clawdbot/docs/nodes/index.md

summary, read_when

summary	read_when
Nodes: pairing, capabilities, permissions, and CLI helpers for canvas/camera/screen/system	Pairing iOS/Android nodes to a gateway Using node canvas/camera for agent context Adding new node commands or CLI helpers

Nodes

A node is a companion device (macOS/iOS/Android/headless) that connects to the Gateway WebSocket (same port as operators) with role: "node" and exposes a command surface (e.g. canvas.*, camera.*, system.*) via node.invoke. Protocol details: Gateway protocol.

Legacy transport: Bridge protocol (TCP JSONL; deprecated/removed for current nodes).

macOS can also run in node mode: the menubar app connects to the Gateway’s WS server and exposes its local canvas/camera commands as a node (so moltbot nodes … works against this Mac).

Notes:

• Nodes are peripherals, not gateways. They don’t run the gateway service.
• Telegram/WhatsApp/etc. messages land on the gateway, not on nodes.

Pairing + status

WS nodes use device pairing. Nodes present a device identity during connect; the Gateway creates a device pairing request for role: node. Approve via the devices CLI (or UI).

Quick CLI:

moltbot devices list
moltbot devices approve <requestId>
moltbot devices reject <requestId>
moltbot nodes status
moltbot nodes describe --node <idOrNameOrIp>

Notes:

• nodes status marks a node as paired when its device pairing role includes node.
• node.pair.* (CLI: moltbot nodes pending/approve/reject) is a separate gateway-owned node pairing store; it does not gate the WS connect handshake.

Remote node host (system.run)

Use a node host when your Gateway runs on one machine and you want commands to execute on another. The model still talks to the gateway; the gateway forwards exec calls to the node host when host=node is selected.

What runs where

• Gateway host: receives messages, runs the model, routes tool calls.
• Node host: executes system.run/system.which on the node machine.
• Approvals: enforced on the node host via ~/.clawdbot/exec-approvals.json.

Start a node host (foreground)

On the node machine:

moltbot node run --host <gateway-host> --port 18789 --display-name "Build Node"

Start a node host (service)

moltbot node install --host <gateway-host> --port 18789 --display-name "Build Node"
moltbot node restart

Pair + name

On the gateway host:

moltbot nodes pending
moltbot nodes approve <requestId>
moltbot nodes list

Naming options:

• --display-name on moltbot node run / moltbot node install (persists in ~/.clawdbot/node.json on the node).
• moltbot nodes rename --node <id|name|ip> --name "Build Node" (gateway override).

Allowlist the commands

Exec approvals are per node host. Add allowlist entries from the gateway:

moltbot approvals allowlist add --node <id|name|ip> "/usr/bin/uname"
moltbot approvals allowlist add --node <id|name|ip> "/usr/bin/sw_vers"

Approvals live on the node host at ~/.clawdbot/exec-approvals.json.

Point exec at the node

Configure defaults (gateway config):

moltbot config set tools.exec.host node
moltbot config set tools.exec.security allowlist
moltbot config set tools.exec.node "<id-or-name>"

Or per session:

/exec host=node security=allowlist node=<id-or-name>

Once set, any exec call with host=node runs on the node host (subject to the node allowlist/approvals).

Related:

• Node host CLI
• Exec tool
• Exec approvals

Invoking commands

Low-level (raw RPC):

moltbot nodes invoke --node <idOrNameOrIp> --command canvas.eval --params '{"javaScript":"location.href"}'

Higher-level helpers exist for the common “give the agent a MEDIA attachment” workflows.

Screenshots (canvas snapshots)

If the node is showing the Canvas (WebView), canvas.snapshot returns { format, base64 }.

CLI helper (writes to a temp file and prints MEDIA:<path>):

moltbot nodes canvas snapshot --node <idOrNameOrIp> --format png
moltbot nodes canvas snapshot --node <idOrNameOrIp> --format jpg --max-width 1200 --quality 0.9

Canvas controls

moltbot nodes canvas present --node <idOrNameOrIp> --target https://example.com
moltbot nodes canvas hide --node <idOrNameOrIp>
moltbot nodes canvas navigate https://example.com --node <idOrNameOrIp>
moltbot nodes canvas eval --node <idOrNameOrIp> --js "document.title"

Notes:

• canvas present accepts URLs or local file paths (--target), plus optional --x/--y/--width/--height for positioning.
• canvas eval accepts inline JS (--js) or a positional arg.

A2UI (Canvas)

moltbot nodes canvas a2ui push --node <idOrNameOrIp> --text "Hello"
moltbot nodes canvas a2ui push --node <idOrNameOrIp> --jsonl ./payload.jsonl
moltbot nodes canvas a2ui reset --node <idOrNameOrIp>

Notes:

• Only A2UI v0.8 JSONL is supported (v0.9/createSurface is rejected).

Photos + videos (node camera)

Photos (jpg):

moltbot nodes camera list --node <idOrNameOrIp>
moltbot nodes camera snap --node <idOrNameOrIp>            # default: both facings (2 MEDIA lines)
moltbot nodes camera snap --node <idOrNameOrIp> --facing front

Video clips (mp4):

moltbot nodes camera clip --node <idOrNameOrIp> --duration 10s
moltbot nodes camera clip --node <idOrNameOrIp> --duration 3000 --no-audio

Notes:

• The node must be foregrounded for canvas.* and camera.* (background calls return NODE_BACKGROUND_UNAVAILABLE).
• Clip duration is clamped (currently <= 60s) to avoid oversized base64 payloads.
• Android will prompt for CAMERA/RECORD_AUDIO permissions when possible; denied permissions fail with *_PERMISSION_REQUIRED.

Screen recordings (nodes)

Nodes expose screen.record (mp4). Example:

moltbot nodes screen record --node <idOrNameOrIp> --duration 10s --fps 10
moltbot nodes screen record --node <idOrNameOrIp> --duration 10s --fps 10 --no-audio

Notes:

• screen.record requires the node app to be foregrounded.
• Android will show the system screen-capture prompt before recording.
• Screen recordings are clamped to <= 60s.
• --no-audio disables microphone capture (supported on iOS/Android; macOS uses system capture audio).
• Use --screen <index> to select a display when multiple screens are available.

Location (nodes)

Nodes expose location.get when Location is enabled in settings.

CLI helper:

moltbot nodes location get --node <idOrNameOrIp>
moltbot nodes location get --node <idOrNameOrIp> --accuracy precise --max-age 15000 --location-timeout 10000

Notes:

• Location is off by default.
• “Always” requires system permission; background fetch is best-effort.
• The response includes lat/lon, accuracy (meters), and timestamp.

SMS (Android nodes)

Android nodes can expose sms.send when the user grants SMS permission and the device supports telephony.

Low-level invoke:

moltbot nodes invoke --node <idOrNameOrIp> --command sms.send --params '{"to":"+15555550123","message":"Hello from Moltbot"}'

Notes:

• The permission prompt must be accepted on the Android device before the capability is advertised.
• Wi-Fi-only devices without telephony will not advertise sms.send.

System commands (node host / mac node)

The macOS node exposes system.run, system.notify, and system.execApprovals.get/set. The headless node host exposes system.run, system.which, and system.execApprovals.get/set.

Examples:

moltbot nodes run --node <idOrNameOrIp> -- echo "Hello from mac node"
moltbot nodes notify --node <idOrNameOrIp> --title "Ping" --body "Gateway ready"

Notes:

• system.run returns stdout/stderr/exit code in the payload.
• system.notify respects notification permission state on the macOS app.
• system.run supports --cwd, --env KEY=VAL, --command-timeout, and --needs-screen-recording.
• system.notify supports --priority <passive|active|timeSensitive> and --delivery <system|overlay|auto>.
• macOS nodes drop PATH overrides; headless node hosts only accept PATH when it prepends the node host PATH.
• On macOS node mode, system.run is gated by exec approvals in the macOS app (Settings → Exec approvals). Ask/allowlist/full behave the same as the headless node host; denied prompts return SYSTEM_RUN_DENIED.
• On headless node host, system.run is gated by exec approvals (~/.clawdbot/exec-approvals.json).

Exec node binding

When multiple nodes are available, you can bind exec to a specific node. This sets the default node for exec host=node (and can be overridden per agent).

Global default:

moltbot config set tools.exec.node "node-id-or-name"

Per-agent override:

moltbot config get agents.list
moltbot config set agents.list[0].tools.exec.node "node-id-or-name"

Unset to allow any node:

moltbot config unset tools.exec.node
moltbot config unset agents.list[0].tools.exec.node

Permissions map

Nodes may include a permissions map in node.list / node.describe, keyed by permission name (e.g. screenRecording, accessibility) with boolean values (true = granted).

Headless node host (cross-platform)

Moltbot can run a headless node host (no UI) that connects to the Gateway WebSocket and exposes system.run / system.which. This is useful on Linux/Windows or for running a minimal node alongside a server.

Start it:

moltbot node run --host <gateway-host> --port 18789

Notes:

• Pairing is still required (the Gateway will show a node approval prompt).
• The node host stores its node id, token, display name, and gateway connection info in ~/.clawdbot/node.json.
• Exec approvals are enforced locally via ~/.clawdbot/exec-approvals.json (see Exec approvals).
• On macOS, the headless node host prefers the companion app exec host when reachable and falls back to local execution if the app is unavailable. Set CLAWDBOT_NODE_EXEC_HOST=app to require the app, or CLAWDBOT_NODE_EXEC_FALLBACK=0 to disable fallback.
• Add --tls / --tls-fingerprint when the Gateway WS uses TLS.

Mac node mode

• The macOS menubar app connects to the Gateway WS server as a node (so moltbot nodes … works against this Mac).
• In remote mode, the app opens an SSH tunnel for the Gateway port and connects to localhost.