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TUI (Terminal UI)

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Quick start

  1. Start the Gateway.
openclaw gateway
  1. Open the TUI.
openclaw tui
  1. 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.

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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/reasoning + token counts + deliver.
  • Input: text editor with autocomplete.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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)

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Connection details

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

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Options

  • --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
  • --timeout-ms <ms>: Agent timeout in ms (defaults to agents.defaults.timeoutSeconds)
Note: 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.

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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).
  • --history-limit <n>: History entries to load (default 200)

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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.
Last modified on March 22, 2026