The Gateway serves a small browser Control UI (Vite + Lit) from the same port as the Gateway WebSocket:

• default: http://<host>:18789/
• optional prefix: set gateway.controlUi.basePath (e.g. /openclaw)

Capabilities live in Control UI. This page focuses on bind modes, security, and web-facing surfaces.

When hooks.enabled=true, the Gateway also exposes a small webhook endpoint on the same HTTP server. See Gateway configuration → hooks for auth + payloads.

The Control UI is enabled by default when assets are present (dist/control-ui). You can control it via config:

{
  gateway: {
    controlUi: { enabled: true, basePath: "/openclaw" }, // basePath optional
  },
}

Keep the Gateway on loopback and let Tailscale Serve proxy it:

{
  gateway: {
    bind: "loopback",
    tailscale: { mode: "serve" },
  },
}

Then start the gateway:

openclaw gateway

Open:

• https://<magicdns>/ (or your configured gateway.controlUi.basePath)

{
  gateway: {
    bind: "tailnet",
    controlUi: { enabled: true },
    auth: { mode: "token", token: "your-token" },
  },
}

Then start the gateway (token required for non-loopback binds):

openclaw gateway

Open:

• http://<tailscale-ip>:18789/ (or your configured gateway.controlUi.basePath)

{
  gateway: {
    bind: "loopback",
    tailscale: { mode: "funnel" },
    auth: { mode: "password" }, // or OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PASSWORD
  },
}

• Gateway auth is required by default (token/password or Tailscale identity headers).
• Non-loopback binds still require a shared token/password (gateway.auth or env).
• The wizard generates a gateway token by default (even on loopback).
• The UI sends connect.params.auth.token or connect.params.auth.password.
• With Serve, Tailscale identity headers can satisfy auth when gateway.auth.allowTailscale is true (no token/password required). Set gateway.auth.allowTailscale: false to require explicit credentials. See Tailscale and Security.
• gateway.tailscale.mode: "funnel" requires gateway.auth.mode: "password" (shared password).

The Gateway serves static files from dist/control-ui. Build them with:

pnpm ui:build # auto-installs UI deps on first run