openclaw/docs/platforms/ios.md

summary, read_when, title

summary	read_when	title
iOS node app: connect to the Gateway, pairing, canvas, and troubleshooting	Pairing or reconnecting the iOS node Running the iOS app from source Debugging gateway discovery or canvas commands	iOS App

iOS App (Node)

Availability: internal preview. The iOS app is not publicly distributed yet.

What it does

• Connects to a Gateway over WebSocket (LAN or tailnet).
• Exposes node capabilities: Canvas, Screen snapshot, Camera capture, Location, Talk mode, Voice wake.
• Receives node.invoke commands and reports node status events.

Requirements

• Gateway running on another device (macOS, Linux, or Windows via WSL2).
• Network path:
  • Same LAN via Bonjour, or
  • Tailnet via unicast DNS-SD (example domain: openclaw.internal.), or
  • Manual host/port (fallback).

Quick start (pair + connect)

1. Start the Gateway:

openclaw gateway --port 18789

2. In the iOS app, open Settings and pick a discovered gateway (or enable Manual Host and enter host/port).

3. Approve the pairing request on the gateway host:

openclaw nodes pending
openclaw nodes approve <requestId>

4. Verify connection:

openclaw nodes status
openclaw gateway call node.list --params "{}"

Discovery paths

Bonjour (LAN)

The Gateway advertises _openclaw-gw._tcp on local.. The iOS app lists these automatically.

Tailnet (cross-network)

If mDNS is blocked, use a unicast DNS-SD zone (choose a domain; example: openclaw.internal.) and Tailscale split DNS. See Bonjour for the CoreDNS example.

Manual host/port

In Settings, enable Manual Host and enter the gateway host + port (default 18789).

Canvas + A2UI

The iOS node renders a WKWebView canvas. Use node.invoke to drive it:

openclaw nodes invoke --node "iOS Node" --command canvas.navigate --params '{"url":"http://<gateway-host>:18793/__openclaw__/canvas/"}'

Notes:

• The Gateway canvas host serves /__openclaw__/canvas/ and /__openclaw__/a2ui/.
• The iOS node auto-navigates to A2UI on connect when a canvas host URL is advertised.
• Return to the built-in scaffold with canvas.navigate and {"url":""}.

Canvas eval / snapshot

openclaw nodes invoke --node "iOS Node" --command canvas.eval --params '{"javaScript":"(() => { const {ctx} = window.__openclaw; ctx.clearRect(0,0,innerWidth,innerHeight); ctx.lineWidth=6; ctx.strokeStyle=\"#ff2d55\"; ctx.beginPath(); ctx.moveTo(40,40); ctx.lineTo(innerWidth-40, innerHeight-40); ctx.stroke(); return \"ok\"; })()"}'

openclaw nodes invoke --node "iOS Node" --command canvas.snapshot --params '{"maxWidth":900,"format":"jpeg"}'

Voice wake + talk mode

• Voice wake and talk mode are available in Settings.
• iOS may suspend background audio; treat voice features as best-effort when the app is not active.

Common errors

• NODE_BACKGROUND_UNAVAILABLE: bring the iOS app to the foreground (canvas/camera/screen commands require it).
• A2UI_HOST_NOT_CONFIGURED: the Gateway did not advertise a canvas host URL; check canvasHost in Gateway configuration.
• Pairing prompt never appears: run openclaw nodes pending and approve manually.
• Reconnect fails after reinstall: the Keychain pairing token was cleared; re-pair the node.

Related docs

• Pairing
• Discovery
• Bonjour