> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.openclaw.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# 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  theme={null}
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.
