---
summary: "Android app (node): connection runbook + Connect/Chat/Voice/Canvas command surface"
read_when:
  - Pairing or reconnecting the Android node
  - Debugging Android gateway discovery or auth
  - Verifying chat history parity across clients
title: "Android app"
---

<Note>
The official Android app is available on [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ai.openclaw.app&hl=en_IN). It is a companion node and requires a running OpenClaw Gateway. Source: [apps/android](https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/tree/main/apps/android) ([build instructions](https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/blob/main/apps/android/README.md)).
</Note>

## Support snapshot

- Role: companion node app (Android does not host the Gateway).
- Gateway required: yes (run it on macOS, Linux, or Windows via WSL2).
- Install: [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ai.openclaw.app&hl=en_IN) for the app, [Getting Started](/start/getting-started) for the Gateway, then [Pairing](/channels/pairing).
- Gateway: [Runbook](/gateway) + [Configuration](/gateway/configuration).
  - Protocols: [Gateway protocol](/gateway/protocol) (nodes + control plane).

System control (launchd/systemd) lives on the Gateway host — see [Gateway](/gateway).

## Connection runbook

Android node app ⇄ (mDNS/NSD + WebSocket) ⇄ **Gateway**

Android connects directly to the Gateway WebSocket and uses device pairing (`role: node`).

For Tailscale or public hosts, Android requires a secure endpoint:

- Preferred: Tailscale Serve / Funnel with `https://<magicdns>` / `wss://<magicdns>`
- Also supported: any other `wss://` Gateway URL with a real TLS endpoint
- Cleartext `ws://` remains supported on private LAN addresses / `.local` hosts, plus `localhost`, `127.0.0.1`, and the Android emulator bridge (`10.0.2.2`)

### Prerequisites

- Gateway running on another machine (or reachable via SSH).
- Android device/emulator can reach the gateway WebSocket:
  - Same LAN with mDNS/NSD, **or**
  - Same Tailscale tailnet using Wide-Area Bonjour / unicast DNS-SD (see below), **or**
  - Manual gateway host/port (fallback)
- Tailnet/public mobile pairing does **not** use raw tailnet IP `ws://` endpoints. Use Tailscale Serve or another `wss://` URL instead.
- The `openclaw` CLI available on the gateway machine (or via SSH), to approve pairing requests.

### 1. Start the Gateway

```bash
openclaw gateway --port 18789 --verbose
```

Confirm in logs you see something like:

- `listening on ws://0.0.0.0:18789`

For remote Android access over Tailscale, prefer Serve/Funnel instead of a raw tailnet bind:

```bash
openclaw gateway --tailscale serve
```

This gives Android a secure `wss://` / `https://` endpoint. A plain `gateway.bind: "tailnet"` setup is not enough for first-time remote Android pairing unless you also terminate TLS separately.

### 2. Verify discovery (optional)

From the gateway machine:

```bash
dns-sd -B _openclaw-gw._tcp local.
```

More debugging notes: [Bonjour](/gateway/bonjour).

If you also configured a wide-area discovery domain, compare against:

```bash
openclaw gateway discover --json
```

That shows `local.` plus the configured wide-area domain in one pass, using the resolved service endpoint instead of TXT-only hints.

#### Cross-network discovery via unicast DNS-SD

Android NSD/mDNS discovery does not cross networks. If the Android node and the gateway are on different networks but connected via Tailscale, use Wide-Area Bonjour / unicast DNS-SD instead. Discovery alone is not sufficient for tailnet/public Android pairing — the discovered route still needs a secure endpoint (`wss://` or Tailscale Serve):

1. Set up a DNS-SD zone (example `openclaw.internal.`) on the gateway host and publish `_openclaw-gw._tcp` records.
2. Configure Tailscale split DNS for your chosen domain pointing at that DNS server.

Details and example CoreDNS config: [Bonjour](/gateway/bonjour).

### 3. Connect from Android

In the Android app:

- The app keeps its gateway connection alive via a **foreground service** (persistent notification).
- Open the **Connect** tab.
- Use **Setup Code** or **Manual** mode.
- If discovery is blocked, use manual host/port in **Advanced controls**. For private LAN hosts, `ws://` still works. For Tailscale/public hosts, turn on TLS and use a `wss://` / Tailscale Serve endpoint.

After the first successful pairing, Android auto-reconnects on launch: the manual endpoint (if enabled), otherwise the last discovered gateway (best-effort).

### Presence alive beacons

After the authenticated node session connects, and when the app moves to the background while the foreground service is still connected, Android calls `node.event` with `event: "node.presence.alive"`. The gateway records this as `lastSeenAtMs`/`lastSeenReason` on the paired node/device metadata only after the authenticated node device identity is known.

The app counts the beacon as successfully recorded only when the gateway response includes `handled: true`. Older gateways may acknowledge `node.event` with `{ "ok": true }`; that response is compatible but does not count as a durable last-seen update.

### 4. Approve pairing (CLI)

On the gateway machine:

```bash
openclaw devices list
openclaw devices approve <requestId>
openclaw devices reject <requestId>
```

Pairing details: [Pairing](/channels/pairing).

Optional: if the Android node always connects from a tightly controlled subnet, you can opt in to first-time node auto-approval with explicit CIDRs or exact IPs:

```json5
{
  gateway: {
    nodes: {
      pairing: {
        autoApproveCidrs: ["192.168.1.0/24"],
      },
    },
  },
}
```

This is disabled by default. It applies only to fresh `role: node` pairing with no requested scopes. Operator/browser pairing and any role, scope, metadata, or public-key change still require manual approval.

### 5. Verify the node is connected

```bash
openclaw nodes status
openclaw gateway call node.list --params "{}"
```

### 6. Chat + history

The Android Chat tab supports session selection (default `main`, plus other existing sessions):

- History: `chat.history` (display-normalized — inline directive tags, plain-text tool-call XML payloads (`<tool_call>`, `<function_call>`, `<tool_calls>`, `<function_calls>`, and truncated variants), and leaked ASCII/full-width model control tokens are stripped; silent-token assistant rows such as exact `NO_REPLY` / `no_reply` are omitted; oversized rows can be replaced with placeholders)
- Send: `chat.send`
- Push updates (best-effort): `chat.subscribe` -> `event:"chat"`

### 7. Canvas + camera

#### Gateway Canvas Host (recommended for web content)

To have the node show real HTML/CSS/JS that the agent can edit on disk, point the node at the Gateway canvas host.

<Note>
Nodes load canvas from the Gateway HTTP server (same port as `gateway.port`, default `18789`).
</Note>

1. Create `~/.openclaw/workspace/canvas/index.html` on the gateway host.
2. Navigate the node to it (LAN):

```bash
openclaw nodes invoke --node "<Android Node>" --command canvas.navigate --params '{"url":"http://<gateway-hostname>.local:18789/__openclaw__/canvas/"}'
```

Tailnet (optional): if both devices are on Tailscale, use a MagicDNS name or tailnet IP instead of `.local`, e.g. `http://<gateway-magicdns>:18789/__openclaw__/canvas/`.

This server injects a live-reload client into HTML and reloads on file changes. The Gateway also serves `/__openclaw__/a2ui/`, but the Android app treats remote A2UI pages as render-only. Action-capable A2UI commands use the bundled app-owned A2UI page.

Canvas commands (foreground only):

- `canvas.eval`, `canvas.snapshot`, `canvas.navigate` (use `{"url":""}` or `{"url":"/"}` to return to the default scaffold). `canvas.snapshot` returns `{ format, base64 }` (default `format="jpeg"`).
- A2UI: `canvas.a2ui.push`, `canvas.a2ui.reset` (`canvas.a2ui.pushJSONL` legacy alias). These use the bundled app-owned A2UI page for action-capable rendering.

Camera commands (foreground only; permission-gated): `camera.snap` (jpg), `camera.clip` (mp4). See [Camera node](/nodes/camera) for parameters and CLI helpers.

### 8. Voice + expanded Android command surface

- Voice tab: Android has two explicit capture modes. **Mic** is a manual Voice-tab session that sends each pause as a chat turn and stops when the app leaves the foreground or the user leaves the Voice tab. **Talk** is continuous Talk Mode and keeps listening until toggled off or the node disconnects.
- Talk Mode promotes the existing foreground service from `connectedDevice` to `connectedDevice|microphone` before capture starts, then demotes it when Talk Mode stops. The node service declares `FOREGROUND_SERVICE_CONNECTED_DEVICE` with `CHANGE_NETWORK_STATE`; Android 14+ also requires the `FOREGROUND_SERVICE_MICROPHONE` declaration, the `RECORD_AUDIO` runtime grant, and the microphone service type at runtime.
- By default, Android Talk uses native speech recognition, Gateway chat, and `talk.speak` through the configured gateway Talk provider. Local system TTS is used only when `talk.speak` is unavailable.
- Android Talk uses realtime Gateway relay only when `talk.realtime.mode` is `realtime` and `talk.realtime.transport` is `gateway-relay`.
- Voice wake is implemented in source (`VoiceWakeMode`) but the shipping app runtime always forces it to `off` on connect — there is no user-facing toggle today.
- Additional Android command families (availability depends on device, permissions, and user settings):
  - `device.status`, `device.info`, `device.permissions`, `device.health`
  - `device.apps` only when **Settings > Phone Capabilities > Installed Apps** is enabled; it lists launcher-visible apps by default (pass `includeNonLaunchable` for the full list).
  - `notifications.list`, `notifications.actions` (see [Notification forwarding](#notification-forwarding) below)
  - `photos.latest`
  - `contacts.search`, `contacts.add`
  - `calendar.events`, `calendar.add`
  - `callLog.search`
  - `sms.search`
  - `motion.activity`, `motion.pedometer`

## Assistant entrypoints

Android supports launching OpenClaw from the system assistant trigger (Google Assistant). Holding the home button (or another `ACTION_ASSIST` trigger) opens the app; saying "Hey Google, ask OpenClaw `<prompt>`" matches the app's declared App Actions query pattern and hands the prompt into the chat composer without auto-sending it.

This uses Android **App Actions** (`shortcuts.xml` capability) declared in the app manifest. No gateway-side configuration is needed — the assistant intent is handled entirely by the Android app.

<Note>
App Actions availability depends on the device, Google Play Services version, and whether the user has set OpenClaw as the default assistant app.
</Note>

## Notification forwarding

Android can forward device notifications to the gateway as `node.event` items. This is configured **on the device**, in the app's Settings sheet — not in gateway/`openclaw.json` config.

| Setting                     | Description                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Forward Notification Events | Master toggle. Off by default; requires Notification Listener Access to be granted first.                                                                                                              |
| Package Filter              | **Allowlist** (only listed package IDs forwarded) or **Blocklist** (default: all packages except listed IDs). OpenClaw's own package is always excluded in Blocklist mode to prevent forwarding loops. |
| Quiet Hours                 | Local HH:mm start/end window that suppresses forwarding. Disabled by default; defaults to `22:00`-`07:00` once enabled.                                                                                |
| Max Events / Minute         | Per-device rate limit on forwarded notifications. Default 20.                                                                                                                                          |
| Route Session Key           | Optional. Pins forwarded notification events into a specific session instead of the device's default notification route.                                                                               |

<Note>
Notification forwarding requires the Android Notification Listener permission. The app prompts for this during setup.
</Note>

## Related

- [iOS app](/platforms/ios)
- [Nodes](/nodes)
- [Android node troubleshooting](/nodes/troubleshooting)
