185 lines
6.0 KiB
Markdown
185 lines
6.0 KiB
Markdown
---
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summary: "Clawdbot macOS companion app (menu bar + gateway broker)"
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read_when:
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- Implementing macOS app features
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- Changing gateway lifecycle or node bridging on macOS
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---
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# Clawdbot macOS Companion (menu bar + gateway broker)
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The macOS app is the **menu‑bar companion** for Clawdbot. It owns permissions,
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manages/attaches to the Gateway locally (launchd or manual), and exposes macOS
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capabilities to the agent as a node.
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## What it does
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- Shows native notifications and status in the menu bar.
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- Owns TCC prompts (Notifications, Accessibility, Screen Recording, Microphone,
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Speech Recognition, Automation/AppleScript).
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- Runs or connects to the Gateway (local or remote).
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- Exposes macOS‑only tools (Canvas, Camera, Screen Recording, `system.run`).
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- Starts the local node host service in **remote** mode (launchd), and stops it in **local** mode.
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- Optionally hosts **PeekabooBridge** for UI automation.
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- Installs the global CLI (`clawdbot`) via npm/pnpm on request (bun not recommended for the Gateway runtime).
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## Local vs remote mode
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- **Local** (default): the app attaches to a running local Gateway if present;
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otherwise it enables the launchd service via `clawdbot daemon`.
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- **Remote**: the app connects to a Gateway over SSH/Tailscale and never starts
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a local process.
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The app starts the local **node host service** so the remote Gateway can reach this Mac.
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The app does not spawn the Gateway as a child process.
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## Launchd control
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The app manages a per‑user LaunchAgent labeled `com.clawdbot.gateway`
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(or `com.clawdbot.<profile>` when using `--profile`/`CLAWDBOT_PROFILE`).
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```bash
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launchctl kickstart -k gui/$UID/com.clawdbot.gateway
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launchctl bootout gui/$UID/com.clawdbot.gateway
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```
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Replace the label with `com.clawdbot.<profile>` when running a named profile.
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If the LaunchAgent isn’t installed, enable it from the app or run
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`clawdbot daemon install`.
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## Node capabilities (mac)
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The macOS app presents itself as a node. Common commands:
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- Canvas: `canvas.present`, `canvas.navigate`, `canvas.eval`, `canvas.snapshot`, `canvas.a2ui.*`
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- Camera: `camera.snap`, `camera.clip`
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- Screen: `screen.record`
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- System: `system.run`, `system.notify`
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The node reports a `permissions` map so agents can decide what’s allowed.
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Node service + app IPC:
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- When the headless node service is running (remote mode), it connects to the Gateway WS as a node.
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- `system.run` executes in the macOS app (UI/TCC context) over a local Unix socket; prompts + output stay in-app.
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Diagram (SCI):
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```
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Gateway -> Bridge -> Node Service (TS)
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| IPC (UDS + token + HMAC + TTL)
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v
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Mac App (UI + TCC + system.run)
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```
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## Exec approvals (system.run)
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`system.run` is controlled by **Exec approvals** in the macOS app (Settings → Exec approvals).
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Security + ask + allowlist are stored locally on the Mac in:
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```
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~/.clawdbot/exec-approvals.json
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```
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Example:
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```json
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{
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"version": 1,
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"defaults": {
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"security": "deny",
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"ask": "on-miss"
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},
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"agents": {
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"main": {
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"security": "allowlist",
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"ask": "on-miss",
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"allowlist": [
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{ "pattern": "/opt/homebrew/bin/rg" }
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]
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}
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}
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}
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```
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Notes:
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- `allowlist` entries are JSON-encoded argv arrays.
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- Choosing “Always Allow” in the prompt adds that command to the allowlist.
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- `system.run` environment overrides are filtered (drops `PATH`, `DYLD_*`, `LD_*`, `NODE_OPTIONS`, `PYTHON*`, `PERL*`, `RUBYOPT`) and then merged with the app’s environment.
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## Deep links
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The app registers the `clawdbot://` URL scheme for local actions.
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### `clawdbot://agent`
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Triggers a Gateway `agent` request.
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```bash
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open 'clawdbot://agent?message=Hello%20from%20deep%20link'
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```
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Query parameters:
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- `message` (required)
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- `sessionKey` (optional)
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- `thinking` (optional)
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- `deliver` / `to` / `channel` (optional)
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- `timeoutSeconds` (optional)
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- `key` (optional unattended mode key)
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Safety:
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- Without `key`, the app prompts for confirmation.
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- With a valid `key`, the run is unattended (intended for personal automations).
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## Onboarding flow (typical)
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1) Install and launch **Clawdbot.app**.
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2) Complete the permissions checklist (TCC prompts).
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3) Ensure **Local** mode is active and the Gateway is running.
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4) Install the CLI if you want terminal access.
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## Build & dev workflow (native)
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- `cd apps/macos && swift build`
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- `swift run Clawdbot` (or Xcode)
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- Package app: `scripts/package-mac-app.sh`
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## Debug gateway discovery (macOS CLI)
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Use the debug CLI to exercise the same Bonjour + wide‑area discovery code that the
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macOS app uses, without launching the app.
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```bash
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cd apps/macos
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swift run clawdbot-mac-discovery --timeout 3000 --json
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```
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Options:
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- `--include-local`: include gateways that would be filtered as “local”
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- `--timeout <ms>`: overall discovery window (default `2000`)
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- `--json`: structured output for diffing
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Tip: compare against `pnpm clawdbot gateway discover --json` to see whether the
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macOS app’s discovery pipeline (NWBrowser + tailnet DNS‑SD fallback) differs from
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the Node CLI’s `dns-sd` based discovery.
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## Remote connection plumbing (SSH tunnels)
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When the macOS app runs in **Remote** mode, it opens an SSH tunnel so local UI
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components can talk to a remote Gateway as if it were on localhost.
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### Control tunnel (Gateway WebSocket port)
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- **Purpose:** health checks, status, Web Chat, config, and other control-plane calls.
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- **Local port:** the Gateway port (default `18789`), always stable.
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- **Remote port:** the same Gateway port on the remote host.
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- **Behavior:** no random local port; the app reuses an existing healthy tunnel
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or restarts it if needed.
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- **SSH shape:** `ssh -N -L <local>:127.0.0.1:<remote>` with BatchMode +
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ExitOnForwardFailure + keepalive options.
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For setup steps, see [macOS remote access](/platforms/mac/remote). For protocol
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details, see [Gateway protocol](/gateway/protocol).
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## Related docs
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- [Gateway runbook](/gateway)
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- [Gateway (macOS)](/platforms/mac/bundled-gateway)
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- [macOS permissions](/platforms/mac/permissions)
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- [Canvas](/platforms/mac/canvas)
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