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Remote Clawdia (macOS ⇄ remote host)

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Modes

• Local (this Mac): Everything runs on the laptop. No SSH involved.
• Remote over SSH (default): Clawdia commands are executed on the remote host. The mac app opens an SSH connection with -o BatchMode plus your chosen identity/key and a local port-forward.
• Remote direct (ws/wss): No SSH tunnel. The mac app connects to the gateway URL directly (for example, via Tailscale Serve or a public HTTPS reverse proxy).

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Remote transports

• SSH tunnel (default): Uses ssh -N -L ... to forward the gateway port to localhost. The gateway will see the node’s IP as 127.0.0.1 because the tunnel is loopback.
• Direct (ws/wss): Connects straight to the gateway URL. The gateway sees the real client IP.

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Prereqs on the remote host

1. Install Node + pnpm and build/install the Clawdia CLI (pnpm install && pnpm build && pnpm link --global).
2. Ensure clawdia is on PATH for non-interactive shells (symlink into /usr/local/bin or /opt/homebrew/bin if needed).
3. Open SSH with key auth. We recommend Tailscale IPs for stable reachability off-LAN.

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macOS app setup

1. Open Settings → General.
2. Under Clawdia runs, pick Remote over SSH and set:
   • Transport: SSH tunnel or Direct (ws/wss).
   • SSH target: user@host (optional :port).
     • If the gateway is on the same LAN and advertises Bonjour, pick it from the discovered list to auto-fill this field.
   • Gateway URL (Direct only): wss://gateway.example.ts.net (or ws://... for local/LAN).
   • Identity file (advanced): path to your key.
   • Project root (advanced): remote checkout path used for commands.
   • CLI path (advanced): optional path to a runnable clawdia entrypoint/binary (auto-filled when advertised).
3. Hit Test remote. Success indicates the remote clawdia status --json runs correctly. Failures usually mean PATH/CLI issues; exit 127 means the CLI isn’t found remotely.
4. Health checks and Web Chat will now run through this SSH tunnel automatically.

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Web Chat

• SSH tunnel: Web Chat connects to the gateway over the forwarded WebSocket control port (default 18789).
• Direct (ws/wss): Web Chat connects straight to the configured gateway URL.
• There is no separate WebChat HTTP server anymore.

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Permissions

• The remote host needs the same TCC approvals as local (Automation, Accessibility, Screen Recording, Microphone, Speech Recognition, Notifications). Run onboarding on that machine to grant them once.
• Nodes advertise their permission state via node.list / node.describe so agents know what’s available.

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Security notes

• Prefer loopback binds on the remote host and connect via SSH or Tailscale.
• If you bind the Gateway to a non-loopback interface, require token/password auth.
• See Security and Tailscale.

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WhatsApp login flow (remote)

• Run clawdia channels login --verbose on the remote host. Scan the QR with WhatsApp on your phone.
• Re-run login on that host if auth expires. Health check will surface link problems.

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Troubleshooting

• exit 127 / not found: clawdia isn’t on PATH for non-login shells. Add it to /etc/paths, your shell rc, or symlink into /usr/local/bin//opt/homebrew/bin.
• Health probe failed: check SSH reachability, PATH, and that Baileys is logged in (clawdia status --json).
• Web Chat stuck: confirm the gateway is running on the remote host and the forwarded port matches the gateway WS port; the UI requires a healthy WS connection.
• Node IP shows 127.0.0.1: expected with the SSH tunnel. Switch Transport to Direct (ws/wss) if you want the gateway to see the real client IP.
• Voice Wake: trigger phrases are forwarded automatically in remote mode; no separate forwarder is needed.

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Notification sounds

clawdia nodes notify --node <id> --title "Ping" --body "Remote gateway ready" --sound Glass