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Nodes and media
Run commands on a node
Allowlist the commands
Exec approvals are per node host. Add allowlist entries from the gateway:
Approvals live on the node host in
~/.openclaw/state/openclaw.sqlite#exec_approvals_config.
Point exec at the node
Configure defaults (gateway config):
Or per session:
Once set, any exec call with host=node runs on the node host (subject to the node allowlist/approvals).
host=auto will not implicitly choose the node on its own. An explicit per-call host=node request is allowed from auto only when no sandbox runtime is active; while a sandbox runtime is active, auto rejects it. To run on a node from a sandboxed session, or to make node exec the session default, set tools.exec.host=node or /exec host=node ... explicitly.
Related:
Channel and subagent context
Nodes advertising system.run.execution-context.v1 receive optional
executionContext on both system.run.prepare and system.run. Its only fields
are senderId, chatId (nonempty strings), and subagent (true when present).
The node injects OPENCLAW_CHANNEL_CONTEXT with the sender/chat identity JSON and
OPENCLAW_SUBAGENT_EXEC=1 into the child environment. These routing hints do not
grant session, turn, or command approval authority, and do not modify approved argv.
When context is present, it replaces both routing markers, including inherited
values. Omitted fields do not retain a previous channel or subagent hint. Requests
without typed context keep their existing environment behavior.
Custom env overrides still follow the node's existing restrictions. Supporting
this context does not enable arbitrary environment overrides on Windows companion
nodes that reject them. A node must support the context through its preparation,
approval, and launch paths before advertising the capability.
Update both the Gateway and node to use this transport, and approve an updated
node capability surface in Devices if requested after reconnecting. Older Gateways keep sending
the markers through env; newer Gateways do the same for nodes without the
capability. That compatibility path preserves existing behavior, including
custom-env-not-supported on older Windows companions. The Gateway does not omit
markers to bypass that rejection. An unsupported context request is rejected
before dispatch; reconnecting a node without the capability does not silently
downgrade a prepared request. No protocol-version or configuration change is needed.
For openclaw agent --local connected to a remote Gateway, the CLI also checks the
Gateway's advertised capability. An older Gateway selects the existing env
transport even with an updated node. A Gateway downgrade after discovery rejects
the typed request before dispatch rather than dropping its context.
Invoking commands
Low-level (raw RPC):
nodes invoke blocks system.run and system.run.prepare; those commands only run through the exec tool with host=node (see above). Higher-level helpers exist for the common "give the agent a MEDIA attachment" workflows (camera, screen, location: see Node device commands).
Long-running streaming node commands use additive node.invoke.progress
events. Each event carries the invoke ID, a zero-based sequence number, and a
bounded UTF-8 text chunk; the Gateway orders chunks before delivering them to
the caller. The existing node.invoke.result remains the single terminal
response. Streaming callers can set an inactivity deadline that starts with the
first progress event and resets after later progress while retaining the
invoke's separate hard timeout during approval and execution. Result, hard
timeout, inactivity timeout, and node disconnect all discard pending stream
state. Caller cancellation emits node.invoke.cancel with the published
NodeInvokeCancelEvent payload (invokeId and nodeId); the node host then
terminates the matching process tree. Existing request/response commands are unchanged.
Codex sessions on a node
A session host using the Codex runtime also needs the codex plugin installed and
enabled in the node host's OpenClaw configuration. --session-host alone does not
install or enable this plugin. On the node, install it if missing, then enable it:
If you run openclaw node run in the foreground, stop and restart that process
instead. Approve the node's updated command surface after it reconnects. The Gateway
must also allow codex.exec-server.stdio.v1 in gateway.nodes.commands.allow without
a matching deny entry. Codex execution keeps its separate placement approval; enabling
the plugin does not grant that approval.
environments.list with runtimeId: "codex" reports a requiredNodeCommand state and
an actionable message when the node does not advertise the command, awaits pairing
approval, or is blocked by Gateway policy. A missing node advertisement requires
installing and enabling the plugin on the node; changing the Gateway allowlist alone
cannot add it. See Install plugins for installation sources.
See Codex paired-device placement.
Exec node binding
With no node target set, exec host=node selects the sole paired, connected node that supports system.run. Other paired devices do not make the selection ambiguous. If multiple executable nodes are connected, choose a target per call or bind exec to a specific node; the active Canvas target does not select the exec host. A bound or explicit target that is offline or cannot execute commands is rejected rather than redirected to another node.
A binding sets the default node for exec host=node and can be overridden per agent.
Global default:
Per-agent override:
Unset the binding to use the sole eligible node, or choose a target per call when multiple eligible nodes are connected:
