openclaw-gateway

name	openclaw-gateway
description	Use this project skill when Michael asks to start the OpenClaw gateway, configure OpenClaw, fix gateway hangs, compare gateway dev vs prod, edit openclaw.json, troubleshoot WebSocket connections, auth, or gateway health.

OpenClaw Gateway

Scope

Use this skill for OpenClaw gateway operations on this machine. Load references/rpc-methods.md only when RPC methods, events, auth modes, or endpoint details are needed.

Dev Vs Prod

Area	pnpm gateway:dev	openclaw gateway
Config	~/.openclaw-dev/openclaw.json	~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
Port	19001	18789
Token	auto-generated	stable token in config
Channels	often skipped	active
Local model	usually not local by default	mlx-qwen35 config

Use openclaw gateway for local Qwen3.5 testing.

Commands

openclaw gateway
openclaw gateway --allow-unconfigured
pnpm gateway:dev
curl -s http://127.0.0.1:18789/health

Control UI should be reachable at:

http://127.0.0.1:18789

Config

Primary config:

{
  "gateway": {
    "port": 18789,
    "bind": "127.0.0.1",
    "auth": { "token": "<64-chars-random>" }
  },
  "agents": {
    "default": { "provider": "mlx-qwen35" }
  }
}

Troubleshooting

Gateway hang:

1. lsof -i :18789
2. lsof -i :8087
3. If connections to Qwen3.5 are stuck, kill stale OpenClaw processes.
4. Restart with openclaw gateway.

Port already used:

lsof -i :18789

Token auth:

• token is in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
• Control UI can use device pairing or the token directly