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| summary: "Bridge protocol (legacy nodes): TCP JSONL, pairing, scoped RPC" | |
| read_when: | |
| - Building or debugging node clients (iOS/Android/macOS node mode) | |
| - Investigating pairing or bridge auth failures | |
| - Auditing the node surface exposed by the gateway | |
| title: "Bridge Protocol" | |
| # Bridge protocol (legacy node transport) | |
| The Bridge protocol is a **legacy** node transport (TCP JSONL). New node clients | |
| should use the unified Gateway WebSocket protocol instead. | |
| If you are building an operator or node client, use the | |
| [Gateway protocol](/gateway/protocol). | |
| **Note:** Current OpenClaw builds no longer ship the TCP bridge listener; this document is kept for historical reference. | |
| Legacy `bridge.*` config keys are no longer part of the config schema. | |
| ## Why we have both | |
| - **Security boundary**: the bridge exposes a small allowlist instead of the | |
| full gateway API surface. | |
| - **Pairing + node identity**: node admission is owned by the gateway and tied | |
| to a per-node token. | |
| - **Discovery UX**: nodes can discover gateways via Bonjour on LAN, or connect | |
| directly over a tailnet. | |
| - **Loopback WS**: the full WS control plane stays local unless tunneled via SSH. | |
| ## Transport | |
| - TCP, one JSON object per line (JSONL). | |
| - Optional TLS (when `bridge.tls.enabled` is true). | |
| - Legacy default listener port was `18790` (current builds do not start a TCP bridge). | |
| When TLS is enabled, discovery TXT records include `bridgeTls=1` plus | |
| `bridgeTlsSha256` so nodes can pin the certificate. | |
| ## Handshake + pairing | |
| 1. Client sends `hello` with node metadata + token (if already paired). | |
| 2. If not paired, gateway replies `error` (`NOT_PAIRED`/`UNAUTHORIZED`). | |
| 3. Client sends `pair-request`. | |
| 4. Gateway waits for approval, then sends `pair-ok` and `hello-ok`. | |
| `hello-ok` returns `serverName` and may include `canvasHostUrl`. | |
| ## Frames | |
| Client → Gateway: | |
| - `req` / `res`: scoped gateway RPC (chat, sessions, config, health, voicewake, skills.bins) | |
| - `event`: node signals (voice transcript, agent request, chat subscribe, exec lifecycle) | |
| Gateway → Client: | |
| - `invoke` / `invoke-res`: node commands (`canvas.*`, `camera.*`, `screen.record`, | |
| `location.get`, `sms.send`) | |
| - `event`: chat updates for subscribed sessions | |
| - `ping` / `pong`: keepalive | |
| Legacy allowlist enforcement lived in `src/gateway/server-bridge.ts` (removed). | |
| ## Exec lifecycle events | |
| Nodes can emit `exec.finished` or `exec.denied` events to surface system.run activity. | |
| These are mapped to system events in the gateway. (Legacy nodes may still emit `exec.started`.) | |
| Payload fields (all optional unless noted): | |
| - `sessionKey` (required): agent session to receive the system event. | |
| - `runId`: unique exec id for grouping. | |
| - `command`: raw or formatted command string. | |
| - `exitCode`, `timedOut`, `success`, `output`: completion details (finished only). | |
| - `reason`: denial reason (denied only). | |
| ## Tailnet usage | |
| - Bind the bridge to a tailnet IP: `bridge.bind: "tailnet"` in | |
| `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json`. | |
| - Clients connect via MagicDNS name or tailnet IP. | |
| - Bonjour does **not** cross networks; use manual host/port or wide-area DNS‑SD | |
| when needed. | |
| ## Versioning | |
| Bridge is currently **implicit v1** (no min/max negotiation). Backward‑compat | |
| is expected; add a bridge protocol version field before any breaking changes. | |