fix: clarify control ui auth hints (fixes #1690)

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.clawd.bot
 - Models: default missing custom provider fields so minimal configs are accepted.
 - Gateway: skip Tailscale DNS probing when tailscale.mode is off. (#1671)
 - Gateway: reduce log noise for late invokes + remote node probes; debounce skills refresh. (#1607) Thanks @petter-b.
+- Gateway: clarify Control UI/WebChat auth error hints for missing tokens. (#1690)
 - macOS: default direct-transport `ws://` URLs to port 18789; document `gateway.remote.transport`. (#1603) Thanks @ngutman.
 - Voice Call: return stream TwiML for outbound conversation calls on initial Twilio webhook. (#1634)
 - Google Chat: tighten email allowlist matching, typing cleanup, media caps, and onboarding/docs/tests. (#1635) Thanks @iHildy.

src/gateway/server.auth.e2e.test.ts

@@ -230,6 +230,21 @@ describe("gateway server auth/connect", () => {
       ws.close();
     });
 
+    test("returns control ui hint when token is missing", async () => {
+      const ws = await openWs(port);
+      const res = await connectReq(ws, {
+        client: {
+          id: GATEWAY_CLIENT_NAMES.CONTROL_UI,
+          version: "1.0.0",
+          platform: "web",
+          mode: GATEWAY_CLIENT_MODES.WEBCHAT,
+        },
+      });
+      expect(res.ok).toBe(false);
+      expect(res.error?.message ?? "").toContain("Control UI settings");
+      ws.close();
+    });
+
     test("rejects control ui without device identity by default", async () => {
       const ws = await openWs(port);
       const res = await connectReq(ws, {

src/gateway/server/ws-connection/message-handler.ts

@@ -66,19 +66,34 @@ function formatGatewayAuthFailureMessage(params: {
   authMode: ResolvedGatewayAuth["mode"];
   authProvided: AuthProvidedKind;
   reason?: string;
+  client?: { id?: string | null; mode?: string | null };
 }): string {
-  const { authMode, authProvided, reason } = params;
+  const { authMode, authProvided, reason, client } = params;
+  const isCli = isGatewayCliClient(client);
+  const isControlUi = client?.id === GATEWAY_CLIENT_IDS.CONTROL_UI;
+  const isWebchat = isWebchatClient(client);
+  const uiHint = "open a tokenized dashboard URL or paste token in Control UI settings";
+  const tokenHint = isCli
+    ? "set gateway.remote.token to match gateway.auth.token"
+    : isControlUi || isWebchat
+      ? uiHint
+      : "provide gateway auth token";
+  const passwordHint = isCli
+    ? "set gateway.remote.password to match gateway.auth.password"
+    : isControlUi || isWebchat
+      ? "enter the password in Control UI settings"
+      : "provide gateway auth password";
   switch (reason) {
     case "token_missing":
-      return "unauthorized: gateway token missing (set gateway.remote.token to match gateway.auth.token)";
+      return `unauthorized: gateway token missing (${tokenHint})`;
     case "token_mismatch":
-      return "unauthorized: gateway token mismatch (set gateway.remote.token to match gateway.auth.token)";
+      return `unauthorized: gateway token mismatch (${tokenHint})`;
     case "token_missing_config":
       return "unauthorized: gateway token not configured on gateway (set gateway.auth.token)";
     case "password_missing":
-      return "unauthorized: gateway password missing (set gateway.remote.password to match gateway.auth.password)";
+      return `unauthorized: gateway password missing (${passwordHint})`;
     case "password_mismatch":
-      return "unauthorized: gateway password mismatch (set gateway.remote.password to match gateway.auth.password)";
+      return `unauthorized: gateway password mismatch (${passwordHint})`;
     case "password_missing_config":
       return "unauthorized: gateway password not configured on gateway (set gateway.auth.password)";
     case "tailscale_user_missing":
@@ -90,10 +105,10 @@ function formatGatewayAuthFailureMessage(params: {
   }
 
   if (authMode === "token" && authProvided === "none") {
-    return "unauthorized: gateway token missing (set gateway.remote.token to match gateway.auth.token)";
+    return `unauthorized: gateway token missing (${tokenHint})`;
   }
   if (authMode === "password" && authProvided === "none") {
-    return "unauthorized: gateway password missing (set gateway.remote.password to match gateway.auth.password)";
+    return `unauthorized: gateway password missing (${passwordHint})`;
   }
   return "unauthorized";
 }
@@ -532,6 +547,7 @@ export function attachGatewayWsMessageHandler(params: {
             authMode: resolvedAuth.mode,
             authProvided,
             reason: authResult.reason,
+            client: connectParams.client,
           });
           setCloseCause("unauthorized", {
             authMode: resolvedAuth.mode,