OpenClaw Releases iOS and Android Companion Node Apps That Connect a Phone to an AI Autonomous Agent Gateway

OpenClaw recently released companion apps for iOS and Android. The iOS app is listed as ‘OpenClaw – AI that does things.’ Both apps are free to download. They are not independent chatbots. Each phone becomes a node in the host agent network. The assistant itself runs on a separate Gateway. That separation is the whole design.

The TL;DR

• OpenClaw’s iOS and Android apps are companion nodes, not standalone assistants.
• Gateway runs an agent; phones add camera, location, voice, and canvas.
• Nodes pair over WebSocket on port 18789 and require explicit permission.
• Strict privacy rules don’t apply until you whitelist it.
• A gateway to macOS, Linux, or Windows (WSL2) is required.

What is OpenClaw?

OpenClaw is an open source AI personal assistant/agent. Built by Peter Steinberger with community contributors. This project is independent and not affiliated with Anthropic. Its core is written in TypeScript. The runtime is Node 24 (recommended) or Node 22.19+. The Gateway runs on macOS, Linux, or Windows via WSL2. You talk to it through the chat apps you already use. Supported channels include WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Signal, and iMessage. The agent can browse the web, run shell commands, and read and write files. Works with managed, subscription-backed, gateway, or local models. You bring an API key from your chosen provider. It maintains persistent memory and supports social capabilities and plugins.

How Gate Construction and Locations Work?

Gateway is a single control plane. It manages sessions, routing, channels, tools, and events. You run a single Gateway process on your machine or server. Chat messages always arrive at the Gateway, not the phone. A node is a companion device that connects to that Gateway. Nodes connect over WebSocket on default port 18789. Each node registers with role: "node" during pairing. Nodes display the command area by using node.invoke. Those command families include canvas.*, camera.*, device.*, notifications.*again system.*. The documentation is clear: ‘Nodes are peripheral, not gateways.’ On the local network, applications find the Gateway through mDNS/Bonjour. For remote access, OpenClaw recommends Tailscale with wss:// endpoint.

What Adds Mobile Apps?

The phone gives the agent a body. It provides device-specific hardware for your workflow. The iOS app pairs with a QR code or setup code. It supports chat, real time and talk back mode, and permissions. You can share text, links, and media from iOS to OpenClaw. Options include camera, screen, location, photos, contacts, calendar, and reminders. An Android app is a companion node, not a standalone gateway. It offers broadcast chat replies, image attachments, and full session history. Talk Mode uses ElevenLabs or TTS system. Canvas’ live environment allows an agent to provide dashboards and tools. Android provides permissions one by one. The frontend service keeps the Gateway connection alive.

iOS Node vs Android Node

Use Cases with examples

Consider the collection of field data at the job site. The agent uses iOS camera capture to capture scenarios. Location tags each photo with GPS coordinates. Consider a reminder of context. The agent starts the job when you arrive at the location. Consider the incoming notification on Android. The agent reads it and writes a response. Consider a live dashboard. The agent pushes the Canvas area to your screen. Consider using handsfree. Talk Mode holds an ongoing voice conversation. One caveat applies to camera and screen capture. They need an action plan beforehand. The callbacks return an error.

Phone Pairing: Less Travel

First, run the Gateway on a supported host.

# On the Gateway host (macOS, Linux, or Windows via WSL2)
npm install -g openclaw@latest
openclaw onboard --install-daemon

Next, open the app and select the Gateway found. Or enter the host and port manually. The app connects with role: "node" and send a device pairing request. Authorize it from the Gateway CLI.

openclaw devices list
openclaw devices approve 
openclaw nodes status        # confirm the node is paired and connected

Privacy-heavy orders don’t stay in place by default. Examples include camera.snap, camera.clipagain screen.record. You choose to log in clearly gateway.nodes.allowCommands in your setting.

// ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
{
  gateway: {
    nodes: {
      allowCommands: ["camera.snap", "screen.record"],
    },
  },
}

Denial list (gateway.nodes.denyCommands) always wins the whitelist.

Security and Permissions

The pairing confirmation is stored on the device. All node connections require authorization before they reach the Gateway. A device pairing record is a long-lasting role contract. Rotating tokens cannot upgrade a node to a different role. Camera and screen capture are gated and only work in front. Clear text ws:// limited to LAN as well .local they don’t host. Community or Tailscale endpoints require originality wss:// TLS endpoint.

Interactive Descriptor