openclaw/docs/cli/gateway/query.md

summary, read_when, title, sidebarTitle

summary	read_when	title	sidebarTitle
Query a running Gateway: health, usage-cost, stability, diagnostics export, status, probe, call, suspend, and resume	Checking whether a Gateway is healthy, ready, or reachable Exporting Gateway diagnostics or a support bundle Calling a Gateway RPC method or suspending a Gateway	Query a running Gateway	Query

The WebSocket RPC query subcommands and their shared options. Part of the openclaw gateway reference.

Query a running Gateway

All query commands use WebSocket RPC.

With token, password, or none authentication, ordinary RPC calls to the configured local loopback Gateway do not open the shared state database for device authentication. Explicit URL targets and paired remote connections retain their device authentication rules.

- Default: human-readable (colored in TTY). - `--json`: machine-readable JSON (no styling/spinner). - `--no-color` (or `NO_COLOR=1`): disable ANSI while keeping human layout. - `--url `: Gateway WebSocket URL. - `--token `: Gateway token. - `--password `: Gateway password. - `--timeout `: timeout/budget (default varies per command; see each command below). - `--expect-final`: wait for a "final" response (agent calls). When you set `--url`, the CLI does not fall back to config or environment credentials. Pass `--token` or `--password` explicitly. Missing explicit credentials is an error.

WebSocket opening-handshake timeouts report a Gateway transport error with ETIMEDOUT, including the target and a status-check hint. JSON error output uses error.type: "gateway_transport_error", as for other connection failures.

gateway health

openclaw gateway health --url ws://127.0.0.1:18789
openclaw gateway health --port 18789

/healthz is a liveness probe: it returns as soon as the server can answer HTTP. /readyz is stricter and stays red while startup plugin sidecars, channels, or configured hooks are still settling. Local or authenticated detailed /readyz responses include an eventLoop diagnostic block (delay, utilization, CPU-core ratio, degraded flag).

Target a local loopback Gateway on this port. Overrides `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_URL` and `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT` for this call.

gateway usage-cost

Fetch usage-cost summaries from session logs.

openclaw gateway usage-cost
openclaw gateway usage-cost --days 7
openclaw gateway usage-cost --agent work --json
openclaw gateway usage-cost --all-agents
openclaw gateway usage-cost --json

Human-readable output warns that totals may be incomplete when the usage cache is refreshing, partial, or stale. The command returns the available snapshot from one request; run it again later to check for refreshed totals. JSON output preserves the cacheStatus object so scripts can inspect the same state.

Number of days to include. Scope the summary to one configured agent id. Aggregate across all configured agents. Cannot combine with `--agent`.

gateway stability

Fetch the recent diagnostic stability recorder from a running Gateway.

openclaw gateway stability
openclaw gateway stability --type payload.large
openclaw gateway stability --bundle latest
openclaw gateway stability --bundle latest --export
openclaw gateway stability --json

Maximum recent events to include (max `1000`). Filter by diagnostic event type, e.g. `payload.large` or `diagnostic.memory.pressure`. Include only events after a diagnostic sequence number. Read a persisted stability bundle instead of calling the running Gateway. `--bundle latest` (or bare `--bundle`) picks the newest bundle under the state directory; you can also pass a bundle JSON path directly. Write a shareable support diagnostics zip instead of printing stability details. Output path for `--export`. - Records keep operational metadata: event names, counts, byte sizes, memory readings, queue/session state, approval ids, channel/plugin names, and redacted session summaries. They exclude chat text, webhook bodies, tool outputs, raw request/response bodies, tokens, cookies, secret values, hostnames, and raw session ids. Set `diagnostics.enabled: false` to disable the recorder entirely. - Fatal Gateway exits, shutdown timeouts, and restart startup failures write a diagnostic snapshot to `~/.openclaw/logs/stability/openclaw-stability-*.json`, even when the recorder has no events. When the error has a stack, `error.stack` retains it with secrets redacted and a limit of 8,000 UTF-16 code units. Inspect the newest bundle with `openclaw gateway stability --bundle latest`; `--limit`, `--type`, and `--since-seq` apply to bundle output too. - Failed shutdown steps include `evidence.shutdown`: the step and redacted error names, messages, codes, and stacks, including nested causes and aggregate errors. Use `openclaw gateway stability --bundle latest --json` to inspect these details. Capture is bounded to 32 errors and 8,000 UTF-16 code units per stack. `gateway.restart_close_failed` identifies a thrown close failure; `gateway.restart_shutdown_timeout` identifies the overall shutdown deadline. A timeout also retains any shutdown error already observed. Restart and stop failures flush the existing file logger before exit, within its shutdown budget.

gateway diagnostics export

Write a local diagnostics zip designed for bug reports. For the privacy model and bundle contents, see Diagnostics Export.

openclaw gateway diagnostics export
openclaw gateway diagnostics export --output openclaw-diagnostics.zip
openclaw gateway diagnostics export --json

Output zip path. Defaults to a support export under the state directory. Maximum sanitized log lines to include. Maximum log bytes to inspect. Gateway WebSocket URL for the health snapshot. Gateway token for the health snapshot. Gateway password for the health snapshot. Status/health snapshot timeout. Skip persisted stability bundle lookup. Print the written path, size, and manifest as JSON.

The export bundles: manifest.json (file inventory), summary.md (Markdown summary), diagnostics.json (top-level config/logs/discovery/stability/status/health summary), config/sanitized.json, status/gateway-status.json, health/gateway-health.json, logs/openclaw-sanitized.jsonl, and stability/latest.json when a bundle exists.

It is designed to be shared. It keeps operational details useful for debugging — safe log fields, subsystem names, status codes, durations, configured modes, ports, plugin/provider ids, non-secret feature settings, and redacted operational log messages — and omits or redacts chat text, webhook bodies, tool outputs, credentials, cookies, account/message identifiers, prompt/instruction text, hostnames, and secret values. When a log message looks like user/chat/tool payload text (e.g. "user said", "chat text", "tool output", "webhook body"), the export keeps only the fact that a message was omitted plus its byte count.

gateway status

Shows the Gateway service (launchd/systemd/schtasks) plus an optional connectivity/auth probe.

openclaw gateway status
openclaw gateway status --json
openclaw gateway status --require-rpc
openclaw gateway status --port 19001

Probe this explicit WebSocket URL instead of the service-derived target. Cannot combine with `--port`. Select a local Gateway port using the invoking CLI config for auth and TLS. Accepts `gateway --port 19001 status` and `gateway status --port 19001`; an explicit status port wins. Native service details remain visible as diagnostics but do not select the probe target. Token auth for the probe. Password auth for the probe. Probe timeout. Without an explicit value, the RPC probe uses 10 seconds and Windows Task Scheduler state and registration probes allow 60 seconds for cold startup. The read-only registration query uses this allowance for both its total runtime and time without output. Explicit values also apply to native service probes. Each operation has its own budget; this is not an overall command deadline. Skip the connectivity probe (service-only view). Scan system-level services too. Upgrade the connectivity probe to a read probe and exit non-zero if it fails. Cannot combine with `--no-probe`. - Stays available for diagnostics even when the local CLI config is missing or invalid. - If service discovery cannot inspect a required file, such as a systemd environment file readable only by root, status reports the native service as unknown and continues with the caller's Gateway target and credentials. Observed service ownership refusals remain errors; status does not change file permissions or relax lifecycle checks. - Default output proves service state, WebSocket connect, and the auth capability visible at handshake time — not read/write/admin operations. - Probes are non-mutating for first-time device auth: they reuse an existing cached device token when one exists, but never create a new CLI device identity or read-only pairing record just to check status. - Resolves configured auth SecretRefs for probe auth when possible. If a required SecretRef is unresolved, `--json` reports `rpc.authWarning` when probe connectivity/auth fails; pass `--token`/`--password` explicitly or fix the secret source. Unresolved-auth warnings are suppressed once the probe succeeds. - JSON output includes `gateway.version` when the running Gateway reports it; `--require-rpc` can fall back to the `status.runtimeVersion` RPC payload if the handshake probe cannot supply version metadata. - Use `--require-rpc` in scripts/automation when a listening service is not enough and you need read-scope RPC to be healthy too. - `--deep` scans for extra launchd/systemd/schtasks installs; when multiple gateway-like services are found, human output prints cleanup hints (usually run one gateway per machine) and reports a recent supervisor restart handoff when relevant. - `--deep` confirms exact npm targets before suggesting repairs for official-plugin version drift. Unpublished versions or registry failures are reported without an update command; retry deep status after registry access or the release cohort is restored. Ordinary status and readiness checks do not query npm for drift repairs. - `--deep` also runs config validation in plugin-aware mode (`pluginValidation: "full"`) and surfaces plugin manifest warnings (e.g. missing channel config metadata). Default `gateway status` keeps the fast read-only path that skips plugin validation. - On Linux, status reports the effective service currently loaded by systemd, including loaded drop-ins. If the unit or a drop-in changed on disk, `Systemd reload: pending` means you must run `systemctl --user daemon-reload` (or `sudo systemctl daemon-reload` for a system service) before those changes take effect. - Human output includes the resolved file log path plus CLI-vs-service config paths/validity to help diagnose profile or state-dir drift. - If the Gateway reports no version, human output still shows the locally inspected service package version and path when readable. A version mismatch suggests reinstalling only when that service is the probe target; installation restrictions appear as the existing refusal message. - A missing native service is informational when that service is diagnostic-only, such as a Gateway using a non-default state directory. The connectivity probe still reports the selected Gateway's result. - Install and reinstall guidance follows the invoking shell's installation rules, not the stored service environment or probe target. Nix mode, external supervision, noncanonical installation identity, and Linux sudo/user-manager mismatches show the install refusal instead of an unusable command. A diagnostic-only target is not itself a refusal. Nix mode blocks installation, not starting an existing service. - Human output includes `Gateway heap:` with configured service heap controls and a separate install-time recommendation based on memory visible to the CLI. JSON output exposes the same report as `service.gatewayHeap`. Neither is a measurement of the running Gateway's V8 heap ceiling; use runtime memory diagnostics for that. - Service auth drift checks read both `Environment=` and `EnvironmentFile=` from the unit. `Environment=` assignments may be quoted. Use one unquoted absolute path per `EnvironmentFile=` directive, including paths with spaces; multiple directives and optional `-` files are supported. `%h` expands to the service home, and `%%` represents a literal percent sign. - Resolves `gateway.auth.token` SecretRefs using merged runtime env (service command env first, then process env fallback). - Token-drift checks skip config token resolution when token auth is not effectively active (`gateway.auth.mode` explicitly `password`/`none`/`trusted-proxy`, or mode unset where password can win and no token candidate can win).

gateway probe

The "debug everything" command. It always probes:

• your configured remote gateway (if set), and
• localhost (loopback), even if remote is configured.

Passing --url adds that explicit target ahead of both. Human output labels targets URL (explicit), Remote (configured) / Remote (configured, inactive), and Local loopback.

If multiple probe targets are reachable, all are printed. An SSH tunnel, TLS/proxy URL, and configured remote URL can point at the same gateway even with different transport ports; `multiple_gateways` is reserved for distinct or identity-ambiguous reachable gateways. Running multiple gateways is supported for isolated profiles (e.g. a rescue bot), but most installs run a single gateway.

openclaw gateway probe
openclaw gateway probe --json
openclaw gateway probe --port 18789

Use this port for the local loopback probe target and SSH tunnel remote port. Without `--url`, this selects only the local loopback target instead of configured gateway environment URL, environment port, or remote targets. - `Reachable: yes` means at least one target accepted a WebSocket connect. - `Capability: read-only|write-capable|admin-capable|pairing-pending|connect-only` reports what the probe could prove about auth, separate from reachability. - `Read probe: ok` means read-scope detail RPC calls (`health`/`status`/`system-presence`/`config.get`) also succeeded. - `Read probe: limited - missing scope: operator.read` means connect succeeded but read-scope RPC is limited. Reported as **degraded** reachability, not full failure. - `Read probe: failed` after `Connect: ok` means the WebSocket connected but follow-up read diagnostics timed out or failed — also **degraded**, not unreachable. - Like `gateway status`, probe reuses existing cached device auth but does not create first-time device identity or pairing state. - Exit code is non-zero only when no probed target is reachable. Top level:

- `ok`: at least one target is reachable.
- `degraded`: at least one target accepted a connection but did not complete full detail RPC diagnostics.
- `capability`: best capability seen across reachable targets (`read_only`, `write_capable`, `admin_capable`, `pairing_pending`, `connected_no_operator_scope`, or `unknown`).
- `primaryTargetId`: best target to treat as the active winner, in order: explicit URL, SSH tunnel, configured remote, local loopback.
- `warnings[]`: best-effort warning records with `code`, `message`, optional `targetIds`.
- `network`: local loopback/tailnet URL hints derived from current config and host networking.
- `discovery.timeoutMs` / `discovery.count`: the actual discovery budget/result count used for this probe pass.

Per target (`targets[].connect`): `ok` (reachability + degraded classification), `rpcOk` (full detail RPC success), `scopeLimited` (detail RPC failed on missing operator scope).

Per target (`targets[].auth`): `role` and `scopes` reported in `hello-ok` when available, plus the surfaced `capability` classification.

- `ssh_tunnel_failed`: SSH tunnel setup failed; the command fell back to direct probes. - `multiple_gateways`: distinct gateway identities were reachable, or OpenClaw could not prove reachable targets are the same gateway. An SSH tunnel, proxy URL, or configured remote URL to the same gateway does not trigger this. - `auth_secretref_unresolved`: a configured auth SecretRef could not be resolved for a failed target. - `probe_scope_limited`: WebSocket connect succeeded, but the read probe was limited by missing `operator.read`. - `local_tls_runtime_unavailable`: local Gateway TLS is enabled but OpenClaw could not load the local certificate fingerprint.

Remote over SSH (Mac app parity)

The macOS app "Remote over SSH" mode uses a local port-forward so a loopback-only remote gateway becomes reachable at ws://127.0.0.1:<port>.

CLI equivalent:

openclaw gateway probe --ssh user@gateway-host

`user@host` or `user@host:port` (port defaults to `22`).

OpenClaw launches only an SSH client found in OS-managed system directories. On native Windows, install the OpenSSH Client optional feature; Windows places it under %SystemRoot%\System32\OpenSSH.

Identity file. Pick the first discovered gateway host as SSH target from the resolved discovery endpoint (`local.` plus the configured wide-area domain, if any). TXT-only hints are ignored.

Config defaults (optional): gateway.remote.sshTarget, gateway.remote.sshIdentity.

gateway call <method>

Low-level RPC helper.

Use --expect-url <url> to bind a call to a previously observed Gateway endpoint without changing URL selection or authentication. The CLI compares the exact resolved URL before connecting and fails if the destination changed. Automation can obtain the endpoint from gateway.url in openclaw status --json; a redacted URL cannot serve as an exact endpoint assertion.

openclaw gateway call status
openclaw gateway call health --port 18999
openclaw gateway call logs.tail --params '{"limit": 200}'

To add an existing checkout to the Control UI's Place picker, use the project registration and listing examples.

For sessions.send and chat.send, JSON timeoutMs is the receiving agent's execution budget, not an acknowledgment timeout. Omit it for ordinary coordination; --timeout independently limits how long this CLI waits:

openclaw gateway call sessions.send --params '{"key":"<session-key>","message":"Status update"}' --timeout 10000

A started response confirms acceptance, not a completed reply. These CLI methods are for operators and external automation. Agents use their exposed sessions_send tool, never a shell or direct RPC substitute. An unavailable messaging tool is not permission to use the CLI. Subagents return results through their accepted task completion path; the parent relays any necessary coordination with other sessions.

In an agent's exec subprocess (OPENCLAW_SHELL=exec), message RPCs are refused before connecting so worker reports cannot appear as fresh human input. Ordinary operator terminals and non-message Gateway diagnostics are unchanged.

JSON object string for params. Gateway WebSocket URL. Target a local loopback Gateway on this port. Overrides `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_URL` and `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT` for this call. Cannot combine with `--url`. Gateway token. Gateway password. Timeout budget. Mainly for agent-style RPCs that stream intermediate events before a final payload. Machine-readable JSON output.

openclaw.setup.detect uses a 40-second default so the Gateway can finish its bounded AI-access scan. An explicit --timeout still takes precedence.

`--params` must be valid JSON, and each method validates its own param shape (extra/misnamed fields are rejected). Use `--port` for a custom-port local Gateway; explicit `--url` targets still require explicit credentials.

gateway suspend

Prepare an idle Gateway for a cooperative host freeze or snapshot. Without --wait, active work returns a nonzero exit with blocker details. With --wait, the CLI retries until the bounded deadline using one stable request ID. The value must be a non-negative number of seconds; an empty value is rejected. Use --wait 0 for a single attempt without polling.

openclaw gateway suspend
openclaw gateway suspend --request-id snapshot-2026-08-11 --wait 30
openclaw gateway suspend --port 18999 --json

The ready output includes the suspension ID, lease expiry, and the matching resume command. Common RPC options such as --url, --token, --password, --timeout, --json, and --port are supported.

gateway resume <suspensionId>

Release a prepared suspension after thaw or when the host operation is abandoned.

openclaw gateway resume <suspensionId>
openclaw gateway resume <suspensionId> --port 18999 --json

An already expired or resumed lease is a successful no-op. A different active suspension ID is rejected. Once shutdown commits, resume is refused even for the original owner; gateway.suspend.status reports that owner's shutdown progress until server teardown closes RPC access.