A Windows companion suite for OpenClaw - the AI-powered personal assistant.
Made with 🦞 love by Scott Hanselman and Molty
This monorepo contains four projects:
| Project | Description |
|---|---|
| OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI | System tray application (WinUI 3) for quick access to OpenClaw |
| OpenClaw.Shared | Shared gateway client library |
| OpenClaw.Cli | CLI validator for WebSocket connect/send/probe using tray settings |
| OpenClaw.CommandPalette | PowerToys Command Palette extension |
End-user installer? See docs/SETUP.md for a step-by-step installation guide (no build required).
- Windows 10 (20H2+) or Windows 11
- .NET 10.0 SDK - https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/10.0
- Windows 10 SDK (for WinUI build) - install via Visual Studio or standalone
- WebView2 Runtime - pre-installed on modern Windows, or get from https://developer.microsoft.com/microsoft-edge/webview2
- PowerToys (optional, for Command Palette extension) — see docs/POWERTOYS.md
Use the build script to check prerequisites and build:
# Check prerequisites
.\build.ps1 -CheckOnly
# Build all projects
.\build.ps1
# Build specific project
.\build.ps1 -Project WinUIOr build directly with dotnet:
# Build all (use build.ps1 for best results)
dotnet build
# Build WinUI (requires runtime identifier for WebView2 support)
dotnet build src/OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI/OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI.csproj -r win-arm64 # ARM64
dotnet build src/OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI/OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI.csproj -r win-x64 # x64
# Build MSIX package (for camera/mic consent prompts)
dotnet build src/OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI -r win-arm64 -p:PackageMsix=true # ARM64 MSIX
dotnet build src/OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI -r win-x64 -p:PackageMsix=true # x64 MSIX# Run the exe directly (path includes runtime identifier)
.\src\OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI\bin\Debug\net10.0-windows10.0.19041.0\win-arm64\OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI.exe # ARM64
.\src\OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI\bin\Debug\net10.0-windows10.0.19041.0\win-x64\OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI.exe # x64Use the CLI to validate gateway connectivity and chat.send outside the tray UI.
# Show help
dotnet run --project src/OpenClaw.Cli -- --help
# Use tray settings from %APPDATA%\OpenClawTray\settings.json and send one message
dotnet run --project src/OpenClaw.Cli -- --message "quick send validation"
# Loop sends and also probe sessions/usage/nodes APIs
dotnet run --project src/OpenClaw.Cli -- --repeat 5 --delay-ms 1000 --probe-read --verbose
# Override gateway URL/token for isolated testing
dotnet run --project src/OpenClaw.Cli -- --url ws://127.0.0.1:18789 --token "<token>" --message "override test"Modern Windows 11-style system tray companion that connects to your local OpenClaw gateway.
- 🦞 Lobster branding - Pixel-art lobster tray icon with status colors
- 🎨 Modern UI - Windows 11 flyout menu with dark/light mode support
- 💬 Quick Send - Send messages via global hotkey (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C)
- 🔄 Auto-updates - Automatic updates from GitHub Releases
- 🌐 Web Chat - Embedded chat window with WebView2
- 📊 Live Status - Real-time sessions, channels, and usage display
- 🧭 Command Center - Dense gateway, channel, usage, node, pairing, and allowlist diagnostics from one window
- ⚡ Activity Stream - Dedicated flyout for live session, usage, node, and notification events
- 🔔 Toast Notifications - Clickable Windows notifications with smart categorization
- 📡 Channel Control - Start/stop Telegram & WhatsApp from the menu
- 🖥️ Node Observability - Node inventory with online/offline state and copyable summary
- ⏱ Cron Jobs - Quick access to scheduled tasks
- 🚀 Auto-start - Launch with Windows
- ⚙️ Settings - Full configuration dialog
- 🎯 First-run experience - Welcome dialog guides new users
Quick Send uses the gateway chat.send method and requires the operator device to have operator.write scope.
If Quick Send fails with missing scope: operator.write, Molty now copies identity + remediation guidance to your clipboard, including:
- operator role and
client.idused by the tray app - gateway-reported operator device id (if provided)
- currently granted scopes (if provided)
For this specific error (missing scope: operator.write), the cause is an operator token scope issue. Update the token used by the tray app so it includes operator.write, then retry Quick Send.
If Quick Send fails with pairing required / NOT_PAIRED, that is a device approval issue. Approve the tray device in gateway pairing approvals, reconnect, and retry.
- Status - Gateway connection status with click-to-view details
- Command Center - Status detail window with diagnostics, channel health, usage, sessions, nodes, and copyable repair commands
- Sessions - Active agent sessions with preview and per-session controls
- Usage - Provider/cost summary with quick jump to activity details
- Channels - Telegram/WhatsApp status with toggle control
- Nodes - Online/offline node inventory and copyable summary
- Recent Activity - Timestamped event stream for sessions, usage, nodes, and notifications
- Actions - Dashboard, Web Chat, Quick Send, Activity Stream, History
- Support & Debug - Logs, config, diagnostics folder, redacted support context, browser setup, port/capability/node/channel/activity summaries, and managed SSH tunnel restart
- Settings - Configuration and auto-start
Comparing against openclaw-menubar (macOS Swift menu bar app):
| Feature | Mac | Windows | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menu bar/tray icon | ✅ | ✅ | Color-coded status |
| Gateway status display | ✅ | ✅ | Connected/Disconnected |
| PID display | ✅ | ✅ | Command Center shows gateway listener process/PID |
| Channel status | ✅ | ✅ | Mac: Discord / Win: Telegram+WhatsApp |
| Sessions count | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Last check timestamp | ✅ | ✅ | Shown in tray tooltip |
| Gateway start/stop/restart | ✅ | Windows can restart the managed SSH tunnel from tray Support & Debug and Command Center; external gateway process control is not implemented | |
| View Logs | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Open Web UI | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Refresh | ✅ | ✅ | Auto-refresh on menu open |
| Launch at Login | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Notifications toggle | ✅ | ✅ |
These features are available in Windows but not in the Mac app:
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Quick Send hotkey | Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C global hotkey |
| Embedded Web Chat | WebView2-based chat window |
| Toast notifications | Clickable Windows notifications |
| Channel control | Start/stop Telegram & WhatsApp |
| Modern flyout menu | Windows 11-style with dark/light mode |
| Deep links | openclaw:// URL scheme with IPC |
| First-run welcome | Guided onboarding for new users |
| PowerToys integration | Command Palette extension |
When Node Mode is enabled in Settings, your Windows PC becomes a node that the OpenClaw agent can control - just like the Mac app! The agent can:
| Capability | Commands | Description |
|---|---|---|
| System | system.notify, system.run, system.run.prepare, system.which, system.execApprovals.get, system.execApprovals.set |
Show Windows toast notifications, execute commands with policy controls |
| Canvas | canvas.present, canvas.hide, canvas.navigate, canvas.eval, canvas.snapshot, canvas.a2ui.push, canvas.a2ui.pushJSONL, canvas.a2ui.reset |
Display and control a WebView2 window |
| Screen | screen.snapshot, screen.record |
Capture screenshots and fixed-duration MP4 screen recordings |
| Camera | camera.list, camera.snap, camera.clip |
Enumerate cameras and capture still photos or short video clips |
| Location | location.get |
Return Windows geolocation when permission is available |
| Device | device.info, device.status |
Return Windows host/app metadata and lightweight status |
-
Enable Node Mode in Settings (enabled by default)
-
First connection creates a pairing request on the gateway
-
Approve the device on your gateway:
openclaw devices list # Find your Windows device openclaw devices approve <id> # Approve it
-
Configure gateway allowCommands - Add the commands you want to allow under
gateway.nodesin~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:{ "gateway": { "nodes": { "allowCommands": [ "system.notify", "system.run", "system.run.prepare", "system.which", "system.execApprovals.get", "system.execApprovals.set", "canvas.present", "canvas.hide", "canvas.navigate", "canvas.eval", "canvas.snapshot", "canvas.a2ui.push", "canvas.a2ui.pushJSONL", "canvas.a2ui.reset", "screen.snapshot", "camera.list", "camera.snap", "camera.clip", "location.get", "device.info", "device.status" ] } } }⚠️ Important: The gateway has a server-side allowlist. Commands must be listed explicitly - wildcards likecanvas.*don't work! Privacy-sensitive commands such asscreen.recordshould only be added toallowCommandswhen you explicitly want to allow them. -
Test it from your Mac/gateway:
# Show a notification openclaw nodes notify --node <id> --title "Hello" --body "From Mac!" # Open a canvas window openclaw nodes canvas present --node <id> --url "https://example.com" # Execute JavaScript (note: CLI sends "javaScript" param) openclaw nodes canvas eval --node <id> --javaScript "document.title" # Render A2UI JSONL in the canvas (pass the file contents as a string) openclaw nodes canvas a2ui push --node <id> --jsonl "$(cat ./ui.jsonl)" # Take a screenshot openclaw nodes invoke --node <id> --command screen.snapshot --params '{"screenIndex":0,"format":"png"}' # Record a short screen clip (requires explicitly allowing screen.record on the gateway) openclaw nodes screen record --node <id> --duration 3000 --fps 10 --screen 0 --no-audio --out /tmp/openclaw-windows-screen-record-test.mp4 --json # List cameras openclaw nodes invoke --node <id> --command camera.list # Take a photo (NV12/MediaCapture fallback) openclaw nodes invoke --node <id> --command camera.snap --params '{"deviceId":"<device-id>","format":"jpeg","quality":80}' # Execute a command on the Windows node openclaw nodes invoke --node <id> --command system.run --params '{"command":"Get-Process | Select -First 5","shell":"powershell","timeoutMs":10000}' # View exec approval policy openclaw nodes invoke --node <id> --command system.execApprovals.get # Update exec approval policy (add custom rules) openclaw nodes invoke --node <id> --command system.execApprovals.set --params '{"rules":[{"pattern":"echo *","action":"allow"},{"pattern":"*","action":"deny"}],"defaultAction":"deny"}'
📷 Camera permission: Desktop builds rely on Windows Privacy settings. Packaged MSIX builds will show the system consent prompt.
🔒 Exec Policy:
system.runis gated by an approval policy on the Windows node at%LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenClawTray\exec-policy.json(schema:{ "defaultAction": "...", "rules": [...] }). This is separate from gateway-side~/.openclaw/exec-approvals.json.Rules are matched against the full command line. Known wrapper payloads such as
cmd /c ...,powershell -Command ...,pwsh -EncodedCommand ..., andbash -c ...are also evaluated before execution. Dangerous environment overrides likePATH,PATHEXT,NODE_OPTIONS,GIT_SSH_COMMAND,LD_*, andDYLD_*are rejected.
Open the status detail/Command Center from the tray menu or with openclaw://commandcenter. It shows:
-
channel health from gateway
healthevents, including node-mode health received without a separate operator connection -
active sessions, usage/cost data, node inventory, declared commands, and Mac parity notes
-
allowlist diagnostics that separate safe companion commands from privacy-sensitive opt-ins like
screen.record,camera.snap, andcamera.clip -
copyable repair commands for safe allowlist fixes and pending pairing approval
-
recent activity and node invoke results through the Activity Stream, storing command names/status/duration only (not payloads, screenshots, recordings, or secrets)
openclaw nodes invoke --node <id> --command system.execApprovals.set --params '{"rules":[{"pattern":"powershell.exe","action":"allow"},{"pattern":"pwsh.exe","action":"allow"},{"pattern":"echo *","action":"allow"},{"pattern":"*","action":"deny"}],"defaultAction":"deny"}'
🔐 Web Chat secure context: Remote web chat requires
https://(or localhost). If using a self-signed cert, trust it in Windows (Trusted Root Certification Authorities) or use an SSH tunnel to localhost.
The tray menu shows node connection status:
- 🔌 Node Mode section appears when enabled
- ⏳ Waiting for approval... - Device needs approval on gateway
- ✅ Paired & Connected - Ready to receive commands
- Click the device ID to copy it for the approval command
OpenClaw registers the openclaw:// URL scheme for automation and integration:
| Link | Description |
|---|---|
openclaw://settings |
Open Settings dialog |
openclaw://setup |
Open Setup Wizard |
openclaw://chat |
Open Web Chat window |
openclaw://commandcenter |
Open Command Center diagnostics |
openclaw://activity |
Open Activity Stream |
openclaw://history |
Open Notification History |
openclaw://dashboard |
Open Dashboard in browser |
openclaw://dashboard/sessions |
Open specific dashboard page |
openclaw://dashboard/channels |
Open Channels dashboard page |
openclaw://dashboard/skills |
Open Skills dashboard page |
openclaw://dashboard/cron |
Open Cron dashboard page |
openclaw://healthcheck |
Run a manual health check |
openclaw://check-updates |
Run a manual update check |
openclaw://logs |
Open the current tray log file |
openclaw://log-folder |
Open the logs folder |
openclaw://config |
Open the config folder |
openclaw://diagnostics |
Open the diagnostics JSONL folder |
openclaw://support-context |
Copy redacted support context |
openclaw://debug-bundle |
Copy a combined debug bundle for support |
openclaw://browser-setup |
Copy browser.proxy/browser-control setup guidance |
openclaw://port-diagnostics |
Copy gateway/browser/tunnel port diagnostics with owner PID stop hints |
openclaw://capability-diagnostics |
Copy permissions, allowlist, and parity diagnostics |
openclaw://node-inventory |
Copy node capabilities, commands, and policy status |
openclaw://channel-summary |
Copy channel health and start/stop availability |
openclaw://activity-summary |
Copy recent tray activity for troubleshooting |
openclaw://extensibility-summary |
Copy channel, skills, and cron dashboard surface guidance |
openclaw://restart-ssh-tunnel |
Restart the tray-managed SSH tunnel when enabled |
openclaw://send?message=Hello |
Open Quick Send with pre-filled text |
openclaw://agent?message=Hello |
Send message directly to the connected gateway |
Deep links work even when Molty is already running - they're forwarded via IPC.
PowerToys Command Palette extension for quick OpenClaw access.
- 🦞 Open Dashboard - Launch the OpenClaw web dashboard
- 💬 Dashboard: Sessions - Open the sessions dashboard
- 📡 Dashboard: Channels - Open the channel configuration dashboard
- 🧩 Dashboard: Skills - Open the skills dashboard
- ⏱️ Dashboard: Cron - Open the scheduled jobs dashboard
- 💬 Web Chat - Open the embedded Web Chat window
- 📝 Quick Send - Open the Quick Send dialog to compose a message
- 🧭 Setup Wizard - Open pairing/setup
- 🧭 Command Center - Open diagnostics and support actions
- 🔄 Run Health Check - Refresh connection health
- ⬇️ Check for Updates - Run a manual GitHub Releases update check
- ⚡ Activity Stream - Open recent activity
- 📋 Notification History - Open notification history
- ⚙️ Settings - Open the OpenClaw Tray Settings dialog
- 📄 Open Log File / 📁 Logs / 🗂️ Config / 🧪 Diagnostics - Open support files and folders
- 📋 Copy Support Context - Copy redacted Command Center metadata
- 🧰 Copy Debug Bundle - Copy combined support, port, capability, node, channel, and activity diagnostics
- 🌐 Copy Browser Setup - Copy browser.proxy and node-host setup guidance
- 🔌 Copy Port Diagnostics - Copy gateway/browser/tunnel port owners and stop hints
- 🛡️ Copy Capability Diagnostics - Copy permission, allowlist, and parity diagnostics
- 🖥️ Copy Node Inventory - Copy node capabilities, commands, and policy status
- 📡 Copy Channel Summary - Copy channel health and start/stop availability
- ⚡ Copy Activity Summary - Copy recent tray activity
- 🧩 Copy Extensibility Summary - Copy channel, skills, and cron surface guidance
- 🔁 Restart SSH Tunnel - Restart the tray-managed SSH tunnel when enabled
- Run the OpenClaw Tray installer and tick "Install PowerToys Command Palette extension", or
- Register manually:
Add-AppxPackage -Register "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\OpenClawTray\CommandPalette\AppxManifest.xml" -ForceApplicationShutdown - Open Command Palette (
Win+Alt+Space) and type "OpenClaw" to see commands
See docs/POWERTOYS.md for detailed setup and troubleshooting.
Shared library containing:
OpenClawGatewayClient- WebSocket client for gateway protocolIOpenClawLogger- Logging interface- Data models (SessionInfo, ChannelHealth, etc.)
- Channel control (start/stop channels via gateway)
openclaw-windows-node/
├── src/
│ ├── OpenClaw.Shared/ # Shared gateway library
│ ├── OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI/ # System tray app (WinUI 3)
│ └── OpenClaw.CommandPalette/ # PowerToys extension
├── tests/
│ ├── OpenClaw.Shared.Tests/ # Shared library tests
│ └── OpenClaw.Tray.Tests/ # Tray app helper tests
├── docs/
│ └── molty1.png # Screenshot
├── moltbot-windows-hub.slnx # Solution file (historical name)
├── README.md
├── LICENSE
└── .gitignore
Settings are stored in:
- Settings:
%APPDATA%\OpenClawTray\settings.json - Logs:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenClawTray\openclaw-tray.log
Default gateway: ws://localhost:18789
On first run without a token, Molty displays a welcome dialog that:
- Explains what's needed to get started
- Links to documentation for token setup
- Opens Settings to configure the connection
MIT License - see LICENSE
Formerly known as Moltbot, formerly known as Clawdbot