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Nodes

A node is a companion device (macOS/iOS/Android/headless) that connects to the Gateway WebSocket (same port as operators) with role: "node" and exposes a command surface (e.g. canvas.*, camera.*, system.*) via node.invoke. Protocol details: Gateway protocol. Legacy transport: Bridge protocol (TCP JSONL; deprecated/removed for current nodes). macOS can also run in node mode: the menubar app connects to the Gateway’s WS server and exposes its local canvas/camera commands as a node (so clawdbot nodes … works against this Mac). Notes:
  • Nodes are peripherals, not gateways. They don’t run the gateway service.
  • Telegram/WhatsApp/etc. messages land on the gateway, not on nodes.

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Pairing + status

WS nodes use device pairing. Nodes present a device identity during connect; the Gateway creates a device pairing request for role: node. Approve via the devices CLI (or UI). Quick CLI: 
clawdbot devices list
clawdbot devices approve <requestId>
clawdbot devices reject <requestId>
clawdbot nodes status
clawdbot nodes describe --node <idOrNameOrIp>
Notes:
  • nodes status marks a node as paired when its device pairing role includes node.
  • node.pair.* (CLI: clawdbot nodes pending/approve/reject) is a separate gateway-owned node pairing store; it does not gate the WS connect handshake.

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Remote node host (system.run)

Use a node host when your Gateway runs on one machine and you want commands to execute on another. The model still talks to the gateway; the gateway forwards exec calls to the node host when host=node is selected.

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What runs where

  • Gateway host: receives messages, runs the model, routes tool calls.
  • Node host: executes system.run/system.which on the node machine.
  • Approvals: enforced on the node host via ~/.clawdbot/exec-approvals.json.

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Start a node host (foreground)

On the node machine: 
clawdbot node run --host <gateway-host> --port 18789 --display-name "Build Node"

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Start a node host (service)

clawdbot node install --host <gateway-host> --port 18789 --display-name "Build Node"
clawdbot node restart

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Pair + name

On the gateway host: 
clawdbot nodes pending
clawdbot nodes approve <requestId>
clawdbot nodes list
Naming options:
  • --display-name on clawdbot node run / clawdbot node install (persists in ~/.clawdbot/node.json on the node).
  • clawdbot nodes rename --node <id|name|ip> --name "Build Node" (gateway override).

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Allowlist the commands

Exec approvals are per node host. Add allowlist entries from the gateway: 
clawdbot approvals allowlist add --node <id|name|ip> "/usr/bin/uname"
clawdbot approvals allowlist add --node <id|name|ip> "/usr/bin/sw_vers"
Approvals live on the node host at ~/.clawdbot/exec-approvals.json.

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Point exec at the node

Configure defaults (gateway config): 
clawdbot config set tools.exec.host node
clawdbot config set tools.exec.security allowlist
clawdbot config set tools.exec.node "<id-or-name>"
Or per session: 
/exec host=node security=allowlist node=<id-or-name>
Once set, any exec call with host=node runs on the node host (subject to the node allowlist/approvals). Related:

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Invoking commands

Low-level (raw RPC): 
clawdbot nodes invoke --node <idOrNameOrIp> --command canvas.eval --params '{"javaScript":"location.href"}'
Higher-level helpers exist for the common “give the agent a MEDIA attachment” workflows.

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Screenshots (canvas snapshots)

If the node is showing the Canvas (WebView), canvas.snapshot returns { format, base64 }. CLI helper (writes to a temp file and prints MEDIA:<path>): 
clawdbot nodes canvas snapshot --node <idOrNameOrIp> --format png
clawdbot nodes canvas snapshot --node <idOrNameOrIp> --format jpg --max-width 1200 --quality 0.9

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Canvas controls

clawdbot nodes canvas present --node <idOrNameOrIp> --target https://example.com
clawdbot nodes canvas hide --node <idOrNameOrIp>
clawdbot nodes canvas navigate https://example.com --node <idOrNameOrIp>
clawdbot nodes canvas eval --node <idOrNameOrIp> --js "document.title"
Notes:
  • canvas present accepts URLs or local file paths (--target), plus optional --x/--y/--width/--height for positioning.
  • canvas eval accepts inline JS (--js) or a positional arg.

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A2UI (Canvas)

clawdbot nodes canvas a2ui push --node <idOrNameOrIp> --text "Hello"
clawdbot nodes canvas a2ui push --node <idOrNameOrIp> --jsonl ./payload.jsonl
clawdbot nodes canvas a2ui reset --node <idOrNameOrIp>
Notes:
  • Only A2UI v0.8 JSONL is supported (v0.9/createSurface is rejected).

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Photos + videos (node camera)

Photos (jpg): 
clawdbot nodes camera list --node <idOrNameOrIp>
clawdbot nodes camera snap --node <idOrNameOrIp>            # default: both facings (2 MEDIA lines)
clawdbot nodes camera snap --node <idOrNameOrIp> --facing front
Video clips (mp4): 
clawdbot nodes camera clip --node <idOrNameOrIp> --duration 10s
clawdbot nodes camera clip --node <idOrNameOrIp> --duration 3000 --no-audio
Notes:
  • The node must be foregrounded for canvas.* and camera.* (background calls return NODE_BACKGROUND_UNAVAILABLE).
  • Clip duration is clamped (currently <= 60s) to avoid oversized base64 payloads.
  • Android will prompt for CAMERA/RECORD_AUDIO permissions when possible; denied permissions fail with *_PERMISSION_REQUIRED.

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Screen recordings (nodes)

Nodes expose screen.record (mp4). Example: 
clawdbot nodes screen record --node <idOrNameOrIp> --duration 10s --fps 10
clawdbot nodes screen record --node <idOrNameOrIp> --duration 10s --fps 10 --no-audio
Notes:
  • screen.record requires the node app to be foregrounded.
  • Android will show the system screen-capture prompt before recording.
  • Screen recordings are clamped to <= 60s.
  • --no-audio disables microphone capture (supported on iOS/Android; macOS uses system capture audio).
  • Use --screen <index> to select a display when multiple screens are available.

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Location (nodes)

Nodes expose location.get when Location is enabled in settings. CLI helper: 
clawdbot nodes location get --node <idOrNameOrIp>
clawdbot nodes location get --node <idOrNameOrIp> --accuracy precise --max-age 15000 --location-timeout 10000
Notes:
  • Location is off by default.
  • “Always” requires system permission; background fetch is best-effort.
  • The response includes lat/lon, accuracy (meters), and timestamp.

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SMS (Android nodes)

Android nodes can expose sms.send when the user grants SMS permission and the device supports telephony. Low-level invoke: 
clawdbot nodes invoke --node <idOrNameOrIp> --command sms.send --params '{"to":"+15555550123","message":"Hello from Clawdbot"}'
Notes:
  • The permission prompt must be accepted on the Android device before the capability is advertised.
  • Wi-Fi-only devices without telephony will not advertise sms.send.

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System commands (node host / mac node)

The macOS node exposes system.run, system.notify, and system.execApprovals.get/set. The headless node host exposes system.run, system.which, and system.execApprovals.get/set. Examples: 
clawdbot nodes run --node <idOrNameOrIp> -- echo "Hello from mac node"
clawdbot nodes notify --node <idOrNameOrIp> --title "Ping" --body "Gateway ready"
Notes:
  • system.run returns stdout/stderr/exit code in the payload.
  • system.notify respects notification permission state on the macOS app.
  • system.run supports --cwd, --env KEY=VAL, --command-timeout, and --needs-screen-recording.
  • system.notify supports --priority <passive|active|timeSensitive> and --delivery <system|overlay|auto>.
  • macOS nodes drop PATH overrides; headless node hosts only accept PATH when it prepends the node host PATH.
  • On macOS node mode, system.run is gated by exec approvals in the macOS app (Settings → Exec approvals). Ask/allowlist/full behave the same as the headless node host; denied prompts return SYSTEM_RUN_DENIED.
  • On headless node host, system.run is gated by exec approvals (~/.clawdbot/exec-approvals.json).

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Exec node binding

When multiple nodes are available, you can bind exec to a specific node. This sets the default node for exec host=node (and can be overridden per agent). Global default: 
clawdbot config set tools.exec.node "node-id-or-name"
Per-agent override: 
clawdbot config get agents.list
clawdbot config set agents.list[0].tools.exec.node "node-id-or-name"
Unset to allow any node: 
clawdbot config unset tools.exec.node
clawdbot config unset agents.list[0].tools.exec.node

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Permissions map

Nodes may include a permissions map in node.list / node.describe, keyed by permission name (e.g. screenRecording, accessibility) with boolean values (true = granted).

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Headless node host (cross-platform)

Clawdbot can run a headless node host (no UI) that connects to the Gateway WebSocket and exposes system.run / system.which. This is useful on Linux/Windows or for running a minimal node alongside a server. Start it: 
clawdbot node run --host <gateway-host> --port 18789
Notes:
  • Pairing is still required (the Gateway will show a node approval prompt).
  • The node host stores its node id, token, display name, and gateway connection info in ~/.clawdbot/node.json.
  • Exec approvals are enforced locally via ~/.clawdbot/exec-approvals.json (see Exec approvals).
  • On macOS, the headless node host prefers the companion app exec host when reachable and falls back to local execution if the app is unavailable. Set CLAWDBOT_NODE_EXEC_HOST=app to require the app, or CLAWDBOT_NODE_EXEC_FALLBACK=0 to disable fallback.
  • Add --tls / --tls-fingerprint when the Gateway WS uses TLS.

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Mac node mode

  • The macOS menubar app connects to the Gateway WS server as a node (so clawdbot nodes … works against this Mac).
  • In remote mode, the app opens an SSH tunnel for the Gateway port and connects to localhost.