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Dashboard (Control UI)

The Gateway dashboard is the browser Control UI served at / by default (override with gateway.controlUi.basePath). Quick open (local Gateway): Key references: Authentication is enforced at the WebSocket handshake via the configured gateway auth path:
  • connect.params.auth.token
  • connect.params.auth.password
  • Tailscale Serve identity headers when gateway.auth.allowTailscale: true
  • trusted-proxy identity headers when gateway.auth.mode: "trusted-proxy"
See gateway.auth in Gateway configuration. Security note: the Control UI is an admin surface (chat, config, exec approvals). Do not expose it publicly. The UI keeps dashboard URL tokens in sessionStorage for the current browser tab session and selected gateway URL, and strips them from the URL after load. Prefer localhost, Tailscale Serve, or an SSH tunnel.
  • After onboarding, the CLI auto-opens the dashboard and prints a clean (non-tokenized) link.
  • Re-open anytime: openclaw dashboard (copies link, opens browser if possible, shows SSH hint if headless).
  • If the UI prompts for shared-secret auth, paste the configured token or password into Control UI settings.

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Auth basics (local vs remote)

  • Localhost: open http://127.0.0.1:18789/.
  • Shared-secret token source: gateway.auth.token (or OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN); openclaw dashboard can pass it via URL fragment for one-time bootstrap, and the Control UI keeps it in sessionStorage for the current browser tab session and selected gateway URL instead of localStorage.
  • If gateway.auth.token is SecretRef-managed, openclaw dashboard prints/copies/opens a non-tokenized URL by design. This avoids exposing externally managed tokens in shell logs, clipboard history, or browser-launch arguments.
  • If gateway.auth.token is configured as a SecretRef and is unresolved in your current shell, openclaw dashboard still prints a non-tokenized URL plus actionable auth setup guidance.
  • Shared-secret password: use the configured gateway.auth.password (or OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PASSWORD). The dashboard does not persist passwords across reloads.
  • Identity-bearing modes: Tailscale Serve can satisfy Control UI/WebSocket auth via identity headers when gateway.auth.allowTailscale: true, and a non-loopback identity-aware reverse proxy can satisfy gateway.auth.mode: "trusted-proxy". In those modes the dashboard does not need a pasted shared secret for the WebSocket.
  • Not localhost: use Tailscale Serve, a non-loopback shared-secret bind, a non-loopback identity-aware reverse proxy with gateway.auth.mode: "trusted-proxy", or an SSH tunnel. HTTP APIs still use shared-secret auth unless you intentionally run private-ingress gateway.auth.mode: "none" or trusted-proxy HTTP auth. See Web surfaces.

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If you see “unauthorized” / 1008

  • Ensure the gateway is reachable (local: openclaw status; remote: SSH tunnel ssh -N -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789 user@host then open http://127.0.0.1:18789/).
  • For AUTH_TOKEN_MISMATCH, clients may do one trusted retry with a cached device token when the gateway returns retry hints. That cached-token retry reuses the token’s cached approved scopes; explicit deviceToken / explicit scopes callers keep their requested scope set. If auth still fails after that retry, resolve token drift manually.
  • Outside that retry path, connect auth precedence is explicit shared token/password first, then explicit deviceToken, then stored device token, then bootstrap token.
  • On the async Tailscale Serve Control UI path, failed attempts for the same {scope, ip} are serialized before the failed-auth limiter records them, so the second concurrent bad retry can already show retry later.
  • For token drift repair steps, follow Token drift recovery checklist.
  • Retrieve or supply the shared secret from the gateway host:
    • Token: openclaw config get gateway.auth.token
    • Password: resolve the configured gateway.auth.password or OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PASSWORD
    • SecretRef-managed token: resolve the external secret provider or export OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN in this shell, then rerun openclaw dashboard
    • No shared secret configured: openclaw doctor --generate-gateway-token
  • In the dashboard settings, paste the token or password into the auth field, then connect.