C
ClawClientX

Support & Help  ·  v0.6  |  iOS · Android · macOS · Windows

1   What is ClawClientX?

ClawClientX is a mobile and desktop client for the OpenClaw self-hosted AI gateway. It gives you a full-featured chat and agentic workspace that runs entirely against your own OpenClaw server - no third-party AI backend, no developer cloud, no telemetry.

💡

You must have an OpenClaw gateway to use this app. ClawClientX is a thin client - it connects over WebSocket to the OpenClaw server you operate. If you have not installed OpenClaw yet, see the OpenClaw documentation before continuing.

Once connected, the app surfaces everything your gateway offers: every AI model you have configured, every skill installed on the server, all paired devices, cron jobs, hooks, and agent activity - all in one place, on any of your devices.

What you need before you start

  • An OpenClaw gateway running and accessible from your device (local network or public URL)
  • The gateway's WebSocket URL - typically wss://your-hostname or ws://192.168.x.x:port on a local network
  • Either the gateway password or a valid auth token
  • Access to a terminal or the OpenClaw admin UI to approve the device pairing after first connect

2   Getting connected

Follow these steps the first time you connect a new device. The same flow applies whether you are on iOS, Android, macOS, or Windows.

  1. Open Settings and enter your gateway URL Tap the gear icon (or open Settings from the sidebar). In the Server URL field, enter your gateway address in WebSocket format:
    wss://your-openclaw-host.example.com
    ws://192.168.1.50:8080
    Use wss:// for TLS (strongly recommended over the internet) or ws:// for a plain local connection. Do not include a trailing slash or path.
  2. Choose an auth mode Select either Password or Token depending on how your OpenClaw gateway is configured. Enter the credential in the field that appears. The credential is used only to authenticate the initial connection - it is not stored on disk after the session ends.
  3. Set a device name (optional) Give this device a recognisable name (e.g. Chase-iPhone or Work-Mac). This name will appear in your gateway's device list, which makes approvals and node management easier to read.
  4. Tap Save & Connect The app will attempt to open a WebSocket connection to your gateway and begin the Ed25519 device pairing handshake. A Pending Approval indicator will appear. This is normal - the device is waiting for you to grant it access on the gateway side.
  5. Approve the device on your OpenClaw gateway On the machine running OpenClaw, approve the pairing. From a terminal:
    openclaw devices approve
    Or use the OpenClaw web admin UI under Devices → find the pending device → Approve. The device name you entered in step 3 will be shown.
    ⚠️

    If you close the app before approving, the pairing token expires. Return to Settings and tap Reconnect to generate a new pairing request.

  6. Reconnect after approval After approving on the gateway, return to ClawClientX. Tap Reconnect (or the app may reconnect automatically within a few seconds). You should see the connection status change to Connected and the chat interface will load with your sessions and skills.

Multiple gateway profiles

ClawClientX supports saving and switching between multiple OpenClaw server connections. Tap the profile selector at the top of the sidebar to add a second gateway, a staging server, or a VPN-only connection. Each profile stores its own URL, auth mode, and device name independently.

Permissions the app will request

  • Network access - required at launch to connect to your gateway via WebSocket
  • Notifications - optional, requested when you first enable background response alerts in Settings
  • Microphone - requested only the first time you tap the voice dictation button or activate Talk Mode
  • Camera - requested only the first time you tap the in-app camera capture button
  • Clipboard read/write - only in Node mode, and only when the gateway requests clipboard access via the node capability you have enabled

3   Troubleshooting

WebSocket connection failed / Cannot reach gateway

This is the most common issue. Work through the checklist:

  • URL scheme: confirm the URL starts with wss:// (TLS) or ws:// (plain). An https:// or http:// URL will not work.
  • Gateway is running: SSH into the host and verify OpenClaw is up - systemctl status openclaw or equivalent.
  • Reachability: from the device, try loading https://your-host in a browser. If the page does not load, the host is not reachable (firewall, DNS, VPN required?).
  • Port: if OpenClaw is on a non-standard port, include it in the URL: wss://your-host:9000.
  • Allowed origins: OpenClaw may enforce a CORS/origin allowlist. Add your device's origin or set allowedOrigins: ["*"] in the gateway config during initial setup, then lock it down after pairing.
  • Self-signed TLS: on iOS and Android, a self-signed certificate will cause the connection to fail unless the CA is installed as a trusted root on the device. Use a real certificate (e.g. Let's Encrypt via a reverse proxy) or connect via ws:// on a local LAN.
Device stuck in "Pending Approval" / pairing never completes
  • Go to your OpenClaw gateway and run openclaw devices list to verify the pending entry appears.
  • Approve it with openclaw devices approve <device-id> or via the admin UI.
  • After approving, return to the app and tap Reconnect - the app does not always auto-poll after a long wait.
  • If the entry does not appear on the gateway at all, the WebSocket connection was never established. Resolve the connection issue first (see above).
  • If you see duplicate pending entries, delete the stale ones on the gateway before approving the current one.
Model picker is empty - no models listed

ClawClientX calls listModels() on the gateway. If the list is empty:

  • No AI provider has been configured on your OpenClaw gateway. Add at least one provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, Ollama, etc.) in the gateway config before connecting.
  • Verify the provider credentials are valid - an invalid API key will cause the gateway to return zero models.
  • Check the gateway logs for errors on the /models RPC endpoint.

The /models slash command inside the app performs the same lookup and will show the same result.

Skills panel shows nothing or shows only a spinner
  • The app calls the skills.status RPC on your gateway. If the gateway does not have any skills installed, the list will be empty - this is expected. Install skills via ClawHub or directly on the server.
  • If the spinner never resolves, the RPC call is timing out - check gateway logs for errors.
  • The ClawHub tab in the Skills panel makes a separate call to https://clawhub.ai/api/v1 for the public marketplace. If your device has no internet access, the marketplace tab will fail while your local gateway skills will still load normally.
Voice input not working
  • ClawClientX uses the platform's Web Speech API (SpeechRecognition / webkitSpeechRecognition). On iOS, this requires Safari's engine and a live microphone grant.
  • On Android, confirm you have granted microphone permission to ClawClientX in Settings → Apps → ClawClientX → Permissions.
  • On macOS and Windows, the app will prompt for microphone access the first time voice is activated. If you denied the prompt, re-grant it in System Preferences / Windows Privacy settings.
  • Wake-word mode ("openclaw", "claude", or a custom word) requires the microphone to remain active in the background. Some iOS Low Power Mode configurations can interrupt this.
Notifications not arriving for background sessions
  • Enable notifications in the app: Settings → Notifications → Enable.
  • Confirm the OS notification permission is granted for ClawClientX.
  • Notifications fire when a response arrives in a session that is not currently the active tab. If you are looking at the session, no notification is sent (by design).
  • On iOS, background WebSocket activity may be throttled when the app is fully backgrounded. Response notifications may be delayed until you bring the app forward.
Theme or accent color did not save after restart

Theme preferences (palette, custom accent, radius mode, light/dark) are persisted on-device via the app's storage layer and survive restarts. If your theme reset:

  • Check that you tapped Apply or left the settings view normally - changes staged but not applied may not persist.
  • Reinstalling or clearing app data will wipe stored preferences. Reconfigure from Settings → Appearance.
  • The gateway token and chat sessions are intentionally not persisted - reconnecting and re-opening sessions after a fresh install is expected behavior.
Image paste / file attachment not accepted
  • Images are capped at 5 MB per file. Paste or drop a smaller image.
  • General file attachments (PDF, TXT, JSON, DOCX, XLSX) are capped at 10 MB.
  • Supported file types: JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP (images); PDF; plain text; JSON; DOCX; XLSX. Other formats will be rejected with an error message.
  • Camera capture requires the camera permission - if the capture button is grayed out, grant camera access in OS settings and restart the app.
Canvas panel is blank or shows a connection error

The Canvas panel embeds your gateway's canvas UI at https://your-gateway/__openclaw__/canvas/ in a resizable iframe. If it is blank:

  • Confirm the Canvas feature is enabled in your OpenClaw gateway config.
  • The canvas URL is derived from your gateway host. If your gateway uses a self-signed cert or is HTTP-only, the embedded iframe may be blocked by the OS WebView security policy.
  • Try accessing https://your-gateway/__openclaw__/canvas/ in a browser - if it loads there, the issue is iframe sandboxing. Report this via the support email below.

4   Feature tour

A quick reference to everything ClawClientX surfaces. All features connect back to your OpenClaw gateway - nothing is processed on a developer-operated server.

📄

Multi-session chat tabs

Run multiple conversations at once, each in its own tab. Pin important sessions, see unread badges, and switch mid-stream without losing context.

⚙️

Skills panel + ClawHub

Browse and toggle the 150+ skills installed on your gateway. The ClawHub tab lets you discover and install additional skills from the public marketplace.

🤖

Model picker (40+ models)

Switch models per session from a grouped, filterable list of every model your gateway has configured. Supports all major providers.

👥

Agent dashboard

See all running agents with live tool calls and subagent activity. Kill runaway subagents with one tap. Pop any subagent out into its own window.

🖥️

Nodes view

See all paired devices, manage approval policies, and run capability commands remotely. Includes live activity per node and a network diagram.

🎤

Voice input + Talk Mode

Dictate messages hands-free or enable wake-word listening ("openclaw", "claude", or custom). Talk Mode runs a full listen-think-speak loop.

📷

Image paste + file attach

Paste or drag images directly into the chat input. Attach PDFs, text, JSON, DOCX, and XLSX. Use the camera button to snap a photo inline.

🌞

Themes + accent colors

Six named palettes, a custom hex accent, adjustable button colors, and compact/comfortable/spacious radius modes. Full light/dark toggle.

📈

Token usage dashboard

Interactive bar and pie charts showing token consumption and estimated cost across all sessions, accessible from the sidebar or /usage.

🕐

Cron jobs

Create, pause, and delete scheduled jobs on your gateway from a dedicated view. Set recurring prompts or automation triggers on any schedule.

🔗

Hooks management

View and toggle event-driven gateway automations from the Hooks tab in the right panel.

🖌

Gateway config editor

View and patch your OpenClaw gateway configuration directly from the app using the schema-driven editor - no terminal required for common changes.

👀

Canvas panel

Open your gateway's canvas UI in a resizable side panel alongside the chat. Resize to any width without leaving the app.

🗎

Export conversations

Download any conversation as a Markdown or JSON file with one click from the session context menu.

🔒

Pinned messages

Pin individual messages within a conversation for quick reference without scrolling back.

Streaming responses

Responses arrive token-by-token as the model generates them. Disable streaming in Settings if you are on a low-bandwidth connection.

5   Slash commands

Type / in any chat input to open the autocomplete menu. A few frequently used commands:

CommandWhat it does
/modelsOpen the model picker flyout for the current session
/think [level]Set reasoning depth: off / minimal / low / medium / high / max
/taskRoute a structured task to your gateway with optional presets (ship-feature, fix-bug, code-audit, research)
/agentsOpen the agent dashboard
/cronOpen cron job management
/usageOpen the token usage dashboard
/canvasToggle or open the canvas side panel
/configOpen the gateway config editor
/newCreate a new chat session
/clearClear the current session's message history

Press Cmd K / Ctrl K anywhere in the app to open the command palette, which provides quick access to all sessions, settings, and commands without typing a slash prefix.

6   Privacy & data

🔒

ClawClientX does not transmit your data to any developer-operated server. Every AI request, every message, and every file you attach travels exclusively between the app and the OpenClaw gateway you control. The developer runs no backend, maintains no database of your conversations, and has embedded no analytics or telemetry SDKs in the app. The one exception is the optional ClawHub skill browser, which contacts third-party services described below.

What is stored where

  • Persisted on-device (survives app restarts): server URL, server profiles, auth mode, device name, theme and appearance preferences, sidebar state, node settings, pinned session keys, and entitlement state.
  • Kept in memory only (cleared on app exit): your gateway auth token or password, all chat session messages and history, and any files you have attached or pasted. None of this is written to disk.
  • One optional set of third-party calls: when you open the ClawHub skill browser, the app contacts the public ClawHub registry (clawhub.ai) with your search text and the skill identifiers you view, and, when you open a skill's detail page, sends that skill's identifier and file hash to a Convex backend (wry-manatee-359.convex.cloud) to fetch malware-scan results. No account, credentials, or conversation data is sent. If you never open the ClawHub browser, none of these calls happen. All other network activity is WebSocket traffic to your own gateway.

For the full privacy policy, see privacy policy.

7   Pricing

ClawClientX is currently free with no in-app purchases and no active subscriptions. A ClawClientX Pro upgrade is planned for a future release (anticipated one-time purchase, approximately $4.99) that will gate certain power features. Today, every feature in the app is fully unlocked for all users at no cost.

Features listed as "Pro" in the UI are fully accessible today. Billing is disabled in the current release. No credit card is needed, and nothing will charge automatically when Pro pricing launches - it will be an opt-in purchase.

Features planned for Pro gating include: multiple gateway profiles, voice output and Talk Mode, Node command runner, gateway config editor, conversation export, command palette, and custom themes/accents.

8   Contact support

If the troubleshooting steps above did not resolve your issue, reach out directly. Include the platform (iOS/Android/macOS/Windows), the app version (visible in Settings → About), and a brief description of what you were doing when the issue occurred.

Still stuck?

Send an email and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

support@bidbuddyai.com