#Gateway

#One-line summary

The Gateway is the single Node.js process that runs everything — WebSocket/HTTP server, channel plugins, agent runtime, cron, memory, and the Control UI — serving as OpenClaw's central orchestration point.

#Responsibilities

• Bootstrap and manage the lifecycle of all subsystems (channels, agents, cron, memory, canvas)
• Serve WebSocket connections for real-time communication with Control UI and CLI
• Handle HTTP requests: webhooks, OpenAI-compatible endpoints, canvas, Slack integration
• Manage authentication, rate limiting, and trusted proxy resolution
• Coordinate config migration, plugin loading, and health monitoring

#Architecture diagram

#Key source files

#Key interfaces

GatewayBindMode = "loopback" | "lan" | "tailnet" | "auto"

GatewayServerOptions = {
  bind?: GatewayBindMode;
  host?: string;
  controlUiEnabled?: boolean;
  openAiChatCompletionsEnabled?: boolean;
  openResponsesEnabled?: boolean;
  auth?: GatewayAuthConfig;
  tailscale?: GatewayTailscaleConfig;
}

#How it connects to other modules

• Depends on: Every other module (this is the top-level orchestrator)
• Depended by: CLI (openclaw gateway start/stop/restart), native apps (WebSocket client)

#My blind spots

• Tailscale integration details — tailnet bind mode
• OpenAI-compatible endpoint implementation
• Health monitoring and discovery service
• How gateway restart preserves active sessions

#Change frequency

• server.impl.ts: High — new subsystem integrations and lifecycle changes
• server-http.ts: Medium — new HTTP endpoints and auth features