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).

🔌 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.

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

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