openclaw/docs/gateway/pairing.md

---
summary: "Gateway-owned node pairing (Option B) for iOS and other remote nodes"
read_when:
  - Implementing node pairing approvals without macOS UI
  - Adding CLI flows for approving remote nodes
  - Extending gateway protocol with node management
title: "Gateway-Owned Pairing"
---

# Gateway-owned pairing (Option B)

In Gateway-owned pairing, the **Gateway** is the source of truth for which nodes
are allowed to join. UIs (macOS app, future clients) are just frontends that
approve or reject pending requests.

**Important:** WS nodes use **device pairing** (role `node`) during `connect`.
`node.pair.*` is a separate pairing store and does **not** gate the WS handshake.
Only clients that explicitly call `node.pair.*` use this flow.

## Concepts

- **Pending request**: a node asked to join; requires approval.
- **Paired node**: approved node with an issued auth token.
- **Transport**: the Gateway WS endpoint forwards requests but does not decide
  membership. (Legacy TCP bridge support is deprecated/removed.)

## How pairing works

1. A node connects to the Gateway WS and requests pairing.
2. The Gateway stores a **pending request** and emits `node.pair.requested`.
3. You approve or reject the request (CLI or UI).
4. On approval, the Gateway issues a **new token** (tokens are rotated on re‑pair).
5. The node reconnects using the token and is now “paired”.

Pending requests expire automatically after **5 minutes**.

## CLI workflow (headless friendly)

```bash
openclaw nodes pending
openclaw nodes approve <requestId>
openclaw nodes reject <requestId>
openclaw nodes status
openclaw nodes rename --node <id|name|ip> --name "Living Room iPad"
```

`nodes status` shows paired/connected nodes and their capabilities.

## API surface (gateway protocol)

Events:

- `node.pair.requested` — emitted when a new pending request is created.
- `node.pair.resolved` — emitted when a request is approved/rejected/expired.

Methods:

- `node.pair.request` — create or reuse a pending request.
- `node.pair.list` — list pending + paired nodes.
- `node.pair.approve` — approve a pending request (issues token).
- `node.pair.reject` — reject a pending request.
- `node.pair.verify` — verify `{ nodeId, token }`.

Notes:

- `node.pair.request` is idempotent per node: repeated calls return the same
  pending request.
- Approval **always** generates a fresh token; no token is ever returned from
  `node.pair.request`.
- Requests may include `silent: true` as a hint for auto-approval flows.

## Auto-approval (macOS app)

The macOS app can optionally attempt a **silent approval** when:

- the request is marked `silent`, and
- the app can verify an SSH connection to the gateway host using the same user.

If silent approval fails, it falls back to the normal “Approve/Reject” prompt.

## Storage (local, private)

Pairing state is stored under the Gateway state directory (default `~/.openclaw`):

- `~/.openclaw/nodes/paired.json`
- `~/.openclaw/nodes/pending.json`

If you override `OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR`, the `nodes/` folder moves with it.

Security notes:

- Tokens are secrets; treat `paired.json` as sensitive.
- Rotating a token requires re-approval (or deleting the node entry).

## Transport behavior

- The transport is **stateless**; it does not store membership.
- If the Gateway is offline or pairing is disabled, nodes cannot pair.
- If the Gateway is in remote mode, pairing still happens against the remote Gateway’s store.