OpenClaw Windows Node Companion

A native Windows companion for running an OpenClaw node host with a friendly tray experience and a scriptable CLI. The app wraps the upstream openclaw CLI (it does not replace it).

UI Gallery

Screenshots below use a demo state/config in dark mode, so the UI can be previewed without a live gateway.

Connection	Node Host

Canvas	Approvals

Chrome Relay	Logs

Features

System Tray

• One-click connect/disconnect toggle (double-click to toggle)
• Color-coded status icons: Connected (green) / Disconnected (gray) / Degraded (yellow) / Error (red)
• Balloon notifications on status changes (with cooldown to avoid spam)
• Quick access menu: Connect, Disconnect, Open Settings, Open Logs, Open Control UI, Quit

Settings UI

• Connection tab: Gateway host/port, TLS settings, display name, Control UI URL
• Secure token storage: Gateway token encrypted with Windows DPAPI
• Gateway connectivity test: Checks DNS, TCP, TLS, HTTP, and WebSocket connectivity
• Auto-start at login: Registers itself in Windows startup
• Theme: Follows system setting by default, or set to dark/light manually

Node Host Management

• Install/Uninstall the node host service
• Start/Stop with proper process lifecycle handling
• Option to hide the console window and capture output to a local log file

Exec Approvals

• In-app UI for reviewing and approving exec requests
• Local history and policy controls

Canvas

• Embedded Canvas via WebView2
• Snapshots and JS eval support

Screen Capture

• Screen capture with lightweight recording
• Visible indicator when recording is active

Chrome Relay

• Configure relay port
• Verify relay connectivity with guided verification
• Quick access to chrome://extensions and extension folder

Logs & Diagnostics

• View node host output directly in the app (last 200 lines)
• Open logs folder
• Export diagnostics: Creates a ZIP bundle with redacted config and all log files

Context-Aware Banners

• Token missing? Banner prompts you to add it in settings
• Pairing required? Banner links to Control UI for device approval

CLI

openclaw-win status
openclaw-win configure --host <gateway-host> --port 443 --tls --token <gateway-token> --display-name "My Windows Node"
openclaw-win configure --system-theme | --dark-theme | --light-theme
openclaw-win connect
openclaw-win disconnect
openclaw-win toggle
openclaw-win logs --tail --lines 200
openclaw-win doctor
openclaw-win ui show
openclaw-win ui show --tab approvals
openclaw-win ui tabs

Exit codes:

• 0 connected/success
• 2 disconnected
• 3 degraded (running but not connected)
• 10 config missing
• 11 openclaw missing
• 12 auth/token error
• 13 pairing required

Repo Layout

• src/OpenClaw.Win.Core — Core services (config, token storage, node status, gateway tests)
• src/OpenClaw.Win.Cli — CLI entry (openclaw-win.exe)
• src/OpenClaw.Win.App — WPF tray app and settings UI

Prerequisites

• Windows 10/11
• .NET 8 SDK
• openclaw CLI installed and available on PATH

Build

dotnet build OpenClawWindowsNodeManager.sln -c Release

Releases

• Version is managed in Directory.Build.props via <Version>.
• Pushing a commit to main that changes <Version> triggers .github/workflows/release.yml.
• The workflow runs the gate, builds a win-x64 package, and creates/updates the matching GitHub release.
• You can also run the release workflow manually with Actions → Release → Run workflow.

Run

• Tray app: src/OpenClaw.Win.App/bin/Release/net8.0-windows/OpenClaw.Win.App.exe
• CLI: src/OpenClaw.Win.Cli/bin/Release/net8.0-windows/openclaw-win.exe

Open the UI from the CLI

• openclaw-win ui show — open the settings window
• openclaw-win ui show --tab connection
• openclaw-win ui show --tab node-host
• openclaw-win ui show --tab canvas
• openclaw-win ui show --tab approvals
• openclaw-win ui show --tab chrome-relay
• openclaw-win ui show --tab logs
• openclaw-win ui tabs — list supported tab names

Settings & Data Locations

The companion stores data under: %AppData%\OpenClaw\WindowsCompanion

Files:

• config.json — connection and UI settings
• token.dat — gateway token (DPAPI protected)
• logs/app.log and logs/node.log
• logs/node-host.log — captured node host output (when enabled)
• diagnostics/ — exported diagnostic bundles

Preconfigured settings

If personal-config.json exists alongside the tray app binary, the app will seed config.json on first launch. Use personal-config.example.json as a template and keep your personal personal-config.json untracked.

Security Notes

• Gateway token is stored using Windows DPAPI (CurrentUser scope)
• Tokens are never written to logs
• Diagnostics export redacts secrets

Status Definitions

• Connected: node host is running and connected to the gateway
• Degraded: node host is running but gateway is unreachable or disconnected
• Disconnected: node host is stopped
• Error: configuration or authentication error detected

OpenClaw Integration Notes

The companion uses the upstream CLI for lifecycle management:

• openclaw node install to set up background runner
• openclaw node restart to connect
• openclaw node stop to disconnect
• openclaw node status --json for status

Troubleshooting

• Run openclaw-win doctor for a quick environment check
• Ensure openclaw is on PATH (where openclaw)
• If status shows pairing required, approve the device in the gateway UI or via openclaw devices list / openclaw devices approve <requestId>
• Pairing for the Control UI does not automatically pair the Windows CLI device — the app needs its own device approval

What's Next

• Capture sensors (camera/location/SMS) once permissions UX is defined