openclaw/docs/platforms/mac/canvas.md

summary, read_when, title

summary	read_when	title
Agent-controlled Canvas panel embedded via WKWebView + custom URL scheme	Implementing the macOS Canvas panel Adding agent controls for visual workspace Debugging WKWebView canvas loads	Canvas

The macOS app embeds an agent-controlled Canvas panel using WKWebView, a lightweight visual workspace for HTML/CSS/JS, A2UI, and small interactive UI surfaces.

Where Canvas lives

Canvas state is stored under Application Support:

• ~/Library/Application Support/OpenClaw/canvas/<session>/...

The Canvas panel serves those files via a custom URL scheme, openclaw-canvas://<session>/<path>:

• openclaw-canvas://main/ -> <canvasRoot>/main/index.html
• openclaw-canvas://main/assets/app.css -> <canvasRoot>/main/assets/app.css
• openclaw-canvas://main/widgets/todo/ -> <canvasRoot>/main/widgets/todo/index.html

If no index.html exists at the root, the app shows a built-in scaffold page.

Panel behavior

• Borderless, resizable panel anchored near the menu bar (or mouse cursor).
• Presenting Canvas does not switch apps or steal keyboard focus.
• Remembers size/position per session.
• Auto-reloads when local canvas files change.
• Only one Canvas panel is visible at a time (session switches as needed).

Canvas can be disabled from Settings -> Allow Canvas. When disabled, canvas node commands return CANVAS_DISABLED.

Agent API surface

Canvas is exposed via the Gateway WebSocket, so the agent can show/hide the panel, navigate to a path or URL, evaluate JavaScript, and capture a snapshot image:

openclaw nodes canvas present --node <id>
openclaw nodes canvas navigate --node <id> "/"
openclaw nodes canvas eval --node <id> --js "document.title"
openclaw nodes canvas snapshot --node <id>

eval and a2ui.* update content without opening or revealing the panel. Only present, navigate, or a user action shows it; after a hide, content updates continue to apply to the hidden panel. snapshot needs a visible panel and returns CANVAS_HIDDEN otherwise; run present first.

canvas.navigate accepts local canvas paths, http(s) URLs, and file:// URLs. Passing "/" shows the local scaffold or index.html.

Gateway-hosted targets under /__openclaw__/canvas/ and /__openclaw__/a2ui/ are resolved through the node session's current scoped Canvas URL. The app refreshes that short-lived capability before navigation; you do not need to construct or copy a capability URL yourself.

A2UI in Canvas

A2UI is hosted by the Gateway canvas host and rendered inside the Canvas panel. When the Gateway advertises a Canvas host, the macOS app auto-navigates to the A2UI host page on first open.

The advertised URL is capability-scoped, for example http://<gateway-host>:18789/__openclaw__/cap/<token>/__openclaw__/a2ui/?platform=macos. Treat it as ephemeral credentials, not a stable link.

A2UI commands (v0.8)

Canvas accepts A2UI v0.8 server-to-client messages: beginRendering, surfaceUpdate, dataModelUpdate, deleteSurface. createSurface (v0.9) is not supported yet.

cat > /tmp/a2ui-v0.8.jsonl <<'EOFA2'
{"surfaceUpdate":{"surfaceId":"main","components":[{"id":"root","component":{"Column":{"children":{"explicitList":["title","content"]}}}},{"id":"title","component":{"Text":{"text":{"literalString":"Canvas (A2UI v0.8)"},"usageHint":"h1"}}},{"id":"content","component":{"Text":{"text":{"literalString":"If you can read this, A2UI push works."},"usageHint":"body"}}}]}}
{"beginRendering":{"surfaceId":"main","root":"root"}}
EOFA2

openclaw nodes canvas a2ui push --jsonl /tmp/a2ui-v0.8.jsonl --node <id>

Quick smoke test:

openclaw nodes canvas a2ui push --node <id> --text "Hello from A2UI"

Triggering agent runs from Canvas

Canvas can trigger new agent runs via openclaw://agent?... deep links:

window.location.href = "openclaw://agent?message=Review%20this%20design";

Supported query parameters:

Parameter	Meaning
message	Prefilled agent prompt.
sessionKey	Stable session identifier.
thinking	Optional thinking profile.
deliver, to, channel	Delivery target.
timeoutSeconds	Optional run timeout.
key	App-generated safety token for trusted local callers.

The app prompts for confirmation unless a valid key is provided. Unkeyed links show the message and URL before approval, and ignore delivery routing fields; keyed links use the normal Gateway run path.

Security notes

• Canvas scheme blocks directory traversal; files must live under the session root.
• Local Canvas content uses a custom scheme (no loopback server required).
• External http(s) URLs are allowed only when explicitly navigated.
• Ordinary web pages are render-only. Agent actions are accepted only from the app-owned Canvas scheme or the exact capability-scoped Gateway A2UI document selected by the app; subframes, redirects, stale capabilities, and changed queries cannot dispatch actions.

Related

• macOS app
• WebChat