Node device commands

macOS widget panel

openclaw nodes canvas present --node <idOrNameOrIp>
openclaw nodes canvas hide --node <idOrNameOrIp>
openclaw nodes canvas navigate "/__openclaw__/canvas/documents/<document-id>/index.html" --node <idOrNameOrIp>

Notes:

• canvas present accepts the existing optional target plus --x/--y/--width/--height placement arguments.
• canvas navigate accepts a hosted widget-document path or an app-local Canvas URL. The macOS app resolves hosted paths through its current scoped Canvas capability URL.
• The agent-facing path is show_widget with presentation.target: "node_panel"; use the CLI helpers for direct operator control.
• A2UI renders on session dashboards, not through node Canvas commands.

Photos + videos (node camera)

Photos (jpg):

openclaw nodes camera list --node <idOrNameOrIp>
openclaw nodes camera snap --node <idOrNameOrIp>            # default: one node-selected photo
openclaw nodes camera snap --node <idOrNameOrIp> --facing front
openclaw nodes camera snap --node <idOrNameOrIp> --facing both # front then back (2 saved paths)
openclaw nodes camera snap --node <idOrNameOrIp> --device-id <id> --max-width 1200 --quality 0.9 --delay-ms 2000

Video clips (mp4):

openclaw nodes camera clip --node <idOrNameOrIp> --duration 10s
openclaw nodes camera clip --node <idOrNameOrIp> --duration 3000 --no-audio

Notes:

• The node must be foregrounded for camera.* (background calls return NODE_BACKGROUND_UNAVAILABLE).
• Nodes clamp clip duration to keep the base64 payload manageable (see Camera capture for exact per-platform limits). The nodes agent tool additionally caps requested durationMs at 300000 (5 minutes) before forwarding the call; the node itself enforces the tighter limit.
• Android will prompt for CAMERA/RECORD_AUDIO permissions when possible; denied permissions fail with *_PERMISSION_REQUIRED.

Screen recordings (nodes)

Supported nodes expose screen.record (mp4). Example:

openclaw nodes screen record --node <idOrNameOrIp> --duration 10s --fps 10
openclaw nodes screen record --node <idOrNameOrIp> --duration 10s --fps 10 --no-audio

Notes:

• screen.record availability depends on node platform.
• The nodes agent tool caps requested durationMs at 300000 (5 minutes); the node may enforce a tighter limit to bound the returned payload.
• --no-audio disables microphone capture on supported platforms.
• Use --screen <index> to select a display when multiple screens are available (0 = primary).

Location (nodes)

Nodes expose location.get when Location is enabled in settings.

CLI helper:

openclaw nodes location get --node <idOrNameOrIp>
openclaw 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.
• Full parameter/response shape and error codes: Location command.

SMS (Android nodes)

Android nodes can expose sms.send and sms.search when the user grants SMS permission and the device supports telephony. Both commands are dangerous-by-default: the gateway operator must also add them to gateway.nodes.commands.allow before they can be invoked (see Command policy).

For read-only SMS search, opt in explicitly in openclaw.json:

{
  gateway: {
    nodes: {
      commands: { allow: ["sms.search"] },
    },
  },
}

Add sms.send separately only when the node should also be able to send messages. Android permission and Gateway command authorization are independent; granting the phone permission does not edit Gateway policy.

Low-level invoke:

openclaw nodes invoke --node <idOrNameOrIp> --command sms.send --params '{"to":"[phone]","message":"Hello from OpenClaw"}'

Notes:

• sms.search may be declared before READ_SMS is granted so an invocation can return a permission diagnostic; reading messages still requires that Android permission.
• Wi-Fi-only devices without telephony will not advertise sms.send.
• A requires explicit gateway.nodes.commands.allow opt-in error means the phone declared the command but the Gateway operator has not authorized it.

Device and personal data commands

iOS and Android nodes advertise several read-only data commands by default (see the Command policy table); Android additionally exposes a larger family gated by its own in-app settings. A macOS or headless-mac TypeScript node host advertises device.apps only after the operator enables installed-app sharing with --share-installed-apps.

Available families:

• device.status, device.info — iOS, Android, Windows.
• device.permissions, device.health — Android only.
• device.apps — Android, macOS, and headless-mac nodes. Android requires Installed Apps sharing in Settings and returns launcher-visible apps by default. TypeScript node hosts keep sharing off by default and accept query, limit, and includeSystem; macOS results contain label, bundleId, path, and system.
• notifications.list, notifications.actions — Android only.
• photos.latest — iOS, Android.
• contacts.search — iOS, Android (read-only default); contacts.add is dangerous and needs gateway.nodes.commands.allow.
• calendar.events — iOS, Android (read-only default); calendar.add is dangerous and needs gateway.nodes.commands.allow.
• reminders.list — iOS, Android (read-only default); reminders.add is dangerous and needs gateway.nodes.commands.allow.
• callLog.search — Android only.
• motion.activity, motion.pedometer — iOS, Android; capability-gated by available sensors.

Example invokes:

openclaw nodes invoke --node <idOrNameOrIp> --command device.status --params '{}'
openclaw nodes invoke --node <idOrNameOrIp> --command device.apps --params '{"limit":10}'
openclaw nodes invoke --node <idOrNameOrIp> --command notifications.list --params '{}'
openclaw nodes invoke --node <idOrNameOrIp> --command photos.latest --params '{"limit":1}'