Why manage AI Agents remotely?

You've got OpenClaw running on a VPS, a home server, or a second machine. Your AI agents are humming along, responding on Telegram, processing tasks, doing their thing. But you're on your laptop. Or your phone. Or a completely different computer.

Until now, checking on those agents meant SSHing in and running terminal commands. ClawManager's Remote Gateway changes that. It lets you point your local ClawManager app at a gateway running on another machine and manage everything through the same GUI you already know.

No extra installs on the remote side. No port forwarding headaches (if you use SSH tunnel). Just connect and go.

Two ways to connect

ClawManager supports two remote connection methods. Which one you use depends on where your gateway lives.

Direct URL: for public gateways

If your OpenClaw gateway has a public HTTPS endpoint (like a VPS at https://your-server.com:18789), Direct URL is the simplest option. You enter the URL, paste your auth token, and connect. That's it.

Best for:

Cloud VPS deployments (DigitalOcean, Hetzner, AWS, etc.)
Any server with a public IP and HTTPS configured
Quick access without SSH credentials

SSH Tunnel: for private networks

If your gateway is on another PC in your house, a NAS, or any machine behind a firewall, SSH Tunnel is the way to go. ClawManager opens an SSH tunnel that forwards the gateway's port to your local machine. The remote gateway stays bound to 127.0.0.1 with zero ports exposed to the internet.

Best for:

Home servers and NAS devices
Another desktop or laptop on your LAN
Any machine you can SSH into but don't want to expose publicly

Connecting via Direct URL: step by step

Here's the full walkthrough for connecting to a public gateway.

Find the gateway status dot in the top-right corner of ClawManager. It's a small colored circle next to the gateway status area.
Click the dot and select Connect to Remote... from the dropdown menu.
In the Remote Gateway modal, select the Direct URL tab.
Enter your gateway's public URL. It must be HTTPS, something like https://my-vps.example.com:18789.
Enter the auth token from your remote OpenClaw instance. You can find this by running openclaw status on the remote machine.
Click Test to verify the connection works (optional but worth doing).
Click Connect.

ClawManager will switch to the remote gateway. The status dot turns cyan to indicate a Direct URL connection.

Important: Direct URL mode blocks private/LAN addresses like 192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x, and localhost. If your gateway is on your local network, use SSH Tunnel instead.

Connecting via SSH Tunnel: step by step

For gateways on private networks or behind firewalls.

Prerequisites

SSH server is running on the remote machine
You can log in with an SSH key (password auth works but keys are recommended)
OpenClaw is installed and the gateway is running on the remote machine

Steps

Verify SSH access works first: ssh root@192.168.1.106 (use your actual host and username).
Verify the remote gateway is running: openclaw gateway status
In ClawManager, click the gateway status dot and select Connect to Remote...
Select the SSH Tunnel tab.
Fill in: Host (IP or hostname), SSH Port (default 22), Username (default root), and SSH Key Path (default ~/.ssh/id_ed25519).
Click Connect via SSH.

ClawManager opens the tunnel and connects. The status dot turns amber to indicate an SSH tunnel connection.

Tip: Leave the SSH Key Path blank to use your system's ssh-agent instead of a specific key file.

Connect vs. Pair: understanding access levels

Connecting to a remote gateway gives you read access right away. But for full control, you need to pair your ClawManager instance with the remote gateway.

Connected only (read access)

View remote agents and their status cards
Read core agent files (SOUL.md, USER.md, etc.)
See which backend you're connected to
Switch between local, SSH, and direct modes

Chat turns and file writes may not work until you pair.

Connected + Paired (full access)

Send chat messages to remote agents
Edit and save supported remote files
Full dashboard visibility and control

How to pair

Connect to the remote gateway first (using either method above).
On the remote machine, open Devices & Pairing in OpenClaw and approve the new ClawManager device.
Back in ClawManager, refresh or reconnect. Full access unlocks automatically once paired.

What changes when you're connected remotely

A few things behave differently in remote mode:

The status dot changes color: amber for SSH, cyan for Direct URL, green for local
The gateway dropdown shows the remote host and connection method
Local-only controls (Logs, Doctor, Start/Stop, Restart) are hidden since they don't apply
Status & Diagnostics still works and reports remote gateway health
All dashboard data reflects the remote gateway, not your local one

Switching back to local

When you're done managing your remote agents:

Click the gateway status dot in the top bar.
Select Switch Back to Local.
ClawManager disconnects and reloads, pointing at your local gateway again.

You can also open the Remote Gateway modal and click Disconnect in the bottom-left corner.

Common use cases

VPS monitoring from your laptop

You run OpenClaw on a Hetzner or DigitalOcean VPS. Your agents handle Telegram messages, cron jobs, and web searches 24/7. With Remote Gateway (Direct URL), you can check in on them, tweak their personalities, or read their memory files without ever opening a terminal.

Home server management

Your OpenClaw instance runs on a Raspberry Pi, NAS, or old desktop in the closet. SSH Tunnel lets you manage it from your main computer without exposing any ports to the internet.

Multi-machine setups

Maybe you have one gateway on your work machine and another on your home server. ClawManager lets you switch between them. Connect to whichever one you need, do your work, switch back.

Current limitations

Remote Gateway is still evolving. A few things to be aware of:

Daily memory notes and chat archives may not be accessible remotely yet
File uploads aren't supported in remote mode
Only core agent files (SOUL.md, USER.md, MEMORY.md) are readable remotely
Broader remote file support is expected in future OpenClaw releases

Get started

Remote Gateway is available now in ClawManager. No extra setup on the remote side beyond having OpenClaw running.

Download ClawManager if you haven't already.
Click the gateway status dot, hit Connect to Remote..., and follow the steps above.
Check out the full Remote Gateway docs for troubleshooting and advanced configuration.

You can view the full documentation here https://clawmanager.ai/docs/remote-gateway

Reach Out on Telegram if you have any issues or questions.