openclaw/docs/web/tui.md

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Terminal UI (TUI): connect to the Gateway or run locally in embedded mode	You want a beginner-friendly walkthrough of the TUI You need the complete list of TUI features, commands, and shortcuts	TUI

Quick start

Gateway mode

1. Start the Gateway.

openclaw gateway

2. Open the TUI.

openclaw tui

3. Type a message and press Enter.

Remote Gateway:

openclaw tui --url ws://<host>:<port> --token <gateway-token>

Use --password if your Gateway uses password auth.

Local mode

Run the TUI without a Gateway:

openclaw chat
# or
openclaw tui --local

Notes:

• openclaw chat and openclaw terminal are aliases for openclaw tui --local.
• --local cannot be combined with --url, --token, or --password.
• Local mode uses the embedded agent runtime directly. Most local tools work, but Gateway-only features are unavailable.
• openclaw and openclaw crestodian also use this TUI shell, with Crestodian as the local setup and repair chat backend.

What you see

• Header: connection URL, current agent, current session.
• Chat log: user messages, assistant replies, system notices, tool cards.
• Status line: connection/run state (connecting, running, streaming, idle, error).
• Footer: connection state + agent + session + model + think/fast/verbose/trace/reasoning + token counts + deliver.
• Input: text editor with autocomplete.

Mental model: agents + sessions

• Agents are unique slugs (e.g. main, research). The Gateway exposes the list.
• Sessions belong to the current agent.
• Session keys are stored as agent:<agentId>:<sessionKey>.
  • If you type /session main, the TUI expands it to agent:<currentAgent>:main.
  • If you type /session agent:other:main, you switch to that agent session explicitly.
• Session scope:
  • per-sender (default): each agent has many sessions.
  • global: the TUI always uses the global session (the picker may be empty).
• The current agent + session are always visible in the footer.

Sending + delivery

• Messages are sent to the Gateway; delivery to providers is off by default.
• Turn delivery on:
  • /deliver on
  • or the Settings panel
  • or start with openclaw tui --deliver

Pickers + overlays

• Model picker: list available models and set the session override.
• Agent picker: choose a different agent.
• Session picker: shows only sessions for the current agent.
• Settings: toggle deliver, tool output expansion, and thinking visibility.

Keyboard shortcuts

• Enter: send message
• Esc: abort active run
• Ctrl+C: clear input (press twice to exit)
• Ctrl+D: exit
• Ctrl+L: model picker
• Ctrl+G: agent picker
• Ctrl+P: session picker
• Ctrl+O: toggle tool output expansion
• Ctrl+T: toggle thinking visibility (reloads history)

Slash commands

Core:

• /help
• /status
• /agent <id> (or /agents)
• /session <key> (or /sessions)
• /model <provider/model> (or /models)

Session controls:

• /think <off|minimal|low|medium|high>
• /fast <status|on|off>
• /verbose <on|full|off>
• /trace <on|off>
• /reasoning <on|off|stream>
• /usage <off|tokens|full>
• /elevated <on|off|ask|full> (alias: /elev)
• /activation <mention|always>
• /deliver <on|off>

Session lifecycle:

• /new or /reset (reset the session)
• /abort (abort the active run)
• /settings
• /exit

Local mode only:

• /auth [provider] opens the provider auth/login flow inside the TUI.

Other Gateway slash commands (for example, /context) are forwarded to the Gateway and shown as system output. See Slash commands.

Local shell commands

• Prefix a line with ! to run a local shell command on the TUI host.
• The TUI prompts once per session to allow local execution; declining keeps ! disabled for the session.
• Commands run in a fresh, non-interactive shell in the TUI working directory (no persistent cd/env).
• Local shell commands receive OPENCLAW_SHELL=tui-local in their environment.
• A lone ! is sent as a normal message; leading spaces do not trigger local exec.

Repair configs from the local TUI

Use local mode when the current config already validates and you want the embedded agent to inspect it on the same machine, compare it against the docs, and help repair drift without depending on a running Gateway.

If openclaw config validate is already failing, start with openclaw configure or openclaw doctor --fix first. openclaw chat does not bypass the invalid- config guard.

Typical loop:

1. Start local mode:

openclaw chat

2. Ask the agent what you want checked, for example:

Compare my gateway auth config with the docs and suggest the smallest fix.

3. Use local shell commands for exact evidence and validation:

!openclaw config file
!openclaw docs gateway auth token secretref
!openclaw config validate
!openclaw doctor

4. Apply narrow changes with openclaw config set or openclaw configure, then rerun !openclaw config validate.
5. If Doctor recommends an automatic migration or repair, review it and run !openclaw doctor --fix.

Tips:

• Prefer openclaw config set or openclaw configure over hand-editing openclaw.json.
• openclaw docs "<query>" searches the live docs index from the same machine.
• openclaw config validate --json is useful when you want structured schema and SecretRef/resolvability errors.

Tool output

• Tool calls show as cards with args + results.
• Ctrl+O toggles between collapsed/expanded views.
• While tools run, partial updates stream into the same card.

Terminal colors

• The TUI keeps assistant body text in your terminal's default foreground so dark and light terminals both stay readable.
• If your terminal uses a light background and auto-detection is wrong, set OPENCLAW_THEME=light before launching openclaw tui.
• To force the original dark palette instead, set OPENCLAW_THEME=dark.

History + streaming

• On connect, the TUI loads the latest history (default 200 messages).
• Streaming responses update in place until finalized.
• The TUI also listens to agent tool events for richer tool cards.

Connection details

• The TUI registers with the Gateway as mode: "tui".
• Reconnects show a system message; event gaps are surfaced in the log.

Options

• --local: Run against the local embedded agent runtime
• --url <url>: Gateway WebSocket URL (defaults to config or ws://127.0.0.1:<port>)
• --token <token>: Gateway token (if required)
• --password <password>: Gateway password (if required)
• --session <key>: Session key (default: main, or global when scope is global)
• --deliver: Deliver assistant replies to the provider (default off)
• --thinking <level>: Override thinking level for sends
• --message <text>: Send an initial message after connecting
• --timeout-ms <ms>: Agent timeout in ms (defaults to agents.defaults.timeoutSeconds)
• --history-limit <n>: History entries to load (default 200)

When you set `--url`, the TUI does not fall back to config or environment credentials. Pass `--token` or `--password` explicitly. Missing explicit credentials is an error. In local mode, do not pass `--url`, `--token`, or `--password`.

Troubleshooting

No output after sending a message:

• Run /status in the TUI to confirm the Gateway is connected and idle/busy.
• Check the Gateway logs: openclaw logs --follow.
• Confirm the agent can run: openclaw status and openclaw models status.
• If you expect messages in a chat channel, enable delivery (/deliver on or --deliver).

Connection troubleshooting

• disconnected: ensure the Gateway is running and your --url/--token/--password are correct.
• No agents in picker: check openclaw agents list and your routing config.
• Empty session picker: you might be in global scope or have no sessions yet.

Related

• Control UI — web-based control interface
• Config — inspect, validate, and edit openclaw.json
• Doctor — guided repair and migration checks
• CLI Reference — full CLI command reference