Configuration examples

Examples below are aligned with the current config schema. For the exhaustive reference and per-field notes, see Configuration.

Quick start

Absolute minimum

{
  agents: { defaults: { workspace: "~/.openclaw/workspace" } },
  channels: { whatsapp: { allowFrom: ["+15555550123"] } },
}

Save to ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json and you can DM the bot from that number.

Recommended starter

{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      workspace: "~/.openclaw/workspace",
      model: { primary: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6" },
    },
    list: [
      {
        id: "main",
        identity: {
          name: "Clawd",
          theme: "helpful assistant",
          emoji: "🦞",
        },
      },
    ],
  },
  channels: {
    whatsapp: {
      allowFrom: ["+15555550123"],
      groups: { "*": { requireMention: true } },
    },
  },
  messages: {
    visibleReplies: "automatic",
    groupChat: {
      visibleReplies: "message_tool", // opt-in; visible output requires message(action=send)
      unmentionedInbound: "room_event",
    },
  },
}

Expanded example (major options)

JSON5 lets you use comments and trailing commas. Regular JSON works too.

{
  // Environment + shell
  env: {
    OPENROUTER_API_KEY: "sk-or-...",
    vars: {
      GROQ_API_KEY: "gsk-...",
    },
    shellEnv: {
      enabled: true,
      timeoutMs: 15000,
    },
  },

  // Auth profile metadata (secrets live in auth-profiles.json)
  auth: {
    profiles: {
      "anthropic:default": { provider: "anthropic", mode: "api_key" },
      "anthropic:work": { provider: "anthropic", mode: "api_key" },
      "openai:default": { provider: "openai", mode: "api_key" },
      "openai-codex:personal": { provider: "openai-codex", mode: "oauth" },
    },
    order: {
      anthropic: ["anthropic:default", "anthropic:work"],
      openai: ["openai:default"],
      "openai-codex": ["openai-codex:personal"],
    },
  },

  // Identity is per agent — set it on agents.list[].identity below.

  // Logging
  logging: {
    level: "info",
    file: "/tmp/openclaw/openclaw.log",
    consoleLevel: "info",
    consoleStyle: "pretty",
    redactSensitive: "tools",
  },

  // Message formatting
  messages: {
    messagePrefix: "[openclaw]",
    visibleReplies: "automatic",
    responsePrefix: ">",
    ackReaction: "👀",
    ackReactionScope: "group-mentions",
    groupChat: {
      historyLimit: 50,
      visibleReplies: "message_tool", // opt in for shared rooms with tool-reliable models
      unmentionedInbound: "room_event",
    },
    queue: {
      mode: "followup",
      debounceMs: 500,
      cap: 20,
      drop: "summarize",
      byChannel: {
        whatsapp: "followup",
        telegram: "followup",
        discord: "collect",
        slack: "collect",
        signal: "followup",
        imessage: "followup",
        webchat: "followup",
      },
    },
  },

  // Tooling
  tools: {
    media: {
      audio: {
        enabled: true,
        maxBytes: 20971520,
        models: [
          { provider: "openai", model: "gpt-4o-mini-transcribe" },
          // Optional CLI fallback (Whisper binary):
          // { type: "cli", command: "whisper", args: ["--model", "base", "{{MediaPath}}"] }
        ],
        timeoutSeconds: 120,
      },
      video: {
        enabled: true,
        maxBytes: 52428800,
        models: [{ provider: "google", model: "gemini-3-flash-preview" }],
      },
    },
  },

  // Session behavior
  session: {
    scope: "per-sender",
    dmScope: "per-channel-peer", // recommended for multi-user inboxes
    reset: {
      mode: "daily",
      atHour: 4,
      idleMinutes: 60,
    },
    resetByChannel: {
      discord: { mode: "idle", idleMinutes: 10080 },
    },
    resetTriggers: ["/new", "/reset"],
    store: "~/.openclaw/agents/default/sessions/sessions.json",
    maintenance: {
      mode: "warn",
      pruneAfter: "30d",
      maxEntries: 500,
      resetArchiveRetention: "30d", // duration or false
      maxDiskBytes: "500mb", // optional
      highWaterBytes: "400mb", // optional (defaults to 80% of maxDiskBytes)
    },
    typingIntervalSeconds: 5,
    sendPolicy: {
      default: "allow",
      rules: [{ action: "deny", match: { channel: "discord", chatType: "group" } }],
    },
  },

  // Channels
  channels: {
    whatsapp: {
      dmPolicy: "pairing",
      allowFrom: ["+15555550123"],
      groupPolicy: "allowlist",
      groupAllowFrom: ["+15555550123"],
      groups: { "*": { requireMention: true } },
    },

    telegram: {
      enabled: true,
      botToken: "YOUR_TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN",
      allowFrom: ["123456789"],
      groupPolicy: "allowlist",
      groupAllowFrom: ["123456789"],
      groups: { "*": { requireMention: true } },
    },

    discord: {
      enabled: true,
      token: "YOUR_DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN",
      dm: { enabled: true, allowFrom: ["123456789012345678"] },
      guilds: {
        "123456789012345678": {
          slug: "friends-of-openclaw",
          requireMention: false,
          channels: {
            general: { allow: true },
            help: { allow: true, requireMention: true },
          },
        },
      },
    },

    slack: {
      enabled: true,
      botToken: "xoxb-REPLACE_ME",
      appToken: "xapp-REPLACE_ME",
      channels: {
        "#general": { allow: true, requireMention: true },
      },
      dm: { enabled: true, allowFrom: ["U123"] },
      slashCommand: {
        enabled: true,
        name: "openclaw",
        sessionPrefix: "slack:slash",
        ephemeral: true,
      },
    },
  },

  // Agent runtime
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      workspace: "~/.openclaw/workspace",
      userTimezone: "America/Chicago",
      model: {
        primary: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
        fallbacks: ["anthropic/claude-opus-4-6", "openai/gpt-5.4"],
      },
      imageModel: {
        primary: "openrouter/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
      },
      models: {
        "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6": { alias: "opus" },
        "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6": { alias: "sonnet" },
        "openai/gpt-5.4": { alias: "gpt" },
      },
      skills: ["github", "weather"], // inherited by agents that omit list[].skills
      thinkingDefault: "low",
      verboseDefault: "off",
      toolProgressDetail: "explain",
      reasoningDefault: "off",
      elevatedDefault: "on",
      blockStreamingDefault: "off",
      blockStreamingBreak: "text_end",
      blockStreamingChunk: {
        minChars: 800,
        maxChars: 1200,
        breakPreference: "paragraph",
      },
      blockStreamingCoalesce: {
        idleMs: 1000,
      },
      humanDelay: {
        mode: "natural",
      },
      timeoutSeconds: 600,
      mediaMaxMb: 5,
      typingIntervalSeconds: 5,
      maxConcurrent: 3,
      heartbeat: {
        every: "30m",
        model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
        target: "last",
        directPolicy: "allow", // allow (default) | block
        to: "+15555550123",
        prompt: "HEARTBEAT",
        ackMaxChars: 300,
      },
      memorySearch: {
        provider: "gemini",
        model: "gemini-embedding-001",
        remote: {
          apiKey: "${GEMINI_API_KEY}",
        },
        extraPaths: ["../team-docs", "/srv/shared-notes"],
      },
      sandbox: {
        mode: "non-main",
        scope: "session", // preferred over legacy perSession: true
        workspaceRoot: "~/.openclaw/sandboxes",
        docker: {
          image: "openclaw-sandbox:bookworm-slim",
          workdir: "/workspace",
          readOnlyRoot: true,
          tmpfs: ["/tmp", "/var/tmp", "/run"],
          network: "none",
          user: "1000:1000",
        },
        browser: {
          enabled: false,
        },
      },
    },
    list: [
      {
        id: "main",
        default: true,
        identity: {
          name: "Samantha",
          theme: "helpful sloth",
          emoji: "🦥",
        },
        // inherits defaults.skills -> github, weather
        groupChat: {
          mentionPatterns: ["@openclaw", "openclaw"],
        },
        thinkingDefault: "high", // per-agent thinking override
        reasoningDefault: "on", // per-agent reasoning visibility
        fastModeDefault: false, // per-agent fast mode
      },
      {
        id: "quick",
        skills: [], // no skills for this agent
        fastModeDefault: true, // this agent always runs fast
        thinkingDefault: "off",
      },
    ],
  },

  tools: {
    allow: ["exec", "process", "read", "write", "edit", "apply_patch"],
    deny: ["browser", "canvas"],
    exec: {
      backgroundMs: 10000,
      timeoutSec: 1800,
      cleanupMs: 1800000,
    },
    elevated: {
      enabled: true,
      allowFrom: {
        whatsapp: ["+15555550123"],
        telegram: ["123456789"],
        discord: ["123456789012345678"],
        slack: ["U123"],
        signal: ["+15555550123"],
        imessage: ["[email protected]"],
        webchat: ["session:demo"],
      },
    },
  },

  // Custom model providers
  models: {
    mode: "merge",
    providers: {
      "custom-proxy": {
        baseUrl: "http://localhost:4000/v1",
        apiKey: "LITELLM_KEY",
        api: "openai-responses",
        authHeader: true,
        headers: { "X-Proxy-Region": "us-west" },
        models: [
          {
            id: "llama-3.1-8b",
            name: "Llama 3.1 8B",
            api: "openai-responses",
            reasoning: false,
            input: ["text"],
            cost: { input: 0, output: 0, cacheRead: 0, cacheWrite: 0 },
            contextWindow: 128000,
            maxTokens: 32000,
          },
        ],
      },
    },
  },

  // Cron jobs
  cron: {
    enabled: true,
    store: "~/.openclaw/cron/cron.json",
    maxConcurrentRuns: 2, // cron dispatch + isolated cron agent-turn execution
    sessionRetention: "24h",
    runLog: {
      maxBytes: "2mb",
      keepLines: 2000,
    },
  },

  // Webhooks
  hooks: {
    enabled: true,
    path: "/hooks",
    token: "shared-secret",
    presets: ["gmail"],
    transformsDir: "~/.openclaw/hooks/transforms",
    mappings: [
      {
        id: "gmail-hook",
        match: { path: "gmail" },
        action: "agent",
        wakeMode: "now",
        name: "Gmail",
        sessionKey: "hook:gmail:{{messages[0].id}}",
        messageTemplate: "From: {{messages[0].from}}\nSubject: {{messages[0].subject}}",
        textTemplate: "{{messages[0].snippet}}",
        deliver: true,
        channel: "last",
        to: "+15555550123",
        thinking: "low",
        timeoutSeconds: 300,
        transform: {
          module: "gmail.js",
          export: "transformGmail",
        },
      },
    ],
    gmail: {
      account: "[email protected]",
      label: "INBOX",
      topic: "projects/<project-id>/topics/gog-gmail-watch",
      subscription: "gog-gmail-watch-push",
      pushToken: "shared-push-token",
      hookUrl: "http://127.0.0.1:18789/hooks/gmail",
      includeBody: true,
      maxBytes: 20000,
      renewEveryMinutes: 720,
      serve: { bind: "127.0.0.1", port: 8788, path: "/" },
      tailscale: { mode: "funnel", path: "/gmail-pubsub" },
    },
  },

  // Gateway + networking
  gateway: {
    mode: "local",
    port: 18789,
    bind: "loopback",
    controlUi: { enabled: true, basePath: "/openclaw" },
    auth: {
      mode: "token",
      token: "gateway-token",
      allowTailscale: true,
    },
    tailscale: { mode: "serve", resetOnExit: false },
    remote: { url: "ws://gateway.tailnet:18789", token: "remote-token" },
    reload: { mode: "hybrid", debounceMs: 300 },
  },

  skills: {
    allowBundled: ["gemini", "peekaboo"],
    load: {
      extraDirs: ["~/Projects/agent-scripts/skills"],
      allowSymlinkTargets: ["~/Projects/agent-scripts/skills"],
    },
    install: {
      preferBrew: true,
      nodeManager: "npm", // npm | pnpm | yarn | bun
      allowUploadedArchives: false,
    },
    entries: {
      "image-lab": {
        enabled: true,
        apiKey: "GEMINI_KEY_HERE",
        env: { GEMINI_API_KEY: "GEMINI_KEY_HERE" },
      },
      peekaboo: { enabled: true },
    },
  },
}

Symlinked sibling skill repo

Use this when a built-in skill root contains a symlink into a sibling repo, for example ~/.agents/skills/manager -> ~/Projects/manager/skills.

{
  skills: {
    load: {
      extraDirs: ["~/Projects/manager/skills"],
      allowSymlinkTargets: ["~/Projects/manager/skills"],
    },
  },
}

• extraDirs scans the sibling repo as an explicit skill root.
• allowSymlinkTargets lets symlinked skill folders resolve into that trusted real target root without allowing arbitrary symlink escapes.

Common patterns

Shared skill baseline with one override

{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      workspace: "~/.openclaw/workspace",
      skills: ["github", "weather"],
    },
    list: [
      { id: "main", default: true },
      { id: "docs", workspace: "~/.openclaw/workspace-docs", skills: ["docs-search"] },
    ],
  },
}

• agents.defaults.skills is the shared baseline.
• agents.list[].skills replaces that baseline for one agent.
• Use skills: [] when an agent should see no skills.

Multi-platform setup

{
  agents: { defaults: { workspace: "~/.openclaw/workspace" } },
  channels: {
    whatsapp: { allowFrom: ["+15555550123"] },
    telegram: {
      enabled: true,
      botToken: "YOUR_TOKEN",
      allowFrom: ["123456789"],
    },
    discord: {
      enabled: true,
      token: "YOUR_TOKEN",
      dm: { allowFrom: ["123456789012345678"] },
    },
  },
}

Trusted node network auto-approval

Keep device pairing manual unless you control the network path. For a dedicated lab or tailnet subnet, you can opt in to first-time node device auto-approval with exact CIDRs or IPs:

{
  gateway: {
    nodes: {
      pairing: {
        autoApproveCidrs: ["192.168.1.0/24", "fd00:1234:5678::/64"],
      },
    },
  },
}

This remains off when unset. It only applies to fresh role: node pairing with no requested scopes. Operator/browser clients and role, scope, metadata, or public-key upgrades still require manual approval.

Secure DM mode (shared inbox / multi-user DMs)

If more than one person can DM your bot (multiple entries in allowFrom, pairing approvals for multiple people, or dmPolicy: "open"), enable secure DM mode so DMs from different senders don’t share one context by default:

{
  // Secure DM mode (recommended for multi-user or sensitive DM agents)
  session: { dmScope: "per-channel-peer" },

  channels: {
    // Example: WhatsApp multi-user inbox
    whatsapp: {
      dmPolicy: "allowlist",
      allowFrom: ["+15555550123", "+15555550124"],
    },

    // Example: Discord multi-user inbox
    discord: {
      enabled: true,
      token: "YOUR_DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN",
      dm: { enabled: true, allowFrom: ["123456789012345678", "987654321098765432"] },
    },
  },
}

For Discord/Slack/Google Chat/Microsoft Teams/Mattermost/IRC, sender authorization is ID-first by default. Only enable direct mutable name/email/nick matching with each channel’s dangerouslyAllowNameMatching: true if you explicitly accept that risk.

Anthropic API key + MiniMax fallback

{
  auth: {
    profiles: {
      "anthropic:api": {
        provider: "anthropic",
        mode: "api_key",
      },
    },
    order: {
      anthropic: ["anthropic:api"],
    },
  },
  models: {
    providers: {
      minimax: {
        baseUrl: "https://api.minimax.io/anthropic",
        api: "anthropic-messages",
        apiKey: "${MINIMAX_API_KEY}",
      },
    },
  },
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      workspace: "~/.openclaw/workspace",
      model: {
        primary: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6",
        fallbacks: ["minimax/MiniMax-M2.7"],
      },
    },
  },
}

Work bot (restricted access)

{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      workspace: "~/work-openclaw",
      elevatedDefault: "off",
    },
    list: [
      {
        id: "main",
        identity: {
          name: "WorkBot",
          theme: "professional assistant",
        },
      },
    ],
  },
  channels: {
    slack: {
      enabled: true,
      botToken: "xoxb-...",
      channels: {
        "#engineering": { allow: true, requireMention: true },
        "#general": { allow: true, requireMention: true },
      },
    },
  },
}

Local models only

{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      workspace: "~/.openclaw/workspace",
      model: { primary: "lmstudio/my-local-model" },
    },
  },
  models: {
    mode: "merge",
    providers: {
      lmstudio: {
        baseUrl: "http://127.0.0.1:1234/v1",
        apiKey: "lmstudio",
        api: "openai-responses",
        models: [
          {
            id: "my-local-model",
            name: "Local Model",
            reasoning: false,
            input: ["text"],
            cost: { input: 0, output: 0, cacheRead: 0, cacheWrite: 0 },
            contextWindow: 196608,
            maxTokens: 8192,
          },
        ],
      },
    },
  },
}

Tips

• If you set dmPolicy: "open", the matching allowFrom list must include "*".
• Provider IDs differ (phone numbers, user IDs, channel IDs). Use the provider docs to confirm the format.
• Optional sections to add later: web, browser, ui, discovery, plugins, talk, signal, imessage.
• See Providers and Troubleshooting for deeper setup notes.

Related

• Configuration reference
• Configuration