Enabling Global Bind for OpenClaw Gateway | Generated by AI

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Question: How do I change the OpenClaw gateway config from “loopback” (127.0.0.1) to bind globally (0.0.0.0) so it’s accessible via 192.168.1.36:18789?

Answer:

Simple Config Change

Just change two fields in your config:

"gateway": {
    "port": 18789,
    "mode": "local",
    "bind": "loopback",
    "auth": {
        "mode": "token",
        "token": "86c230696f27eada444097a03167fca718b3321b3d52c117"
    }
}

Change to:

"gateway": {
    "port": 18789,
    "mode": "local",
    "bind": "all",
    "auth": {
        "mode": "token",
        "token": "86c230696f27eada444097a03167fca718b3321b3d52c117"
    }
}

What Changed

Field Before After Meaning
bind "loopback" "all" Listen on 0.0.0.0 instead of 127.0.0.1

The typical values are loopback → binds to 127.0.0.1 only, and all → binds to 0.0.0.0 (all interfaces). Some configs use global instead of all — check OpenClaw’s own documentation if all doesn’t work.

After Changing

  1. Save the config file
  2. Restart the OpenClaw service: 
    systemctl restart openclaw
# or
pkill openclaw && openclaw &
  3. Verify it’s now listening on all interfaces: 
    ss -tlnp | grep 18789
# Should show: 0.0.0.0:18789  (not 127.0.0.1:18789)
  4. Allow firewall if needed: 
    sudo ufw allow 18789
  5. Access from your browser: 
    http://192.168.1.36:18789

Security Note

⚠️ Since your config already has token auth enabled ("mode": "token"), you are protected — any request must include the token. This is fine for LAN use, but do not expose port 18789 to the public internet without additional firewall rules.

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