Chapter 11: Web Interfaces and Clients

Terminal too hardcore? This chapter covers the various graphical interfaces for the claw — web-based, desktop, and terminal UI. There's something for everyone.

Prerequisites: You have completed Chapter 2: Manual OpenClaw Installation and the Gateway is running.

0. Pick the Interface You Like

Four native interfaces, all connected to the same Gateway. Switch between them freely or use them simultaneously:

Interface	How to Open	One-Line Description	Platform
Dashboard	openclaw dashboard	Control panel for managing config and viewing conversation history	All platforms
WebChat	Open Gateway address in browser	Zero-configuration, chat right out of the box	All platforms
Control UI	Open OpenClaw.app	Native macOS desktop experience	macOS
TUI	openclaw tui	Chat directly in the terminal, ultra-lightweight	All platforms

Not sure which to pick? Want to manage config → Dashboard; want to chat → WebChat; macOS user → Control UI; SSH remote → TUI.

1. Web Dashboard

The Dashboard is OpenClaw's primary management interface, running in the browser. It covers configuration, conversation history, channel status, skills, scheduled tasks, and everything else.

Starting

openclaw dashboard

The browser opens http://localhost:18789 automatically. If it doesn't, navigate there manually.

Dashboard sections at a glance

Section	Description
Config	Visually edit configuration; changes take effect on save
Conversations	View conversation history, message details, and tool call records
Channels	View the status of connected channels
Sessions	Manage active sessions and context
Skills	Browse and manage installed skills
Cron	View and manage scheduled tasks
Logs	View the Gateway log stream in real time

The Config tab provides a visual configuration editor — it has exactly the same effect as openclaw config set <key> <value> (see Chapter 8: Configuration Management).

Remote Access

When the Gateway is on a remote server, use an SSH tunnel to forward the port to your local machine (see Chapter 9: Remote Access):

# Run this on your local machine
ssh -N -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789 user@remote-server
# Then open http://localhost:18789 in your browser

Dashboard authentication

If the Gateway is configured with authentication (token or password mode), you will be prompted for credentials when opening the Dashboard:

• Token mode: Enter the value of the OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN environment variable
• Password mode: Enter the value of the OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PASSWORD environment variable
• Tailscale mode: If allowTailscale: true is enabled, access from within the Tailscale network requires no password

// Authentication configuration example
{
  gateway: {
    auth: {
      mode: "token",             // token | password
      token: "${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN}",
      allowTailscale: true,      // Tailscale devices bypass authentication
    },
  },
}

Security reminder: The Dashboard has full administrative access. Always set up authentication, especially when the Gateway is not running on loopback (see Chapter 10: Security).

Changing the Dashboard port

If the default port 18789 conflicts with another service:

{
  gateway: {
    port: 19000,   // change to another port
  },
}

Or specify it at startup:

openclaw gateway --port 19000

After the change, the Dashboard address becomes http://localhost:19000.

2. WebChat (Built-in Web Chat)

The Gateway's built-in chat interface — zero configuration, works out of the box. No platform account registration required.

Opening

Open http://localhost:18789 in your browser, or click the Chat entry in the Dashboard.

WebChat is best suited for initial testing and skill debugging. Send /status to quickly check the Gateway status.

WebChat vs. Telegram / Discord: which should I use?

Dimension	WebChat	Telegram	Discord
Registration required	None	Bot creation required	Bot creation required
Public internet required	No	Webhook requires it	No
Mobile	Browser access	Native App	Native App
Group chat	Not supported	Supported	Supported
Push notifications	Page must stay open	System notifications	System notifications

If you need mobile push notifications or group chat, pair with Telegram or Discord (see Chapter 4).

Third-party web chat clients

Community clients (e.g. PinchChat: github.com/pinchchat/pinchchat) communicate with OpenClaw via the Gateway's HTTP API. You need to enable the endpoint before use:

{
  gateway: {
    http: {
      endpoints: {
        chatCompletions: { enabled: true },
      },
    },
  },
}

Point the client's API address to http://127.0.0.1:18789/v1/chat/completions, using the Gateway authentication token as the API Key (see Chapter 8: HTTP API Endpoints).

3. Control UI (macOS Desktop Client)

A native desktop application exclusive to macOS (OpenClaw.app): lives in the menu bar, sends native notifications, and lets you manage the Gateway without a terminal.

Installation

Usually included when installed via AutoClaw. You can also install it separately:

brew install --cask openclaw

Find OpenClaw.app in Applications and double-click to open it.

Connecting to a Remote Gateway

Settings → General → "OpenClaw runs" → select Remote over SSH → enter the server address. The app automatically manages the SSH tunnel and WebChat works out of the box (see Chapter 9: Remote Access).

What's the difference between Control UI and Dashboard?

Dimension	Control UI	Dashboard
Platform	macOS only	All platforms (browser)
Installation	App download required	Built into Gateway
System integration	Menu bar, notifications, shortcuts	None
Remote connection	Built-in SSH management	Manual tunnel required
Recommended for	Heavy macOS users	Cross-platform and remote management

Both can be used at the same time — Control UI manages the Gateway lifecycle while Dashboard handles fine-grained configuration.

4. TUI (Terminal Chat)

No browser needed, no GUI needed — chat directly in the terminal. Works anywhere a terminal is available: SSH remotes, servers, Docker containers.

Starting

openclaw tui

Interactive mode: type a message and press Enter to send. Or send a one-off message:

openclaw agent --message "Write me a Python hello world"

Advanced TUI usage: specifying agents and piped input

Specify thinking level:

openclaw agent --message "Analyze the security of this code" --thinking high

Specify an agent (see Appendix G for multi-agent configuration):

openclaw agent --message "Check today's schedule" --agent home
openclaw agent --message "Review this PR" --agent work

Piped input:

# Have the claw explain a piece of code
cat script.py | openclaw agent --message "Explain this code"

# Have the claw analyze logs
openclaw logs --limit 50 --plain | openclaw agent --message "Any anomalies?"

5. Interface Selection Guide

What you want to do	Recommended
First install — confirm everything works	openclaw tui
Day-to-day config management	Dashboard
Chat in a browser	WebChat
Chat over SSH remote	openclaw tui
Full macOS experience	Control UI
Debug skills	WebChat + Dashboard (inspect tool calls)
Call the claw from a script	openclaw agent --message
macOS desktop	Control UI + Dashboard
Windows / Linux desktop	Dashboard + WebChat
Cloud server / Docker	TUI
Phone / tablet	WebChat (browser)

All four interfaces connect to the same Gateway and can be used simultaneously — conversations started in WebChat are also visible in Dashboard's Conversations view.

6. Frequently Asked Questions

Dashboard shows a connection failure?

First confirm the Gateway is running: openclaw gateway status. If not, run openclaw gateway restart.

Port 18789 is already in use?

# macOS / Linux
ss -tlnp | grep 18789
# Windows
netstat -ano | findstr 18789

To change the port, see the "Changing the Dashboard port" section above.

WebChat messages get no reply?

Check in order: ① Run openclaw status to confirm the Gateway and Agent are healthy; ② run openclaw logs --follow, send a message, and check for errors; ③ confirm your API Key is valid (see Chapter 5).

Can I use WebChat on a remote server?

Yes. After setting up an SSH tunnel, open http://localhost:18789 in your local browser. Tailscale users can access it directly via the Tailscale IP (see Chapter 9).

Is Control UI only available on macOS?

Yes. Windows / Linux users should use the Dashboard, or the community desktop client ClawX.