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Gateway on macOS (external launchd)

OpenClaw.app no longer bundles Node/Bun or the Gateway runtime. The macOS app expects an external openclaw CLI install, does not spawn the Gateway as a child process, and manages a per‑user launchd service to keep the Gateway running (or attaches to an existing local Gateway if one is already running).

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Install the CLI (required for local mode)

Node 24 is the default runtime on the Mac. Node 22 LTS, currently 22.16+, still works for compatibility. Then install openclaw globally: 
npm install -g openclaw@<version>
The macOS app’s Install CLI button runs the same flow via npm/pnpm (bun not recommended for Gateway runtime).

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Launchd (Gateway as LaunchAgent)

Label:
  • ai.openclaw.gateway (or ai.openclaw.<profile>; legacy com.openclaw.* may remain)
Plist location (per‑user):
  • ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist (or ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.<profile>.plist)
Manager:
  • The macOS app owns LaunchAgent install/update in Local mode.
  • The CLI can also install it: openclaw gateway install.
Behavior:
  • “OpenClaw Active” enables/disables the LaunchAgent.
  • App quit does not stop the gateway (launchd keeps it alive).
  • If a Gateway is already running on the configured port, the app attaches to it instead of starting a new one.
Logging:
  • launchd stdout/err: /tmp/openclaw/openclaw-gateway.log

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Version compatibility

The macOS app checks the gateway version against its own version. If they’re incompatible, update the global CLI to match the app version.

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Smoke check

openclaw --version

OPENCLAW_SKIP_CHANNELS=1 \
OPENCLAW_SKIP_CANVAS_HOST=1 \
openclaw gateway --port 18999 --bind loopback
Then: 
openclaw gateway call health --url ws://127.0.0.1:18999 --timeout 3000