🦞 OpenClaw Windows Hub

A Windows companion suite for OpenClaw - the AI-powered personal assistant.

Made with 🦞 love by Scott Hanselman and Molty

Projects

This monorepo contains three projects:

Project	Description
OpenClaw.Tray	System tray application for quick access to OpenClaw
OpenClaw.Shared	Shared gateway client library
OpenClaw.CommandPalette	PowerToys Command Palette extension

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Windows 10 (20H2+) or Windows 11
• .NET 10.0 SDK - https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/10.0
• Windows 10 SDK (for WinUI build) - install via Visual Studio or standalone
• WebView2 Runtime - pre-installed on modern Windows, or get from https://developer.microsoft.com/microsoft-edge/webview2
• PowerToys (optional, for Command Palette extension)

Build

Use the build script to check prerequisites and build:

# Check prerequisites
.\build.ps1 -CheckOnly

# Build all projects
.\build.ps1

# Build specific project
.\build.ps1 -Project WinUI
.\build.ps1 -Project Tray -Configuration Release

Or build directly with dotnet:

# Build all (use build.ps1 for best results)
dotnet build

# Build WinUI (requires runtime identifier for WebView2 support)
dotnet build src/OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI/OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI.csproj -r win-arm64  # ARM64
dotnet build src/OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI/OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI.csproj -r win-x64    # x64

# Build MSIX package (for camera/mic consent prompts)
dotnet build src/OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI -r win-arm64 -p:PackageMsix=true  # ARM64 MSIX
dotnet build src/OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI -r win-x64 -p:PackageMsix=true    # x64 MSIX

Run Tray App

# WinForms version
dotnet run --project src/OpenClaw.Tray/OpenClaw.Tray.csproj

# WinUI version - run the exe directly (path includes runtime identifier)
.\src\OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI\bin\Debug\net10.0-windows10.0.19041.0\win-arm64\OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI.exe  # ARM64
.\src\OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI\bin\Debug\net10.0-windows10.0.19041.0\win-x64\OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI.exe    # x64

📦 OpenClaw.Tray (Molty)

Modern Windows 11-style system tray companion that connects to your local OpenClaw gateway.

Features

• 🦞 Lobster branding - Pixel-art lobster tray icon with status colors
• 🎨 Modern UI - Windows 11 flyout menu with dark/light mode support
• 💬 Quick Send - Send messages via global hotkey (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C)
• 🔄 Auto-updates - Automatic updates from GitHub Releases
• 🌐 Web Chat - Embedded chat window with WebView2
• 📊 Live Status - Real-time sessions, channels, and usage display
• ⚡ Activity Stream - Dedicated flyout for live session, usage, node, and notification events
• 🔔 Toast Notifications - Clickable Windows notifications with smart categorization
• 📡 Channel Control - Start/stop Telegram & WhatsApp from the menu
• 🖥️ Node Observability - Node inventory with online/offline state and copyable summary
• ⏱ Cron Jobs - Quick access to scheduled tasks
• 🚀 Auto-start - Launch with Windows
• ⚙️ Settings - Full configuration dialog
• 🎯 First-run experience - Welcome dialog guides new users

Menu Sections

• Status - Gateway connection status with click-to-view details
• Sessions - Active agent sessions with preview and per-session controls
• Usage - Provider/cost summary with quick jump to activity details
• Channels - Telegram/WhatsApp status with toggle control
• Nodes - Online/offline node inventory and copyable summary
• Recent Activity - Timestamped event stream for sessions, usage, nodes, and notifications
• Actions - Dashboard, Web Chat, Quick Send, Activity Stream, History
• Settings - Configuration, auto-start, logs

Mac Parity Status

Comparing against openclaw-menubar (macOS Swift menu bar app):

Feature	Mac	Windows	Notes
Menu bar/tray icon	✅	✅	Color-coded status
Gateway status display	✅	✅	Connected/Disconnected
PID display	✅	❌	Mac shows gateway PID
Channel status	✅	✅	Mac: Discord / Win: Telegram+WhatsApp
Sessions count	✅	✅
Last check timestamp	✅	✅	Shown in tray tooltip
Gateway start/stop/restart	✅	❌	Mac controls gateway process
View Logs	✅	✅
Open Web UI	✅	✅
Refresh	✅	✅	Auto-refresh on menu open
Launch at Login	✅	✅
Notifications toggle	✅	✅

Windows-Only Features

These features are available in Windows but not in the Mac app:

Feature	Description
Quick Send hotkey	Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C global hotkey
Embedded Web Chat	WebView2-based chat window
Toast notifications	Clickable Windows notifications
Channel control	Start/stop Telegram & WhatsApp
Modern flyout menu	Windows 11-style with dark/light mode
Deep links	openclaw:// URL scheme with IPC
First-run welcome	Guided onboarding for new users
PowerToys integration	Command Palette extension

🔌 Node Mode (Agent Control)

When Node Mode is enabled in Settings, your Windows PC becomes a node that the OpenClaw agent can control - just like the Mac app! The agent can:

Capability	Commands	Description
System	system.notify, system.run, system.execApprovals.get, system.execApprovals.set	Show Windows toast notifications, execute commands with policy controls
Canvas	canvas.present, canvas.hide, canvas.navigate, canvas.eval, canvas.snapshot, canvas.a2ui.push (investigating), canvas.a2ui.reset (investigating)	Display and control a WebView2 window
Screen	screen.capture, screen.list	Capture screenshots
Camera	camera.list, camera.snap	Enumerate cameras and capture a still photo

Node Setup

1. Enable Node Mode in Settings (enabled by default)

2. First connection creates a pairing request on the gateway

3. Approve the device on your gateway:

   openclaw devices list          # Find your Windows device
   openclaw devices approve <id>  # Approve it
   

4. Configure gateway allowCommands - Add the commands you want to allow under gateway.nodes in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

   {
     "gateway": {
       "nodes": {
         "allowCommands": [
           "system.notify",
           "system.run",
           "system.execApprovals.get",
           "system.execApprovals.set",
           "canvas.present",
           "canvas.hide",
           "canvas.navigate",
           "canvas.eval",
           "canvas.snapshot",
           "canvas.a2ui.push",
           "canvas.a2ui.reset",
           "screen.capture",
           "screen.list",
           "camera.list",
           "camera.snap"
         ]
       }
     }
   }
   

   ⚠️ Important: The gateway has a server-side allowlist. Commands must be listed explicitly - wildcards like canvas.* don't work!

5. Test it from your Mac/gateway:

    # Show a notification
    openclaw nodes notify --node <id> --title "Hello" --body "From Mac!"
   
    # Open a canvas window
    openclaw nodes canvas present --node <id> --url "https://example.com"
   
    # Execute JavaScript (note: CLI sends "javaScript" param)
    openclaw nodes canvas eval --node <id> --javaScript "document.title"
   
    # Render A2UI JSONL in the canvas (pass the file contents as a string)
    openclaw nodes canvas a2ui push --node <id> --jsonl "$(Get-Content -Raw .\\ui.jsonl)"
   
    # Take a screenshot
    openclaw nodes invoke --node <id> --command screen.capture --params '{"screenIndex":0,"format":"png"}'
   
    # List cameras
    openclaw nodes invoke --node <id> --command camera.list
   
    # Take a photo (NV12/MediaCapture fallback)
    openclaw nodes invoke --node <id> --command camera.snap --params '{"deviceId":"<device-id>","format":"jpeg","quality":80}'
   
    # Execute a command on the Windows node
    openclaw nodes invoke --node <id> --command system.run --params '{"command":"Get-Process | Select -First 5","shell":"powershell","timeoutMs":10000}'
   
    # View exec approval policy
    openclaw nodes invoke --node <id> --command system.execApprovals.get
   
    # Update exec approval policy (add custom rules)
    openclaw nodes invoke --node <id> --command system.execApprovals.set --params '{"rules":[{"pattern":"echo *","action":"allow"},{"pattern":"*","action":"deny"}],"defaultAction":"deny"}'
   

   📷 Camera permission: Desktop builds rely on Windows Privacy settings. Packaged MSIX builds will show the system consent prompt.

   🔒 Exec Policy: system.run is gated by an approval policy on the Windows node at %LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenClawTray\exec-policy.json (schema: { "defaultAction": "...", "rules": [...] }). This is separate from gateway-side ~/.openclaw/exec-approvals.json.

   Rules are matched against the command token (argv[0]). If your call runs powershell.exe -File script.ps1, allow powershell.exe/pwsh.exe (not just the script path), or you'll get No matching rule; default policy applied.

   openclaw nodes invoke --node <id> --command system.execApprovals.set --params '{"rules":[{"pattern":"powershell.exe","action":"allow"},{"pattern":"pwsh.exe","action":"allow"},{"pattern":"echo *","action":"allow"},{"pattern":"*","action":"deny"}],"defaultAction":"deny"}'
   

   🔐 Web Chat secure context: Remote web chat requires https:// (or localhost). If using a self-signed cert, trust it in Windows (Trusted Root Certification Authorities) or use an SSH tunnel to localhost.

Node Status in Tray Menu

The tray menu shows node connection status:

• 🔌 Node Mode section appears when enabled
• ⏳ Waiting for approval... - Device needs approval on gateway
• ✅ Paired & Connected - Ready to receive commands
• Click the device ID to copy it for the approval command

Deep Links

OpenClaw registers the openclaw:// URL scheme for automation and integration:

Link	Description
openclaw://settings	Open Settings dialog
openclaw://chat	Open Web Chat window
openclaw://dashboard	Open Dashboard in browser
openclaw://dashboard/sessions	Open specific dashboard page
openclaw://send?message=Hello	Open Quick Send with pre-filled text
openclaw://agent?message=Hello	Send message directly (with confirmation)

Deep links work even when Molty is already running - they're forwarded via IPC.

📦 OpenClaw.CommandPalette

PowerToys Command Palette extension for quick OpenClaw access.

Commands

• 🦞 Open Dashboard - Launch web dashboard
• 💬 Quick Send - Send a message
• 📊 Full Status - View gateway status
• ⚡ Sessions - View active sessions
• 📡 Channels - View channel health
• 🔄 Health Check - Trigger health refresh

Installation

1. Build the solution in Release mode
2. Deploy the MSIX package via Visual Studio
3. Open Command Palette (Win+Alt+Space)
4. Type "OpenClaw" to see commands

📦 OpenClaw.Shared

Shared library containing:

• OpenClawGatewayClient - WebSocket client for gateway protocol
• IOpenClawLogger - Logging interface
• Data models (SessionInfo, ChannelHealth, etc.)
• Channel control (start/stop channels via gateway)

Development

Project Structure

moltbot-windows-hub/
├── src/
│   ├── OpenClaw.Shared/           # Shared gateway library
│   ├── OpenClaw.Tray/             # System tray app
│   └── OpenClaw.CommandPalette/   # PowerToys extension
├── docs/
│   └── molty1.png                # Screenshot
├── moltbot-windows-hub.sln
├── README.md
├── LICENSE
└── .gitignore

Configuration

Settings are stored in:

• Settings: %APPDATA%\OpenClawTray\settings.json
• Logs: %LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenClawTray\openclaw-tray.log

Default gateway: ws://localhost:18789

First Run

On first run without a token, Molty displays a welcome dialog that:

1. Explains what's needed to get started
2. Links to documentation for token setup
3. Opens Settings to configure the connection

License

MIT License - see LICENSE

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Formerly known as Moltbot, formerly known as Clawdbot