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Source-grounded rewrite of 529 published docs pages with per-unit information-loss verification: 1,713 factual corrections cited to src/**, generated surfaces regenerated, frontmatter titles preserved for i18n, release notes pages untouched. All docs gates green. Closes #100141
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Markdown
231 lines
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Markdown
---
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summary: "Remote access using Gateway WS, SSH tunnels, and tailnets"
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read_when:
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- Running or troubleshooting remote gateway setups
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title: "Remote access"
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---
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OpenClaw runs one Gateway (the master) on a host and connects every client to it. The Gateway owns sessions, auth profiles, channels, and state; everything else is a client.
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- **Operators** (you, or the macOS app): direct LAN/Tailnet WebSocket is simplest when the Gateway is reachable; SSH tunneling is the universal fallback.
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- **Nodes** (iOS/Android and other devices): connect to the Gateway **WebSocket** (LAN/tailnet or SSH tunnel).
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## The core idea
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The Gateway WebSocket binds to **loopback** by default, on port `18789` (`gateway.port`). For remote use, either expose it through Tailscale Serve / a trusted LAN-Tailnet bind, or forward the loopback port over SSH.
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## Topology options
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| Setup | Where the Gateway runs | Best for |
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| --------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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| Always-on Gateway in your tailnet | Persistent host (VPS or home server), reached via Tailscale or SSH | Laptops that sleep often but need the agent always-on. See [exe.dev](/install/exe-dev) (easy VM) or [Hetzner](/install/hetzner) (production VPS). |
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| Home desktop | Desktop; laptop connects remotely via the macOS app's remote mode (Settings → Connection → OpenClaw runs) | Keeping the agent on hardware that stays powered on. Runbook: [macOS remote access](/platforms/mac/remote). |
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| Laptop | Laptop, exposed safely via SSH tunnel or Tailscale Serve (keep `gateway.bind: "loopback"`) | Single-machine setups. See [Tailscale](/gateway/tailscale) and [Web](/web). |
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For the always-on and laptop setups, prefer keeping `gateway.bind: "loopback"` and using **Tailscale Serve** for the Control UI, or a trusted LAN/Tailnet bind with `gateway.remote.transport: "direct"`. SSH tunnel is the fallback that works from any machine.
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## Command flow (what runs where)
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One Gateway owns state and channels; nodes are peripherals. Example (Telegram message routed to a node tool):
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1. Telegram message arrives at the **Gateway**.
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2. Gateway runs the **agent**, which decides whether to call a node tool.
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3. Gateway calls the **node** over the Gateway WebSocket (`node.invoke` RPC).
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4. Node returns the result; Gateway replies to Telegram.
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Nodes do not run the Gateway service. Only one Gateway should run per host unless you intentionally run isolated profiles (see [Multiple gateways](/gateway/multiple-gateways)). macOS app "node mode" is just a node client over the Gateway WebSocket.
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## SSH tunnel (CLI + tools)
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```bash
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ssh -N -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789 user@gateway-host
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```
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With the tunnel up, `openclaw health` and `openclaw status --deep` reach the remote Gateway via `ws://127.0.0.1:18789`. `openclaw gateway status`, `openclaw gateway health`, `openclaw gateway probe`, and `openclaw gateway call` can also target a forwarded URL via `--url`.
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<Note>
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Replace `18789` with your configured `gateway.port` (or `--port` / `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT`).
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</Note>
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<Warning>
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`--url` never falls back to config or environment credentials. Pass `--token` or `--password` explicitly; without them the client sends no credentials and the connection fails if the target Gateway requires auth.
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</Warning>
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## CLI remote defaults
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Persist a remote target so CLI commands use it by default:
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```json5
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{
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gateway: {
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mode: "remote",
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remote: {
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url: "ws://127.0.0.1:18789",
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token: "your-token",
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},
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},
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}
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```
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When the Gateway is loopback-only, keep the URL at `ws://127.0.0.1:18789` and open the SSH tunnel first. In the macOS app's SSH-tunnel transport, the discovered Gateway hostname goes in `gateway.remote.sshTarget` (`user@host` or `user@host:port`); `gateway.remote.url` stays the local tunnel URL. If the remote port differs from the local one, set `gateway.remote.remotePort`.
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Host-key verification is strict by default (`gateway.remote.sshHostKeyPolicy: "strict"`). Set it to `"openssh"` to delegate to your effective OpenSSH config instead; review your user and system SSH settings before enabling it.
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For a Gateway already reachable on a trusted LAN or Tailnet, use direct mode:
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```json5
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{
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gateway: {
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mode: "remote",
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remote: {
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transport: "direct",
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url: "ws://192.168.0.202:18789",
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token: "your-token",
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},
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},
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}
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```
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## Credential precedence
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Gateway credential resolution follows one shared contract across call/probe/status paths and Discord exec-approval monitoring. Node-host uses the same contract with one local-mode exception (it ignores `gateway.remote.*`).
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- Explicit credentials (`--token`, `--password`, or a tool's `gatewayToken`) always win on call paths that accept explicit auth.
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- URL override safety:
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- CLI `--url` never reuses implicit config/env credentials.
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- Env `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_URL` may use env credentials only (`OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN` / `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PASSWORD`).
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- Local mode defaults:
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- token: `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN` -> `gateway.auth.token` -> `gateway.remote.token` (remote fallback only when the local token is unset)
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- password: `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PASSWORD` -> `gateway.auth.password` -> `gateway.remote.password` (remote fallback only when the local password is unset)
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- Remote mode defaults:
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- token: `gateway.remote.token` -> `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN` -> `gateway.auth.token`
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- password: `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PASSWORD` -> `gateway.remote.password` -> `gateway.auth.password`
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- Node-host local-mode exception: `gateway.remote.token` / `gateway.remote.password` are ignored.
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- Remote probe/status token checks are strict by default: they use `gateway.remote.token` only (no local token fallback) when targeting remote mode.
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- Gateway env overrides use `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_*` only.
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## Chat UI remote access
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WebChat has no separate HTTP port; the SwiftUI chat UI connects directly to the Gateway WebSocket.
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- Forward `18789` over SSH (see above), then connect clients to `ws://127.0.0.1:18789`.
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- For LAN/Tailnet direct mode, connect clients to the configured private `ws://` or secure `wss://` URL.
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- On macOS, the app's remote mode manages the selected transport automatically.
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## macOS app remote mode
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The macOS menu bar app drives the same setup end-to-end: remote status checks, WebChat, and Voice Wake forwarding. Runbook: [macOS remote access](/platforms/mac/remote).
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## Security rules (remote/VPN)
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Keep the Gateway **loopback-only** unless you are sure you need a bind.
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- **Loopback + SSH/Tailscale Serve** is the safest default (no public exposure).
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- Plaintext `ws://` is accepted for loopback, private/LAN (RFC 1918), link-local, CGNAT, `.local`, and `.ts.net` hosts. Public remote hosts must use `wss://`.
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- **Non-loopback binds** (`lan`/`tailnet`/`custom`, or `auto` when loopback is unavailable) must use Gateway auth: token, password, or an identity-aware reverse proxy with `gateway.auth.mode: "trusted-proxy"`.
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- `gateway.remote.token` / `.password` are client credential sources; they do not configure server auth by themselves.
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- Local call paths can use `gateway.remote.*` as a fallback only when `gateway.auth.*` is unset.
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- If `gateway.auth.token` / `gateway.auth.password` is explicitly configured via SecretRef and unresolved, resolution fails closed (no remote fallback masking).
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- `gateway.remote.tlsFingerprint` pins the remote TLS cert for `wss://`, including macOS direct mode. Without a stored pin, macOS only pins on first use after normal system trust passes; self-signed or private-CA Gateways need an explicit fingerprint or Remote over SSH.
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- **Tailscale Serve** can authenticate Control UI/WebSocket traffic via identity headers when `gateway.auth.allowTailscale: true`. HTTP API endpoints do not use that header auth and instead follow the Gateway's normal HTTP auth mode. This tokenless flow assumes the Gateway host is trusted; set it to `false` for shared-secret auth everywhere.
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- **Trusted-proxy** auth expects a non-loopback identity-aware proxy by default. Same-host loopback reverse proxies require explicit `gateway.auth.trustedProxy.allowLoopback = true`.
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- Treat browser control like operator access: tailnet-only plus deliberate node pairing.
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Deep dive: [Security](/gateway/security).
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### macOS: persistent SSH tunnel via LaunchAgent
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For macOS clients, the easiest persistent setup uses an SSH `LocalForward` config entry plus a LaunchAgent that keeps the tunnel alive across reboots and crashes.
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#### Step 1: add SSH config
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Edit `~/.ssh/config`:
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```ssh
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Host remote-gateway
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HostName <REMOTE_IP>
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User <REMOTE_USER>
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LocalForward 18789 127.0.0.1:18789
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IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa
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```
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Replace `<REMOTE_IP>` and `<REMOTE_USER>` with your values.
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#### Step 2: copy SSH key (one-time)
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```bash
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ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa <REMOTE_USER>@<REMOTE_IP>
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```
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#### Step 3: configure the gateway token
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```bash
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openclaw config set gateway.remote.token "<your-token>"
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```
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Use `gateway.remote.password` instead if the remote Gateway uses password auth. `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN` is still valid as a shell-level override, but the durable remote-client setup is `gateway.remote.token` / `gateway.remote.password`.
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#### Step 4: create the LaunchAgent
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Save as `~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.ssh-tunnel.plist`:
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```xml
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
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<plist version="1.0">
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<dict>
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<key>Label</key>
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<string>ai.openclaw.ssh-tunnel</string>
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<key>ProgramArguments</key>
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<array>
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<string>/usr/bin/ssh</string>
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<string>-N</string>
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<string>remote-gateway</string>
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</array>
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<key>KeepAlive</key>
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<true/>
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<key>RunAtLoad</key>
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<true/>
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</dict>
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</plist>
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```
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#### Step 5: load the LaunchAgent
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```bash
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launchctl bootstrap gui/$UID ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.ssh-tunnel.plist
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```
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The tunnel starts automatically at login, restarts on crash, and keeps the forwarded port live.
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<Note>
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If you have a leftover `com.openclaw.ssh-tunnel` LaunchAgent from an older setup, unload and delete it.
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</Note>
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#### Troubleshooting
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```bash
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# Check if the tunnel is running
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ps aux | grep "ssh -N remote-gateway" | grep -v grep
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lsof -i :18789
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# Restart the tunnel
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launchctl kickstart -k gui/$UID/ai.openclaw.ssh-tunnel
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# Stop the tunnel
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launchctl bootout gui/$UID/ai.openclaw.ssh-tunnel
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```
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| Config entry | What it does |
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| ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
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| `LocalForward 18789 127.0.0.1:18789` | Forwards local port 18789 to remote port 18789 |
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| `ssh -N` | SSH without executing remote commands (port forwarding only) |
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| `KeepAlive` | Restarts the tunnel automatically if it crashes |
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| `RunAtLoad` | Starts the tunnel when the LaunchAgent loads at login |
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## Related
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- [Tailscale](/gateway/tailscale)
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- [Authentication](/gateway/authentication)
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- [Remote gateway setup](/gateway/remote-gateway-readme)
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