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Gateway lifecycle on macOS

docs/platforms/mac/child-process.md

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The macOS app manages the Gateway via launchd by default and does not spawn the Gateway as a child process. It first tries to attach to an already-running Gateway on the configured port; if none is reachable, it enables the launchd service via the external openclaw CLI (no embedded runtime). This gives reliable auto-start at login and restart on crashes.

Child-process mode (Gateway spawned directly by the app) is not in use today. If you need tighter coupling to the UI, run the Gateway manually in a terminal.

Default behavior (launchd)

  • The app installs a per-user LaunchAgent labeled ai.openclaw.gateway (or ai.openclaw.<profile> when using --profile/OPENCLAW_PROFILE).
  • When Local mode is enabled, the app ensures the LaunchAgent is loaded and starts the Gateway if needed.
  • Logs are written to the launchd gateway log path (visible in Debug Settings).

Common commands:

bash
launchctl kickstart -k gui/$UID/ai.openclaw.gateway
launchctl bootout gui/$UID/ai.openclaw.gateway

Replace the label with ai.openclaw.<profile> when running a named profile.

Unsigned dev builds

scripts/restart-mac.sh --no-sign is for fast local builds without signing keys. To stop launchd from pointing at an unsigned relay binary, it writes ~/.openclaw/disable-launchagent.

Signed runs of scripts/restart-mac.sh clear this override if the marker is present. To reset manually:

bash
rm ~/.openclaw/disable-launchagent

Attach-only mode

To force the macOS app to never install or manage launchd, launch it with --attach-only (or --no-launchd). This sets ~/.openclaw/disable-launchagent, so the app only attaches to an already running Gateway. Toggle the same behavior in Debug Settings.

Remote mode

Remote mode never starts a local Gateway. The app uses an SSH tunnel to the remote host and connects over that tunnel.

Why we prefer launchd

  • Auto-start at login.
  • Built-in restart/KeepAlive semantics.
  • Predictable logs and supervision.

If a true child-process mode is ever needed again, it should be documented as a separate, explicit dev-only mode.