fix: skip launchd for remote mode

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.clawd.bot
 
 ### Fixes
 - Auth profiles: keep auto-pinned preference while allowing rotation on failover; user pins stay locked. (#1138) — thanks @cheeeee.
+- macOS: avoid touching launchd in Remote over SSH so quitting the app no longer disables the remote gateway. (#1105)
 
 ## 2026.1.18-3
 

apps/macos/Sources/Clawdbot/GatewayLaunchAgentManager.swift

@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@ enum GatewayLaunchAgentManager {
 
     static func set(enabled: Bool, bundlePath: String, port: Int) async -> String? {
         _ = bundlePath
+        guard !CommandResolver.connectionModeIsRemote() else {
+            self.logger.info("launchd change skipped (remote mode)")
+            return nil
+        }
         if enabled, self.isLaunchAgentWriteDisabled() {
             self.logger.info("launchd enable skipped (disable marker set)")
             return nil
@@ -112,7 +116,9 @@ extension GatewayLaunchAgentManager {
     {
         let command = CommandResolver.clawdbotCommand(
             subcommand: "daemon",
-            extraArgs: self.withJsonFlag(args))
+            extraArgs: self.withJsonFlag(args),
+            // Launchd management must always run locally, even if remote mode is configured.
+            configRoot: ["gateway": ["mode": "local"]])
         var env = ProcessInfo.processInfo.environment
         env["PATH"] = CommandResolver.preferredPaths().joined(separator: ":")
         let response = await ShellExecutor.runDetailed(command: command, cwd: nil, env: env, timeout: timeout)

apps/macos/Sources/Clawdbot/GatewayProcessManager.swift

@@ -114,6 +114,9 @@ final class GatewayProcessManager {
         self.lastFailureReason = nil
         self.status = .stopped
         self.logger.info("gateway stop requested")
+        if CommandResolver.connectionModeIsRemote() {
+            return
+        }
         let bundlePath = Bundle.main.bundleURL.path
         Task {
             _ = await GatewayLaunchAgentManager.set(

apps/macos/Tests/ClawdbotIPCTests/CommandResolverTests.swift

@@ -134,4 +134,27 @@ import Testing
             #expect(script.contains("CLI="))
         }
     }
+
+    @Test func configRootLocalOverridesRemoteDefaults() async throws {
+        let defaults = self.makeDefaults()
+        defaults.set(AppState.ConnectionMode.remote.rawValue, forKey: connectionModeKey)
+        defaults.set("clawd@example.com:2222", forKey: remoteTargetKey)
+
+        let tmp = try makeTempDir()
+        CommandResolver.setProjectRoot(tmp.path)
+
+        let clawdbotPath = tmp.appendingPathComponent("node_modules/.bin/clawdbot")
+        try self.makeExec(at: clawdbotPath)
+
+        let cmd = CommandResolver.clawdbotCommand(
+            subcommand: "daemon",
+            defaults: defaults,
+            configRoot: ["gateway": ["mode": "local"]])
+
+        #expect(cmd.first == clawdbotPath.path)
+        #expect(cmd.count >= 2)
+        if cmd.count >= 2 {
+            #expect(cmd[1] == "daemon")
+        }
+    }
 }