clawdbot/docs/gateway/bridge-protocol.md

summary, read_when

summary	read_when
Bridge protocol (nodes): TCP JSONL, pairing, scoped RPC	Building or debugging node clients (iOS/Android/macOS node mode) Investigating pairing or bridge auth failures Auditing the node surface exposed by the gateway

Bridge protocol (Node transport)

The Bridge protocol is a narrow, authenticated transport for nodes (iOS/Android/macOS node mode). It keeps the Gateway WS control plane loopback‑only and exposes only a scoped set of methods for nodes.

If you are building an operator client (CLI, web UI, automations), use the Gateway protocol.

Why we have both

• Security boundary: the bridge exposes a small allowlist instead of the full gateway API surface.
• Pairing + node identity: node admission is owned by the gateway and tied to a per-node token.
• Discovery UX: nodes can discover gateways via Bonjour on LAN, or connect directly over a tailnet.
• Loopback WS: the full WS control plane stays local unless tunneled via SSH.

Transport

• TCP, one JSON object per line (JSONL).
• Optional TLS (when bridge.tls.enabled is true).
• Gateway owns the listener (default 18790).

When TLS is enabled, discovery TXT records include bridgeTls=1 plus bridgeTlsSha256 so nodes can pin the certificate.

Handshake + pairing

1. Client sends hello with node metadata + token (if already paired).
2. If not paired, gateway replies error (NOT_PAIRED/UNAUTHORIZED).
3. Client sends pair-request.
4. Gateway waits for approval, then sends pair-ok and hello-ok.

hello-ok returns serverName and may include canvasHostUrl.

Frames

Client → Gateway:

• req / res: scoped gateway RPC (chat, sessions, config, health, voicewake)
• event: node signals (voice transcript, agent request, chat subscribe)

Gateway → Client:

• invoke / invoke-res: node commands (canvas.*, camera.*, screen.record, location.get, sms.send)
• event: chat updates for subscribed sessions
• ping / pong: keepalive

Exact allowlist is enforced in src/gateway/server-bridge.ts.

Tailnet usage

• Bind the bridge to a tailnet IP: bridge.bind: "tailnet" in ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json.
• Clients connect via MagicDNS name or tailnet IP.
• Bonjour does not cross networks; use manual host/port or wide-area DNS‑SD when needed.

Versioning

Bridge is currently implicit v1 (no min/max negotiation). Backward‑compat is expected; add a bridge protocol version field before any breaking changes.