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Signal (signal-cli)

Status: external CLI integration. Gateway talks to signal-cli over HTTP JSON-RPC + SSE.

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Prerequisites

  • OpenClaw installed on your server (Linux flow below tested on Ubuntu 24).
  • signal-cli available on the host where the gateway runs.
  • A phone number that can receive one verification SMS (for SMS registration path).
  • Browser access for Signal captcha (signalcaptchas.org) during registration.

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Quick setup (beginner)

  1. Use a separate Signal number for the bot (recommended).
  2. Install signal-cli (Java required if you use the JVM build).
  3. Choose one setup path:
    • Path A (QR link): signal-cli link -n "OpenClaw" and scan with Signal.
    • Path B (SMS register): register a dedicated number with captcha + SMS verification.
  4. Configure OpenClaw and restart the gateway.
  5. Send a first DM and approve pairing (openclaw pairing approve signal <CODE>).
Minimal config: 
{
  channels: {
    signal: {
      enabled: true,
      account: "+15551234567",
      cliPath: "signal-cli",
      dmPolicy: "pairing",
      allowFrom: ["+15557654321"],
    },
  },
}
Field reference:
FieldDescription
accountBot phone number in E.164 format (+15551234567)
cliPathPath to signal-cli (signal-cli if on PATH)
dmPolicyDM access policy (pairing recommended)
allowFromPhone numbers or uuid:<id> values allowed to DM

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What it is

  • Signal channel via signal-cli (not embedded libsignal).
  • Deterministic routing: replies always go back to Signal.
  • DMs share the agent’s main session; groups are isolated (agent:<agentId>:signal:group:<groupId>).

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Config writes

By default, Signal is allowed to write config updates triggered by /config set|unset (requires commands.config: true). Disable with: 
{
  channels: { signal: { configWrites: false } },
}

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The number model (important)

  • The gateway connects to a Signal device (the signal-cli account).
  • If you run the bot on your personal Signal account, it will ignore your own messages (loop protection).
  • For “I text the bot and it replies,” use a separate bot number.
  1. Install signal-cli (JVM or native build).
  2. Link a bot account:
    • signal-cli link -n "OpenClaw" then scan the QR in Signal.
  3. Configure Signal and start the gateway.
Example: 
{
  channels: {
    signal: {
      enabled: true,
      account: "+15551234567",
      cliPath: "signal-cli",
      dmPolicy: "pairing",
      allowFrom: ["+15557654321"],
    },
  },
}
Multi-account support: use channels.signal.accounts with per-account config and optional name. See gateway/configuration for the shared pattern.

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Setup path B: register dedicated bot number (SMS, Linux)

Use this when you want a dedicated bot number instead of linking an existing Signal app account.
  1. Get a number that can receive SMS (or voice verification for landlines).
    • Use a dedicated bot number to avoid account/session conflicts.
  2. Install signal-cli on the gateway host:
VERSION=$(curl -Ls -o /dev/null -w %{url_effective} https://github.com/AsamK/signal-cli/releases/latest | sed -e 's/^.*\/v//')
curl -L -O "https://github.com/AsamK/signal-cli/releases/download/v${VERSION}/signal-cli-${VERSION}-Linux-native.tar.gz"
sudo tar xf "signal-cli-${VERSION}-Linux-native.tar.gz" -C /opt
sudo ln -sf /opt/signal-cli /usr/local/bin/
signal-cli --version
If you use the JVM build (signal-cli-${VERSION}.tar.gz), install JRE 25+ first. Keep signal-cli updated; upstream notes that old releases can break as Signal server APIs change.
  1. Register and verify the number:
signal-cli -a +<BOT_PHONE_NUMBER> register
If captcha is required:
  1. Open https://signalcaptchas.org/registration/generate.html.
  2. Complete captcha, copy the signalcaptcha://... link target from “Open Signal”.
  3. Run from the same external IP as the browser session when possible.
  4. Run registration again immediately (captcha tokens expire quickly):
signal-cli -a +<BOT_PHONE_NUMBER> register --captcha '<SIGNALCAPTCHA_URL>'
signal-cli -a +<BOT_PHONE_NUMBER> verify <VERIFICATION_CODE>
  1. Configure OpenClaw, restart gateway, verify channel:
# If you run the gateway as a user systemd service:
systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway

# Then verify:
openclaw doctor
openclaw channels status --probe
  1. Pair your DM sender:
    • Send any message to the bot number.
    • Approve code on the server: openclaw pairing approve signal <PAIRING_CODE>.
    • Save the bot number as a contact on your phone to avoid “Unknown contact”.
Important: registering a phone number account with signal-cli can de-authenticate the main Signal app session for that number. Prefer a dedicated bot number, or use QR link mode if you need to keep your existing phone app setup. Upstream references:
  • signal-cli README: https://github.com/AsamK/signal-cli
  • Captcha flow: https://github.com/AsamK/signal-cli/wiki/Registration-with-captcha
  • Linking flow: https://github.com/AsamK/signal-cli/wiki/Linking-other-devices-(Provisioning)

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External daemon mode (httpUrl)

If you want to manage signal-cli yourself (slow JVM cold starts, container init, or shared CPUs), run the daemon separately and point OpenClaw at it: 
{
  channels: {
    signal: {
      httpUrl: "http://127.0.0.1:8080",
      autoStart: false,
    },
  },
}
This skips auto-spawn and the startup wait inside OpenClaw. For slow starts when auto-spawning, set channels.signal.startupTimeoutMs.

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Access control (DMs + groups)

DMs:
  • Default: channels.signal.dmPolicy = "pairing".
  • Unknown senders receive a pairing code; messages are ignored until approved (codes expire after 1 hour).
  • Approve via:
    • openclaw pairing list signal
    • openclaw pairing approve signal <CODE>
  • Pairing is the default token exchange for Signal DMs. Details: Pairing
  • UUID-only senders (from sourceUuid) are stored as uuid:<id> in channels.signal.allowFrom.
Groups:
  • channels.signal.groupPolicy = open | allowlist | disabled.
  • channels.signal.groupAllowFrom controls who can trigger in groups when allowlist is set.
  • channels.signal.groups["<group-id>" | "*"] can override group behavior with requireMention, tools, and toolsBySender.
  • Use channels.signal.accounts.<id>.groups for per-account overrides in multi-account setups.
  • Runtime note: if channels.signal is completely missing, runtime falls back to groupPolicy="allowlist" for group checks (even if channels.defaults.groupPolicy is set).

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How it works (behavior)

  • signal-cli runs as a daemon; the gateway reads events via SSE.
  • Inbound messages are normalized into the shared channel envelope.
  • Replies always route back to the same number or group.

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Media + limits

  • Outbound text is chunked to channels.signal.textChunkLimit (default 4000).
  • Optional newline chunking: set channels.signal.chunkMode="newline" to split on blank lines (paragraph boundaries) before length chunking.
  • Attachments supported (base64 fetched from signal-cli).
  • Default media cap: channels.signal.mediaMaxMb (default 8).
  • Use channels.signal.ignoreAttachments to skip downloading media.
  • Group history context uses channels.signal.historyLimit (or channels.signal.accounts.*.historyLimit), falling back to messages.groupChat.historyLimit. Set 0 to disable (default 50).

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Typing + read receipts

  • Typing indicators: OpenClaw sends typing signals via signal-cli sendTyping and refreshes them while a reply is running.
  • Read receipts: when channels.signal.sendReadReceipts is true, OpenClaw forwards read receipts for allowed DMs.
  • Signal-cli does not expose read receipts for groups.

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Reactions (message tool)

  • Use message action=react with channel=signal.
  • Targets: sender E.164 or UUID (use uuid:<id> from pairing output; bare UUID works too).
  • messageId is the Signal timestamp for the message you’re reacting to.
  • Group reactions require targetAuthor or targetAuthorUuid.
Examples: 
message action=react channel=signal target=uuid:123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000 messageId=1737630212345 emoji=🔥
message action=react channel=signal target=+15551234567 messageId=1737630212345 emoji=🔥 remove=true
message action=react channel=signal target=signal:group:<groupId> targetAuthor=uuid:<sender-uuid> messageId=1737630212345 emoji=✅
Config:
  • channels.signal.actions.reactions: enable/disable reaction actions (default true).
  • channels.signal.reactionLevel: off | ack | minimal | extensive.
    • off/ack disables agent reactions (message tool react will error).
    • minimal/extensive enables agent reactions and sets the guidance level.
  • Per-account overrides: channels.signal.accounts.<id>.actions.reactions, channels.signal.accounts.<id>.reactionLevel.

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Delivery targets (CLI/cron)

  • DMs: signal:+15551234567 (or plain E.164).
  • UUID DMs: uuid:<id> (or bare UUID).
  • Groups: signal:group:<groupId>.
  • Usernames: username:<name> (if supported by your Signal account).

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Troubleshooting

Run this ladder first: 
openclaw status
openclaw gateway status
openclaw logs --follow
openclaw doctor
openclaw channels status --probe
Then confirm DM pairing state if needed: 
openclaw pairing list signal
Common failures:
  • Daemon reachable but no replies: verify account/daemon settings (httpUrl, account) and receive mode.
  • DMs ignored: sender is pending pairing approval.
  • Group messages ignored: group sender/mention gating blocks delivery.
  • Config validation errors after edits: run openclaw doctor --fix.
  • Signal missing from diagnostics: confirm channels.signal.enabled: true.
Extra checks: 
openclaw pairing list signal
pgrep -af signal-cli
grep -i "signal" "/tmp/openclaw/openclaw-$(date +%Y-%m-%d).log" | tail -20
For triage flow: /channels/troubleshooting.

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Security notes

  • signal-cli stores account keys locally (typically ~/.local/share/signal-cli/data/).
  • Back up Signal account state before server migration or rebuild.
  • Keep channels.signal.dmPolicy: "pairing" unless you explicitly want broader DM access.
  • SMS verification is only needed for registration or recovery flows, but losing control of the number/account can complicate re-registration.

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Configuration reference (Signal)

Full configuration: Configuration Provider options:
  • channels.signal.enabled: enable/disable channel startup.
  • channels.signal.account: E.164 for the bot account.
  • channels.signal.cliPath: path to signal-cli.
  • channels.signal.httpUrl: full daemon URL (overrides host/port).
  • channels.signal.httpHost, channels.signal.httpPort: daemon bind (default 127.0.0.1:8080).
  • channels.signal.autoStart: auto-spawn daemon (default true if httpUrl unset).
  • channels.signal.startupTimeoutMs: startup wait timeout in ms (cap 120000).
  • channels.signal.receiveMode: on-start | manual.
  • channels.signal.ignoreAttachments: skip attachment downloads.
  • channels.signal.ignoreStories: ignore stories from the daemon.
  • channels.signal.sendReadReceipts: forward read receipts.
  • channels.signal.dmPolicy: pairing | allowlist | open | disabled (default: pairing).
  • channels.signal.allowFrom: DM allowlist (E.164 or uuid:<id>). open requires "*". Signal has no usernames; use phone/UUID ids.
  • channels.signal.groupPolicy: open | allowlist | disabled (default: allowlist).
  • channels.signal.groupAllowFrom: group sender allowlist.
  • channels.signal.groups: per-group overrides keyed by Signal group id (or "*"). Supported fields: requireMention, tools, toolsBySender.
  • channels.signal.accounts.<id>.groups: per-account version of channels.signal.groups for multi-account setups.
  • channels.signal.historyLimit: max group messages to include as context (0 disables).
  • channels.signal.dmHistoryLimit: DM history limit in user turns. Per-user overrides: channels.signal.dms["<phone_or_uuid>"].historyLimit.
  • channels.signal.textChunkLimit: outbound chunk size (chars).
  • channels.signal.chunkMode: length (default) or newline to split on blank lines (paragraph boundaries) before length chunking.
  • channels.signal.mediaMaxMb: inbound/outbound media cap (MB).
Related global options:
  • agents.list[].groupChat.mentionPatterns (Signal does not support native mentions).
  • messages.groupChat.mentionPatterns (global fallback).
  • messages.responsePrefix.
Last modified on March 22, 2026