicators" icon="ellipsis">
When typing indicators are sent and how to tune them.
</Card>
<Card title="Streaming and chunking" href="/concepts/streaming" icon="bars-staggered">
Outbound streaming, chunking, and per-channel formatting.
</Card>
<Card title="Gateway architecture" href="/concepts/architecture" icon="diagram-project">
Gateway components and the WebSocket protocol that drives presence updates.
</Card>
<Card title="Gateway protocol" href="/gateway/protocol" icon="plug">
The wire protocol for `connect`, `system-event`, and `system-presence`.
</Card>
</CardGroup>