Remote Node Exec

Run commands on a paired OpenClaw node from your gateway. Node protocol when connected, SSH when not.

> Setup: Node must be paired first. See hybrid-gateway.

Required Tools

This skill expects the following on your gateway machine:

• ssh, scp, rsync — standard SSH tooling for fallback transport and file transfer
• openclaw CLI — for node protocol commands and node status checks

Your remote node needs an SSH server running and an OpenClaw node agent paired to your gateway.

When to Use What

Node Protocol

Fastest path. Routes through the gateway — no SSH keys needed.

exec host=node command="uname -a"

Caveat: Minimal PATH. Use full binary paths for package-manager-installed tools:

exec host=node command="/opt/homebrew/bin/python3 --version"

SSH Fallback

Use your SSH config alias (the hostname or alias you configured in your SSH config for the node).

ssh <node-alias> "whoami"

With full shell environment:

ssh <node-alias> "source ~/.profile 2>/dev/null; node --version"

File Transfer (SSH only)

# To node
scp file.txt <node-alias>:/tmp/

# From node
scp <node-alias>:/tmp/result.txt ./

# Sync a directory
rsync -avz ./data/ <node-alias>:~/data/

Check Node Status

openclaw nodes status

Disconnect Recovery

1. Check: openclaw nodes status
2. If disconnected, verify the node is reachable via SSH: ssh "echo ok"
3. If reachable, restart the OpenClaw node service on the remote machine using its service manager
4. Verify: openclaw nodes status

Constraints

• Node protocol: no file transfer, no TTY/interactive sessions, minimal PATH
• SSH: requires network reachability (LAN, Tailscale, or VPN)
• Long tasks: use SSH + nohup/tmux to avoid timeouts