Control OpenClaw AI assistant from Windows system tray

OpenClaw Windows Hub

The native Windows companion for OpenClaw. Connect your PC to a gateway, chat with your agents, and choose which Windows capabilities they can use.

Download | Setup guide | Windows docs | Discord

Install

Requires Windows 10 20H2 or later, or Windows 11. No source build is required.

On first launch, the setup wizard can install a dedicated local gateway in WSL or connect OpenClaw Companion to an existing gateway. If you do not have a gateway yet, choose Install a local gateway (WSL).

Uninstall

Go to Settings → Apps → Installed apps, find OpenClaw Companion, and click Uninstall (or use Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel). You'll be asked whether to also remove the local WSL gateway; choose Yes to unregister its WSL distro and generated state, or No to leave the gateway and that state in place.

Your settings file at %APPDATA%\OpenClawTray\settings.json is not removed automatically, and device identity files for gateways unrelated to the one you removed are preserved. Choosing Yes also removes the removed gateway's own identity directory under %APPDATA%\OpenClawTray\gateways\. Root operator and node tokens are preserved only while an external gateway record remains; otherwise they are cleared, even if another local or loopback gateway record remains. Delete %APPDATA%\OpenClawTray\ manually for a fully clean uninstall. See docs/SETUP.md for details, including the headless --uninstall --confirm-destructive CLI path used for testing.

🔌 Node mode (agent control)

Use OpenClaw Companion for normal setup. You should not need to edit openclaw.json by hand.

1. Open Companion Settings… from the tray menu.
2. Open Connection and connect to your gateway. Complete any pending pairing approval shown by the app.
3. Open Sandbox and choose how agent-run programs should be contained.
4. Open Permissions and turn on Node mode.
5. Choose the capabilities this PC should offer. Changes save automatically.
6. Open Command Center to verify the node is connected and to resolve any gateway allowlist or reapproval warnings.

Node mode registers this PC as a node and advertises only the capabilities enabled in Permissions. Gateway policy and local Windows checks can still block a capability.

Capabilities

Notifications and basic device status are available when Node mode is active. Windows may request consent before camera, microphone, location, or screen features can run.

Privacy-sensitive capabilities should stay off unless you intend to use them. This includes camera capture, screen recording, microphone transcription, spoken output, and command execution.

Gateway approvals and allowlists

OpenClaw applies more than one trust check:

• Permissions controls what this PC advertises.
• Connection shows pairing and reapproval requests.
• Command Center explains commands filtered by gateway policy and provides copyable repair commands for safe capabilities.
• Advanced > Config provides a schema-guided editor for the connected gateway's configuration.

After changing gateway command policy, approve any pending-reapproval request shown by the app and reconnect the node. The app never silently opts into privacy-sensitive gateway commands.

Use your gateway's supported configuration tools when OpenClaw Companion cannot manage that gateway. Preserve existing entries and add only the exact commands you need. Wildcards such as canvas.* are not expanded.

{
  "gateway": {
    "nodes": {
      "allowCommands": [
        "system.notify",
        "canvas.present",
        "canvas.hide",
        "screen.snapshot",
        "device.info",
        "device.status"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Canonical paired Windows nodes already receive the desktop system.* defaults, including system.run, system.run.prepare, and system.which. Windows still applies the local Run system tools switch, V2 exec approvals, and sandbox policy. Commands outside the Windows gateway defaults, including screen.record, camera.snap, camera.clip, stt.transcribe, and tts.speak, require deliberate gateway opt-in. Reapprove and reconnect the node after changing the effective command set.

Share Windows Ollama in the Permissions page is a separate opt-in. It advertises ollama.models and ollama.chat so the active paired gateway, whether local or remote, can use an Ollama service running on Windows loopback. It does not change or reuse the app-managed Local AI gateway provider. Older gateways require both exact Ollama commands in gateway.nodes.allowCommands; newer gateways with the bundled Ollama plugin can expose them through the node_inference agent tool.

See Operator and node concepts for the pairing and trust model, and Windows node testing for command-level reference material.

Sandbox command execution

The Sandbox page controls programs launched through the Windows node's system.run capability:

• Locked Down blocks internet, clipboard, and standard user folders.
• Recommended enables internet, read-only access to common folders, and clipboard read access.
• Unprotected allows broad folder and clipboard access. Use it only when you accept the added risk.
• Custom controls set folder access, network access, clipboard access, timeout, and output limits.

When enabled and available, the Windows node uses MXC process isolation for system.run. If MXC is unavailable and strict fallback blocking is off, OpenClaw can fall back to uncontained host execution for compatibility. The Sandbox page shows the current state and lets you choose the appropriate policy.

This sandbox covers commands run through the Windows node. Commands run directly on the gateway use the gateway's separate security controls.

Features

• Native tray flyout with gateway, session, usage, channel, node, and activity status
• Companion Settings for connections, permissions, gateway configuration, diagnostics, and updates
• Native chat and Quick Send with the Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C global hotkey
• Command Center diagnostics with copyable repair guidance
• Toast notifications with smart categorization
• WebView2 Canvas and A2UI rendering
• Local MCP server for local tool integrations
• Background updates from GitHub Releases
• openclaw:// deep links for automation

Useful deep links

Deep links are forwarded through IPC when OpenClaw Companion is already running.

Local files

The default local gateway URL is ws://localhost:18789.

For contributors

Projects

Prepare the checkout

.\scripts\setup-dev.ps1
.\scripts\setup-dev.ps1 -CheckOnly
.\scripts\setup-dev.ps1 -RunValidation

Build

.\build.ps1
.\build.ps1 -Project WinUI
.\build.ps1 -CheckOnly

Direct WinUI builds require a runtime identifier:

dotnet build .\src\OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI\OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI.csproj -r win-x64
dotnet build .\src\OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI\OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI.csproj -r win-arm64
dotnet build .\src\OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI\OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI.csproj -r win-x64 -p:PackageMsix=true

Run

run-app-local.ps1 allows main by default. Pass -AllowNonMain when previewing a feature branch or linked worktree.

.\run-app-local.ps1
.\run-app-local.ps1 -NoBuild
.\run-app-local.ps1 -AllowNonMain -Isolated
.\run-app-local.ps1 -AllowNonMain -Dev -Isolated
.\run-app-local.ps1 -AllowNonMain -Configuration Release -Isolated -UpdateChannel alpha

Test

Set the repository root explicitly so tests also work in linked worktrees:

$env:OPENCLAW_REPO_ROOT = (Get-Location).Path
dotnet test .\tests\OpenClaw.Shared.Tests\OpenClaw.Shared.Tests.csproj
dotnet test .\tests\OpenClaw.Tray.Tests\OpenClaw.Tray.Tests.csproj

These commands restore and build the test projects when needed. Use --no-restore only after each test project has built successfully in the current worktree.

Documentation

Skills in this collection

• autoreview: Structured code review through the shared OpenClaw agent-skills installation. - SKILL.md
• crabbox: Use Crabbox from macOS, Linux, or native Windows controllers to run OpenClaw Windows node builds, tests, and targeted proof on remote native Windows or WSL2 hosts, including Azure or brokered AWS l... - SKILL.md
• global-repo-triage: Run complete OpenClaw Windows Node issue and PR triage, including landing queues, proof pools, ownership audits, and release planning. - SKILL.md
• hanselman-code-review: Adversarial dual-model code review that runs two AI models in parallel, cross-references findings, and produces a consensus severity table with fix confidence ratings. Use when asked for a thorough... - SKILL.md
• native-gateway-from-source: Build the native (MSIX, isolated-session) OpenClaw Gateway from the latest openclaw/openclaw sources (or any ref, local checkout, or prebuilt openclaw.tgz), register it side by side with the Micros... - SKILL.md
• openclaw-proof-validation: Plan and collect OpenClaw Windows validation/proof: tests, rubber-duck review, UI evidence, MCP output, and gateway runtime proof. - SKILL.md
• uninstall: Uninstall or hard-clean OpenClaw Companion, Windows node, native Gateway/MXC, WSL Gateway, and managed llama.cpp/Local AI state for a clean retest. Choose the existing dev CLI uninstall or the revi... - SKILL.md
• windows-app-mcp: Use the OpenClaw Windows app's local MCP server and winnode CLI for development, debugging, proof, and automation. - SKILL.md
• winnode: Invoke and troubleshoot OpenClaw Windows-node commands through the local winnode CLI and MCP endpoint, including command argument schemas and A2UI JSONL calls. - SKILL.md
• windows-a2ui - SKILL.md