Policy

openclaw policy

openclaw policy is provided by the bundled Policy plugin. Policy is an enterprise conformance layer over existing OpenClaw settings. It does not add a second configuration system. policy.jsonc defines authored requirements, OpenClaw observes the active workspace as evidence, and policy health checks report drift through doctor --lint. The final conformance signal is a clean doctor --lint run; policy contributes findings to that shared lint surface instead of creating a separate health gate.

Policy currently manages configured channels, MCP servers, model providers, network SSRF posture, Gateway exposure posture, agent workspace posture, OpenClaw config secret provider/auth profile posture, and governed tool declarations. For example, IT or a workspace operator can record that Telegram is not an approved channel provider, restrict MCP servers and model refs to approved entries, require private-network fetch/browser access to remain disabled, require Gateway bind/auth/HTTP exposure to stay within reviewed bounds, require agent workspace access and tool denies to stay in a reviewed posture, require OpenClaw config SecretRefs to use managed providers, require config auth profiles to carry provider/mode metadata, require governed tools to carry risk and sensitivity metadata, then use doctor --lint as the shared conformance gate.

Use policy when a workspace needs a durable statement such as “these channels must not be enabled” or “governed tools must declare approval metadata” and a repeatable way to prove that OpenClaw still conforms to that statement. Use regular config and workspace docs alone when you only need local behavior and do not need policy findings or attestation output.

Quick start

Enable the bundled Policy plugin before first use:

openclaw plugins enable policy

When policy is enabled, doctor can load policy health checks without activating arbitrary plugins. The plugin remains enabled if policy.jsonc is missing, so doctor can report the missing artifact.

Policy is authored, not generated from the user’s current settings. A minimal policy for channels, MCP servers, model providers, network posture, Gateway exposure, agent workspace posture, OpenClaw config secret provider/auth profile posture, and tool metadata looks like this:

{
  "channels": {
    "denyRules": [
      {
        "id": "no-telegram",
        "when": { "provider": "telegram" },
        "reason": "Telegram is not approved for this workspace.",
      },
    ],
  },
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "allow": ["docs"],
      "deny": ["untrusted"],
    },
  },
  "models": {
    "providers": {
      "allow": ["openai", "anthropic"],
      "deny": ["openrouter"],
    },
  },
  "network": {
    "privateNetwork": {
      "allow": false,
    },
  },
  "gateway": {
    "exposure": {
      "allowNonLoopbackBind": false,
      "allowTailscaleFunnel": false,
    },
    "auth": {
      "requireAuth": true,
      "requireExplicitRateLimit": true,
    },
    "controlUi": {
      "allowInsecure": false,
    },
    "remote": {
      "allow": false,
    },
    "http": {
      "denyEndpoints": ["chatCompletions", "responses"],
      "requireUrlAllowlists": true,
    },
  },
  "agents": {
    "workspace": {
      "allowedAccess": ["none", "ro"],
      "denyTools": ["exec", "process", "write", "edit", "apply_patch"],
    },
  },
  "secrets": {
    "requireManagedProviders": true,
    "denySources": ["exec"],
    "allowInsecureProviders": false,
  },
  "auth": {
    "profiles": {
      "requireMetadata": ["provider", "mode"],
      "allowModes": ["api_key", "token"],
    },
  },
  "tools": {
    "requireMetadata": ["risk", "sensitivity", "owner"],
    "profiles": {
      "allow": ["messaging", "minimal"],
    },
    "fs": {
      "requireWorkspaceOnly": true,
    },
    "exec": {
      "allowSecurity": ["deny", "allowlist"],
      "requireAsk": ["always"],
      "allowHosts": ["sandbox"],
    },
    "elevated": {
      "allow": false,
    },
    "denyTools": ["group:runtime", "group:fs"],
  },
}

The rules are the authority. A category block is only a namespace; checks run when a concrete rule is present. OpenClaw reads current channels.* settings mcp.servers.*, models.providers.*, selected agent model refs, network SSRF settings, Gateway bind/auth/Control UI/Tailscale/remote/HTTP posture, OpenClaw config agent sandbox workspace access and tool deny posture, config secret provider and SecretRef provenance, config auth profile metadata, configured global/per-agent tool posture, and TOOLS.md declarations as evidence, then reports observed state that does not conform. If a policy denies non-loopback Gateway binds, omit gateway.bind only when you are willing to review the runtime default; set gateway.bind=loopback for strict config conformance. For read-only agent posture, configure sandbox mode on the applicable defaults or agent and set workspaceAccess to none or ro; omitted or off sandbox mode does not satisfy a read-only/no-write policy. agents.workspace.denyTools supports exec, process, write, edit, and apply_patch; OpenClaw config group:fs covers file mutation tools and group:runtime covers shell/process tools. Tool posture policy observes tools.profile, tools.allow, tools.alsoAllow, tools.deny, tools.fs.workspaceOnly, tools.exec.security, tools.exec.ask, tools.exec.host, tools.elevated.enabled, and the same per-agent agents.list[].tools.* overrides. It does not read runtime/operator approval state such as exec-approvals.json, and it does not enforce tool calls at runtime. Secret evidence records provider/source posture and SecretRef metadata, never raw secret values. Policy does not read or attest per-agent credential stores such as auth-profiles.json; those stores remain owned by the existing auth and credential flows.

Policy rule reference

Each policy field below is optional. A check runs only when the matching rule is present in policy.jsonc. The observed state is existing OpenClaw config or workspace metadata; policy reports drift but does not rewrite runtime behavior unless a repair path is explicitly available and enabled.

Channels

Policy field	Observed state	Use when
channels.denyRules[].when.provider	channels.* provider and enabled state	Deny configured channels from a provider such as telegram.
channels.denyRules[].reason	Finding message and repair hint context	Explain why the provider is denied.

MCP servers

Policy field	Observed state	Use when
mcp.servers.allow	mcp.servers.* ids	Require every configured MCP server to be in an allowlist.
mcp.servers.deny	mcp.servers.* ids	Deny specific configured MCP server ids.

Model providers

Policy field	Observed state	Use when
models.providers.allow	models.providers.* ids and selected model refs	Require configured providers and selected model refs to use approved providers.
models.providers.deny	models.providers.* ids and selected model refs	Deny configured providers and selected model refs by provider id.

Network

Policy field	Observed state	Use when
network.privateNetwork.allow	Private-network SSRF escape hatches	Set to false to require private-network access to stay disabled.

Gateway

Policy field	Observed state	Use when
gateway.exposure.allowNonLoopbackBind	gateway.bind	Set to false to require loopback Gateway binding.
gateway.exposure.allowTailscaleFunnel	Tailscale serve/funnel Gateway posture	Set to false to deny Tailscale Funnel exposure.
gateway.auth.requireAuth	gateway.auth.mode	Set to true to reject disabled Gateway auth.
gateway.auth.requireExplicitRateLimit	gateway.auth.rateLimit	Set to true to require explicit auth rate-limit config.
gateway.controlUi.allowInsecure	Control UI insecure auth/device/origin toggles	Set to false to deny insecure Control UI exposure toggles.
gateway.remote.allow	Remote Gateway mode/config	Set to false to deny remote Gateway mode.
gateway.http.denyEndpoints	Gateway HTTP API endpoints	Deny endpoint ids such as chatCompletions or responses.
gateway.http.requireUrlAllowlists	Gateway HTTP URL-fetch inputs	Set to true to require URL allowlists on URL-fetch inputs.

Agent workspace

Policy field	Observed state	Use when
agents.workspace.allowedAccess	agents.defaults.sandbox.workspaceAccess and agents.list[].sandbox.workspaceAccess	Allow only sandbox workspace access values such as none or ro.
agents.workspace.denyTools	Global and per-agent tool deny config	Require workspace/runtime mutation tools such as exec, process, write, edit, or apply_patch to be denied.

Secrets

Policy field	Observed state	Use when
secrets.requireManagedProviders	Config SecretRefs and secrets.providers.* declarations	Set to true to require SecretRefs to point at declared providers.
secrets.denySources	Secret provider sources and SecretRef sources	Deny sources such as exec, file, or another configured source name.
secrets.allowInsecureProviders	Insecure secret-provider posture flags	Set to false to reject providers that opt into insecure posture.

Auth profiles

Policy field	Observed state	Use when
auth.profiles.requireMetadata	auth.profiles.* provider and mode metadata	Require metadata keys such as provider and mode on config auth profiles.
auth.profiles.allowModes	auth.profiles.*.mode	Allow only supported auth profile modes such as api_key, aws-sdk, oauth, or token.

Tool metadata

Policy field	Observed state	Use when
tools.requireMetadata	Governed TOOLS.md declarations	Require governed tools to declare metadata keys such as risk, sensitivity, or owner.

Tool posture

Policy field	Observed state	Use when
tools.profiles.allow	tools.profile and agents.list[].tools.profile	Allow only tool profile ids such as minimal, messaging, or coding.
tools.fs.requireWorkspaceOnly	tools.fs.workspaceOnly and per-agent tools.fs overrides	Set to true to require workspace-only filesystem tool posture.
tools.exec.allowSecurity	tools.exec.security and per-agent exec security	Allow only exec security modes such as deny or allowlist.
tools.exec.requireAsk	tools.exec.ask and per-agent exec ask mode	Require approval posture such as always.
tools.exec.allowHosts	tools.exec.host and per-agent exec host routing	Allow only exec host routing modes such as sandbox.
tools.elevated.allow	tools.elevated.enabled and per-agent elevated posture	Set to false to require elevated tool mode to stay disabled.
tools.denyTools	tools.deny and agents.list[].tools.deny	Require configured tool deny lists to include tool ids or groups such as group:runtime and group:fs.

Run policy-only checks during authoring:

openclaw policy check
openclaw policy check --json
openclaw policy check --severity-min error

policy check runs only the policy check set and emits evidence, findings, and attestation hashes. The same findings also appear in openclaw doctor --lint when the Policy plugin is enabled.

Example clean JSON output includes stable hashes that can be recorded by an operator or supervisor:

{
  "ok": true,
  "attestation": {
    "policy": {
      "path": "policy.jsonc",
      "hash": "sha256:..."
    },
    "workspace": {
      "scope": "policy",
      "hash": "sha256:..."
    },
    "findingsHash": "sha256:...",
    "attestationHash": "sha256:..."
  },
  "checksRun": 5,
  "checksSkipped": 0,
  "findings": []
}

Configure policy

Policy config lives under plugins.entries.policy.config.

{
  "plugins": {
    "entries": {
      "policy": {
        "enabled": true,
        "config": {
          "enabled": true,
          "path": "policy.jsonc",
          "workspaceRepairs": false,
          "expectedHash": "sha256:...",
          "expectedAttestationHash": "sha256:...",
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

Setting	Purpose
enabled	Enable policy checks even before policy.jsonc exists.
workspaceRepairs	Allow doctor --fix to edit policy-managed workspace settings.
expectedHash	Optional hash-lock for the approved policy artifact.
expectedAttestationHash	Optional hash-lock for the last accepted clean policy check.
path	Workspace-relative location of the policy artifact.

Set plugins.entries.policy.config.enabled to false to disable policy checks for a workspace while leaving the plugin installed.

Tool metadata requirements are authored in policy.jsonc with tools.requireMetadata, for example ["risk", "sensitivity", "owner"].

Accept policy state

Example JSON output:

{
  "ok": true,
  "attestation": {
    "checkedAt": "2026-05-10T20:00:00.000Z",
    "policy": {
      "path": "policy.jsonc",
      "hash": "sha256:..."
    },
    "workspace": {
      "scope": "policy",
      "hash": "sha256:..."
    },
    "findingsHash": "sha256:...",
    "attestationHash": "sha256:..."
  },
  "evidence": {
    "channels": [
      {
        "id": "telegram",
        "provider": "telegram",
        "source": "oc://openclaw.config/channels/telegram",
        "enabled": false
      }
    ],
    "mcpServers": [
      {
        "id": "docs",
        "transport": "stdio",
        "source": "oc://openclaw.config/mcp/servers/docs",
        "command": "npx"
      }
    ],
    "modelProviders": [
      {
        "id": "openai",
        "source": "oc://openclaw.config/models/providers/openai"
      }
    ],
    "modelRefs": [
      {
        "ref": "openai/gpt-5.5",
        "provider": "openai",
        "model": "gpt-5.5",
        "source": "oc://openclaw.config/agents/defaults/model"
      }
    ],
    "network": [
      {
        "id": "browser-private-network",
        "source": "oc://openclaw.config/browser/ssrfPolicy/dangerouslyAllowPrivateNetwork",
        "value": false
      }
    ],
    "gatewayExposure": [
      {
        "id": "gateway-bind",
        "kind": "bind",
        "source": "oc://openclaw.config/gateway/bind",
        "value": "loopback",
        "nonLoopback": false,
        "explicit": true
      }
    ],
    "agentWorkspace": [
      {
        "id": "agents-defaults-workspace-access",
        "kind": "workspaceAccess",
        "source": "oc://openclaw.config/agents/defaults/sandbox/workspaceAccess",
        "scope": "defaults",
        "value": "ro",
        "sandboxMode": "all",
        "sandboxModeSource": "oc://openclaw.config/agents/defaults/sandbox/mode",
        "sandboxEnabled": true,
        "explicit": true
      },
      {
        "id": "agents-defaults-tool-exec",
        "kind": "toolDeny",
        "source": "oc://openclaw.config/tools/deny",
        "scope": "defaults",
        "tool": "exec",
        "denied": true,
        "explicit": true
      }
    ],
    "secrets": [
      {
        "id": "vault",
        "kind": "provider",
        "source": "oc://openclaw.config/secrets/providers/vault",
        "providerSource": "env"
      },
      {
        "id": "oc://openclaw.config/models/providers/openai/apiKey",
        "kind": "input",
        "source": "oc://openclaw.config/models/providers/openai/apiKey",
        "provenance": "secretRef",
        "refSource": "env",
        "refProvider": "vault"
      }
    ],
    "authProfiles": [
      {
        "id": "github",
        "source": "oc://openclaw.config/auth/profiles/github",
        "validMetadata": true,
        "provider": "github",
        "mode": "token"
      }
    ],
    "tools": [
      {
        "id": "deploy",
        "source": "oc://TOOLS.md/tools/deploy",
        "line": 12,
        "risk": "critical",
        "sensitivity": "restricted",
        "capabilities": ["IRREVERSIBLE_EXTERNAL"]
      }
    ]
  },
  "checksRun": 30,
  "checksSkipped": 0,
  "findings": []
}

The policy hash identifies the authored rule artifact. The evidence block records the observed OpenClaw state used by the policy checks. The workspace.hash value identifies that evidence payload for the checked scope. The findings hash identifies the exact finding set returned by the check. checkedAt records when the evaluation ran. The attestation hash identifies the stable claim: policy hash, evidence hash, findings hash, and whether the result was clean. It intentionally does not include checkedAt, so the same policy state produces the same attestation across repeated checks. Together, these form the audit tuple for this policy check.

If a later gateway or supervisor uses policy to block, approve, or annotate a runtime action, it should record the attestation hash from the last clean policy check. checkedAt stays in JSON output for audit logs, but is not part of the stable attestation hash.

Use this lifecycle when accepting policy state:

1. Author or review policy.jsonc.
2. Run openclaw policy check --json.
3. If the result is clean, record attestation.policy.hash as expectedHash.
4. Record attestation.attestationHash as expectedAttestationHash.
5. Re-run openclaw doctor --lint in CI or release gates.

If policy rules change intentionally, update both accepted hashes from a clean check. If workspace settings change intentionally but policy stays the same, only expectedAttestationHash usually changes.

Enabling or upgrading agents.workspace rules adds agentWorkspace evidence to the workspace hash and attestation hash. Operators should review the new evidence and refresh accepted attestation hashes after enabling these rules. Enabling or upgrading tool posture rules adds toolPosture evidence in the same way.

openclaw policy watch runs the same check repeatedly and reports when the current evidence no longer matches expectedAttestationHash:

openclaw policy watch --json

Use --once in CI or scripts that only need one drift evaluation. Without --once, the command polls every two seconds by default; use --interval-ms to choose a different interval.

Findings

Policy currently verifies:

Check id	Finding
policy/policy-jsonc-missing	Policy is enabled but policy.jsonc is missing.
policy/policy-jsonc-invalid	Policy cannot be parsed or contains malformed rule entries.
policy/policy-hash-mismatch	Policy does not match configured expectedHash.
policy/attestation-hash-mismatch	Current policy evidence no longer matches the accepted attestation.
policy/channels-denied-provider	An enabled channel matches a channel deny rule.
policy/mcp-denied-server	A configured MCP server is denied by policy.
policy/mcp-unapproved-server	A configured MCP server is outside the allowlist.
policy/models-denied-provider	A configured model provider or model ref uses a denied provider.
policy/models-unapproved-provider	A configured model provider or model ref is outside the allowlist.
policy/network-private-access-enabled	A private-network SSRF escape hatch is enabled when policy denies it.
policy/gateway-non-loopback-bind	Gateway bind posture permits non-loopback exposure when policy denies it.
policy/gateway-auth-disabled	Gateway authentication is disabled when policy requires auth.
policy/gateway-rate-limit-missing	Gateway auth rate-limit posture is not explicit when policy requires it.
policy/gateway-control-ui-insecure	Gateway Control UI insecure exposure toggles are enabled.
policy/gateway-tailscale-funnel	Gateway Tailscale Funnel exposure is enabled when policy denies it.
policy/gateway-remote-enabled	Gateway remote mode is active when policy denies it.
policy/gateway-http-endpoint-enabled	A Gateway HTTP API endpoint is enabled while denied by policy.
policy/gateway-http-url-fetch-unrestricted	Gateway HTTP URL-fetch input lacks a required URL allowlist.
policy/agents-workspace-access-denied	Agent sandbox mode or workspace access is outside the policy allowlist.
policy/agents-tool-not-denied	An agent or default config does not deny a tool required by policy.
policy/tools-profile-unapproved	A configured global or per-agent tool profile is outside the allowlist.
policy/tools-fs-workspace-only-required	Filesystem tools are not configured with workspace-only path posture.
policy/tools-exec-security-unapproved	Exec security mode is outside the policy allowlist.
policy/tools-exec-ask-unapproved	Exec ask mode is outside the policy allowlist.
policy/tools-exec-host-unapproved	Exec host routing is outside the policy allowlist.
policy/tools-elevated-enabled	Elevated tool mode is enabled when policy denies it.
policy/tools-required-deny-missing	A global or per-agent tool deny list does not include a required denied tool.
policy/secrets-unmanaged-provider	A config SecretRef references a provider not declared under secrets.providers.
policy/secrets-denied-provider-source	A config secret provider or SecretRef uses a source denied by policy.
policy/secrets-insecure-provider	A secret provider opts into insecure posture when policy denies it.
policy/auth-profile-invalid-metadata	A config auth profile is missing valid provider or mode metadata.
policy/auth-profile-unapproved-mode	A config auth profile mode is outside the policy allowlist.
policy/tools-missing-risk-level	A governed tool declaration is missing risk metadata.
policy/tools-unknown-risk-level	A governed tool declaration uses an unknown risk value.
policy/tools-missing-sensitivity-token	A governed tool declaration is missing sensitivity metadata.
policy/tools-missing-owner	A governed tool declaration is missing owner metadata.
policy/tools-unknown-sensitivity-token	A governed tool declaration uses an unknown sensitivity value.

Policy findings can include both target and requirement. target is the observed workspace thing that does not conform. requirement is the authored policy rule that made it a finding. Both values are addresses today, usually oc:// paths, but the field names describe their policy role rather than the address format.

Example JSON finding:

{
  "checkId": "policy/channels-denied-provider",
  "severity": "error",
  "message": "Channel 'telegram' uses denied provider 'telegram'.",
  "source": "policy",
  "path": "openclaw config",
  "ocPath": "oc://openclaw.config/channels/telegram",
  "target": "oc://openclaw.config/channels/telegram",
  "requirement": "oc://policy.jsonc/channels/denyRules/#0",
  "fixHint": "Telegram is not approved for this workspace."
}

Example tool finding:

{
  "checkId": "policy/tools-missing-risk-level",
  "severity": "error",
  "message": "TOOLS.md tool 'deploy' has no explicit risk classification.",
  "source": "policy",
  "path": "TOOLS.md",
  "line": 12,
  "ocPath": "oc://TOOLS.md/tools/deploy",
  "target": "oc://TOOLS.md/tools/deploy",
  "requirement": "oc://policy.jsonc/tools/requireMetadata"
}

Example MCP finding:

{
  "checkId": "policy/mcp-unapproved-server",
  "severity": "error",
  "message": "MCP server 'remote' is not in the policy allowlist.",
  "source": "policy",
  "path": "openclaw config",
  "ocPath": "oc://openclaw.config/mcp/servers/remote",
  "target": "oc://openclaw.config/mcp/servers/remote",
  "requirement": "oc://policy.jsonc/mcp/servers/allow"
}

Example model-provider finding:

{
  "checkId": "policy/models-unapproved-provider",
  "severity": "error",
  "message": "Model ref 'anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.7' uses unapproved provider 'anthropic'.",
  "source": "policy",
  "path": "openclaw config",
  "ocPath": "oc://openclaw.config/agents/defaults/model/fallbacks/#0",
  "target": "oc://openclaw.config/agents/defaults/model/fallbacks/#0",
  "requirement": "oc://policy.jsonc/models/providers/allow"
}

Example network finding:

{
  "checkId": "policy/network-private-access-enabled",
  "severity": "error",
  "message": "Network setting 'browser-private-network' allows private-network access.",
  "source": "policy",
  "path": "openclaw config",
  "ocPath": "oc://openclaw.config/browser/ssrfPolicy/dangerouslyAllowPrivateNetwork",
  "target": "oc://openclaw.config/browser/ssrfPolicy/dangerouslyAllowPrivateNetwork",
  "requirement": "oc://policy.jsonc/network/privateNetwork/allow"
}

Example Gateway exposure finding:

{
  "checkId": "policy/gateway-non-loopback-bind",
  "severity": "error",
  "message": "Gateway bind setting 'gateway-bind' permits non-loopback exposure.",
  "source": "policy",
  "path": "openclaw config",
  "ocPath": "oc://openclaw.config/gateway/bind",
  "target": "oc://openclaw.config/gateway/bind",
  "requirement": "oc://policy.jsonc/gateway/exposure/allowNonLoopbackBind"
}

Example agent workspace finding:

{
  "checkId": "policy/agents-workspace-access-denied",
  "severity": "error",
  "message": "agents.defaults sandbox workspaceAccess 'rw' is not allowed by policy.",
  "source": "policy",
  "path": "openclaw config",
  "ocPath": "oc://openclaw.config/agents/defaults/sandbox/workspaceAccess",
  "target": "oc://openclaw.config/agents/defaults/sandbox/workspaceAccess",
  "requirement": "oc://policy.jsonc/agents/workspace/allowedAccess"
}

Repair

doctor --lint and policy check are read-only.

doctor --fix only edits policy-managed workspace settings when workspaceRepairs is explicitly enabled. Without that opt-in, policy checks report what they would repair and leave settings unchanged.

In this version, repair can disable channels that are enabled in OpenClaw config but denied by channels.denyRules. Enable workspaceRepairs only after the policy file has been reviewed, because a valid deny rule can turn off a configured channel:

{
  "plugins": {
    "entries": {
      "policy": {
        "config": {
          "workspaceRepairs": true,
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

Exit codes

Command	0	1	2
policy check	No findings at the threshold.	One or more findings met the threshold.	Argument or runtime failure.
policy watch	No findings and accepted hash is current.	Findings exist or accepted attestation is stale.	Argument or runtime failure.

Related

• Doctor lint mode
• Path CLI