f624b1d246
* test(security): add coverage tests before security fixes
- scan-paths.ts: 100% line coverage (new test file, previously zero)
- windows-acl.ts: 100% line coverage (SID bypass, whoami throw, no-user null return)
- external-content.ts: 99% (line 248 defensive overlap guard, unreachable)
- skill-scanner.ts: 93% (lines 293-294/330/571 are defensive guards for
future extensibility, unreachable with current rules/patterns)
200+ tests covering TOCTOU paths, cache invalidation, forced-file escapes,
dir-entry-cache hit, SID world-bypass, diacritic-strip fallback,
fullwidth homoglyph markers, and more.
* fix(security): 5 security hardening fixes in src/security/
scan-paths: default requireRealpath to false (safe). All production callers
already pass requireRealpath: true; default callers are now secure.
windows-acl: block world-equivalent SIDs (S-1-1-0 Everyone etc.) from being
added to trusted set via USERSID env var.
windows-acl: log resolveCurrentUserSid failures instead of bare catch{}.
audit-extra: wrap JSON.parse in readPluginManifestExtensions with try-catch.
Malformed package.json returns [] instead of crashing the audit.
audit-extra: depth guard in listWorkspaceSkillMarkdownFiles to prevent
resource exhaustion from deep symlink cycles.
audit-extra: 2s timeout on fs.realpath in collectWorkspaceSkillSymlinkEscapeFindings
to protect against hanging on slow/network filesystems.
audit-extra: warn about phantom entries in plugins.allow that don't match
any installed plugin (pre-approval exploitation vector).
media-understanding/types: add allowPrivateNetwork to transport overrides
(duplicate of PR #66967, required for tsgo to pass here).
* fix(security): address security review findings in audit-extra.async.ts
Issue 1 — Symlink escape audit bypass on realpath timeout:
When realpathWithTimeout returns null (timeout or failure), the previous code
called 'continue', silently skipping the escape check. An attacker with a
symlink to a slow/network filesystem could hang realpath to prevent escape
detection. Now treats unverifiable symlinks as potential escapes and includes
them in the finding.
Issue 2 — Malformed package.json hides extension entrypoints from deep scan:
readPluginManifestExtensions previously swallowed JSON.parse errors and
returned [], which a malicious plugin could exploit by crafting a malformed
package.json to hide its openclaw.extensions entrypoints from the deep code
scanner. Now re-throws the parse error (with cause) so the caller in
collectPluginsCodeSafetyFindings can surface a warn finding and alert the
user, while still scanning the plugin directory via getCodeSafetySummary.
* fix(security): address PR review findings (P1 + P2)
P1 — BFS realpath in listWorkspaceSkillMarkdownFiles lacks timeout:
Extract realpathWithTimeout to module scope so the BFS dequeue loop
uses the same 2 s guard as the outer escape-detection callers. Previously
only the per-workspace and per-skill-file realpaths had the timeout;
a hanging NFS/SMB directory entry inside the BFS could still block
indefinitely.
P1 (acknowledged limitation) — Promise.race leaves the underlying
fs.realpath call running after timeout. fs.realpath cannot be cancelled
once submitted to libuv. Callers are sequential (one await at a time),
so at most one worker thread is occupied; the OS will eventually time
out the stuck call. This is documented in the module-level JSDoc.
P2 — Phantom allowlist check incorrectly flags bundled plugin IDs:
listChannelPlugins() returns bundled channel plugin IDs (telegram,
discord, browser, etc.) that are never in stateDir/extensions.
Add bundledPluginIds exclusion so the phantom-entry finding is scoped
to user-installed extension IDs only.
P2 — Rename MAX_SYMLINK_DEPTH / depthGuard to MAX_TOTAL_DIR_VISITS /
totalDirVisits to accurately reflect that the guard caps total BFS
iterations (2_000 * 20 = 40_000), not per-path symlink depth.
* fix(security): clean up realpathWithTimeout timer and add regression tests
- Clear the timer handle when fs.realpath resolves before the deadline,
preventing timer accumulation during large audit runs with many files.
- Add .unref() on the timer so it cannot hold the process alive while
waiting on a potentially hanging NFS/SMB path.
Regression tests added for three audit-extra.async security fixes:
- manifest parse error: malformed plugin package.json surfaces
plugins.code_safety.manifest_parse_error (audit-extra.async.test.ts)
- phantom allowlist with bundled exclusion: bundled channel plugin IDs
are excluded from plugins.allow_phantom_entries warnings; non-installed
non-bundled IDs are correctly reported (audit-plugins-phantom.test.ts)
- unverifiable realpath escape: fs.realpath failure / timeout produces a
skills.workspace.symlink_escape finding with 'realpath timed out' in
the detail (audit-workspace-skill-escape.test.ts)
* chore(security): add TODO for structured logger in windows-acl resolveCurrentUserSid
console.warn is acceptable short-term but may be noisy on constrained
Windows hosts; note the follow-up in-code so it is not lost.
* chore: drop unrelated formatting churn from security PR
Restores extensions/memory-lancedb/config.ts and
src/agents/pi-embedded-helpers/errors.ts to their origin/main state.
These were line-wrap-only formatting changes with no relation to the
security fixes in this branch.
* fix(security): address Codex P2 review findings
1. Normalize plugins.allow entries through normalizePluginId before
phantom-entry filtering so that bundled plugin aliases and legacy IDs
are correctly excluded. Without this, valid allow entries that resolve
via alias normalization could generate false-positive phantom warnings.
2. Surface a skills.workspace.scan_truncated warn finding when the BFS
visit cap (MAX_TOTAL_DIR_VISITS) is hit mid-traversal. Previously the
scanner silently returned partial results, allowing escaped SKILL.md
symlinks in the unvisited tree to go undetected.
listWorkspaceSkillMarkdownFiles now returns {skillFilePaths, truncated}
and collectWorkspaceSkillSymlinkEscapeFindings emits the new finding
when truncated is true.
Regression test added for the truncation path using a mocked readdir
that fills the queue past the cap (40 001 fake entries) and a mocked
realpath for zero-I/O iteration speed.
---------
Co-authored-by: copilot-swe-agent[bot] <198982749+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
🦞 OpenClaw — Personal AI Assistant
EXFOLIATE! EXFOLIATE!
OpenClaw is a personal AI assistant you run on your own devices. It answers you on the channels you already use. It can speak and listen on macOS/iOS/Android, and can render a live Canvas you control. The Gateway is just the control plane — the product is the assistant.
If you want a personal, single-user assistant that feels local, fast, and always-on, this is it.
Supported channels include: WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Google Chat, Signal, iMessage, BlueBubbles, IRC, Microsoft Teams, Matrix, Feishu, LINE, Mattermost, Nextcloud Talk, Nostr, Synology Chat, Tlon, Twitch, Zalo, Zalo Personal, WeChat, QQ, WebChat.
Website · Docs · Vision · DeepWiki · Getting Started · Updating · Showcase · FAQ · Onboarding · Nix · Docker · Discord
New install? Start here: Getting started
Preferred setup: run openclaw onboard in your terminal.
OpenClaw Onboard guides you step by step through setting up the gateway, workspace, channels, and skills. It is the recommended CLI setup path and works on macOS, Linux, and Windows (via WSL2; strongly recommended).
Works with npm, pnpm, or bun.
Sponsors
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Subscriptions (OAuth):
- OpenAI (ChatGPT/Codex)
Model note: while many providers and models are supported, prefer a current flagship model from the provider you trust and already use. See Onboarding.
Install (recommended)
Runtime: Node 24 (recommended) or Node 22.16+.
npm install -g openclaw@latest
# or: pnpm add -g openclaw@latest
openclaw onboard --install-daemon
OpenClaw Onboard installs the Gateway daemon (launchd/systemd user service) so it stays running.
Quick start (TL;DR)
Runtime: Node 24 (recommended) or Node 22.16+.
Full beginner guide (auth, pairing, channels): Getting started
openclaw onboard --install-daemon
openclaw gateway --port 18789 --verbose
# Send a message
openclaw message send --to +1234567890 --message "Hello from OpenClaw"
# Talk to the assistant (optionally deliver back to any connected channel: WhatsApp/Telegram/Slack/Discord/Google Chat/Signal/iMessage/BlueBubbles/IRC/Microsoft Teams/Matrix/Feishu/LINE/Mattermost/Nextcloud Talk/Nostr/Synology Chat/Tlon/Twitch/Zalo/Zalo Personal/WeChat/QQ/WebChat)
openclaw agent --message "Ship checklist" --thinking high
Upgrading? Updating guide (and run openclaw doctor).
Models config + CLI: Models. Auth profile rotation + fallbacks: Model failover.
Security defaults (DM access)
OpenClaw connects to real messaging surfaces. Treat inbound DMs as untrusted input.
Full security guide: Security
Default behavior on Telegram/WhatsApp/Signal/iMessage/Microsoft Teams/Discord/Google Chat/Slack:
- DM pairing (
dmPolicy="pairing"/channels.discord.dmPolicy="pairing"/channels.slack.dmPolicy="pairing"; legacy:channels.discord.dm.policy,channels.slack.dm.policy): unknown senders receive a short pairing code and the bot does not process their message. - Approve with:
openclaw pairing approve <channel> <code>(then the sender is added to a local allowlist store). - Public inbound DMs require an explicit opt-in: set
dmPolicy="open"and include"*"in the channel allowlist (allowFrom/channels.discord.allowFrom/channels.slack.allowFrom; legacy:channels.discord.dm.allowFrom,channels.slack.dm.allowFrom).
Run openclaw doctor to surface risky/misconfigured DM policies.
Highlights
- Local-first Gateway — single control plane for sessions, channels, tools, and events.
- Multi-channel inbox — WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Google Chat, Signal, BlueBubbles (iMessage), iMessage (legacy), IRC, Microsoft Teams, Matrix, Feishu, LINE, Mattermost, Nextcloud Talk, Nostr, Synology Chat, Tlon, Twitch, Zalo, Zalo Personal, WeChat, QQ, WebChat, macOS, iOS/Android.
- Multi-agent routing — route inbound channels/accounts/peers to isolated agents (workspaces + per-agent sessions).
- Voice Wake + Talk Mode — wake words on macOS/iOS and continuous voice on Android (ElevenLabs + system TTS fallback).
- Live Canvas — agent-driven visual workspace with A2UI.
- First-class tools — browser, canvas, nodes, cron, sessions, and Discord/Slack actions.
- Companion apps — macOS menu bar app + iOS/Android nodes.
- Onboarding + skills — onboarding-driven setup with bundled/managed/workspace skills.
Security model (important)
- Default: tools run on the host for the
mainsession, so the agent has full access when it is just you. - Group/channel safety: set
agents.defaults.sandbox.mode: "non-main"to run non-mainsessions inside per-session Docker sandboxes. - Typical sandbox default: allow
bash,process,read,write,edit,sessions_list,sessions_history,sessions_send,sessions_spawn; denybrowser,canvas,nodes,cron,discord,gateway. - Before exposing anything remotely, read Security, Docker sandboxing, and Configuration.
Operator quick refs
- Chat commands:
/status,/new,/reset,/compact,/think <level>,/verbose on|off,/trace on|off,/usage off|tokens|full,/restart,/activation mention|always - Session tools:
sessions_list,sessions_history,sessions_send - Skills registry: ClawHub
- Architecture overview: Architecture
Docs by goal
- New here: Getting started, Onboarding, Updating
- Channel setup: Channels index, WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack
- Apps + nodes: macOS, iOS, Android, Nodes
- Config + security: Configuration, Security, Docker sandboxing
- Remote + web: Gateway, Remote access, Tailscale, Web surfaces
- Tools + automation: Tools, Skills, Cron jobs, Webhooks, Gmail Pub/Sub
- Internals: Architecture, Agent, Session model, Gateway protocol
- Troubleshooting: Channel troubleshooting, Logging, Docs home
Apps (optional)
The Gateway alone delivers a great experience. All apps are optional and add extra features.
If you plan to build/run companion apps, follow the platform runbooks below.
macOS (OpenClaw.app) (optional)
- Menu bar control for the Gateway and health.
- Voice Wake + push-to-talk overlay.
- WebChat + debug tools.
- Remote gateway control over SSH.
Note: signed builds required for macOS permissions to stick across rebuilds (see macOS Permissions).
iOS node (optional)
- Pairs as a node over the Gateway WebSocket (device pairing).
- Voice trigger forwarding + Canvas surface.
- Controlled via
openclaw nodes ….
Runbook: iOS connect.
Android node (optional)
- Pairs as a WS node via device pairing (
openclaw devices ...). - Exposes Connect/Chat/Voice tabs plus Canvas, Camera, Screen capture, and Android device command families.
- Runbook: Android connect.
From source (development)
Prefer pnpm for builds from source. Bun is optional for running TypeScript directly.
git clone https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git
cd openclaw
pnpm install
pnpm ui:build # auto-installs UI deps on first run
pnpm build
pnpm openclaw onboard --install-daemon
# Dev loop (auto-reload on source/config changes)
pnpm gateway:watch
Note: pnpm openclaw ... runs TypeScript directly (via tsx). pnpm build produces dist/ for running via Node / the packaged openclaw binary.
Development channels
- stable: tagged releases (
vYYYY.M.DorvYYYY.M.D-<patch>), npm dist-taglatest. - beta: prerelease tags (
vYYYY.M.D-beta.N), npm dist-tagbeta(macOS app may be missing). - dev: moving head of
main, npm dist-tagdev(when published).
Switch channels (git + npm): openclaw update --channel stable|beta|dev.
Details: Development channels.
Agent workspace + skills
- Workspace root:
~/.openclaw/workspace(configurable viaagents.defaults.workspace). - Injected prompt files:
AGENTS.md,SOUL.md,TOOLS.md. - Skills:
~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/<skill>/SKILL.md.
Configuration
Minimal ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json (model + defaults):
{
agent: {
model: "<provider>/<model-id>",
},
}
Full configuration reference (all keys + examples).
Star History
Molty
OpenClaw was built for Molty, a space lobster AI assistant. 🦞 by Peter Steinberger and the community.
Community
See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines, maintainers, and how to submit PRs. AI/vibe-coded PRs welcome! 🤖
Special thanks to Mario Zechner for his support and for pi-mono. Special thanks to Adam Doppelt for the lobster.bot domain.
Thanks to all clawtributors:
![github-actions[bot]](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/in/15368?v=4&s=48)
![clawdinator[bot]](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/in/2607181?v=4&s=48)
![google-labs-jules[bot]](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/in/842251?v=4&s=48)
