How do I install the Openclaw Self Manage skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add abzhaw/openclaw-self-manage in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Openclaw Self Manage safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: reads secrets. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Openclaw Self Manage?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Openclaw Self Manage free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Openclaw Self Manage?

abzhaw (@abzhaw) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Openclaw Self Manage by abzhaw — Agent Skill

Name: Openclaw Self Manage
Rating: 4.5 (4 reviews)
Author: abzhaw

Openclaw Self Manage

Self-management skill for the OpenClaw agent. Use when you need to check your own health, diagnose gateway issues, inspect channel status, or restart the gateway. Run this before reporting any connectivity issue to Raphael.

abzhaw Updated Sep 10, 2026

File contents

OpenClaw Self-Management

Use this skill when something feels wrong — gateway timeouts, channel disconnects, auth errors.

STEP 1 — Health check (always start here)

openclaw health 2>&1

Output	Meaning	Go to
`OK`	Gateway healthy	Done ✅
`gateway timeout after 10000ms`	Gateway not responding or device not paired	Section A
`unauthorized role: node`	Device registered as node, needs operator approval	Section A
`pairing required`	Device not yet approved as operator	Section A
Channel `disabled`	Plugin off	Section B
Channel `not configured`	Token missing	Section C

SECTION A — Device role issue (most common)

What's happening: The gateway is running (LaunchAgent ai.openclaw.gateway is active), but this device's role is node instead of operator. The fix always requires an interactive re-onboarding to approve the device — this cannot be done unattended.

Verify gateway is actually running:

launchctl print gui/$UID/ai.openclaw.gateway 2>&1 | grep state
# → state = running  (gateway IS up, it's a pairing issue)
# → state missing or not found  (gateway process died — see below)

If gateway is running but CLI can't connect → interactive fix required:

Tell Raphael: "I need you to run openclaw onboard in a terminal and follow the prompts. The gateway is running but my device needs operator approval. Error: {exact error text}"

If gateway process is NOT running (not in launchctl):

# Reload the LaunchAgent
launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist 2>&1
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist 2>&1
sleep 5
openclaw health

If launchd plist doesn't exist yet:

openclaw gateway install
# Then reload as above

After Raphael runs openclaw onboard:

openclaw health   # should return OK
openclaw channels status

SECTION B — Plugin disabled

openclaw plugins enable telegram
launchctl kickstart -k gui/$UID/ai.openclaw.gateway
sleep 3
openclaw channels status

SECTION C — Channel not configured

openclaw plugins enable telegram
openclaw channels add --channel telegram --token "$TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN"
openclaw config set channels.telegram.dmPolicy pairing
launchctl kickstart -k gui/$UID/ai.openclaw.gateway
sleep 3
openclaw channels status

FULL SYSTEM CHECK

After any fix:

openclaw health
openclaw channels status
launchctl print gui/$UID/ai.openclaw.gateway | grep -E "state|pid"

REPORTING TO RAPHAEL

When reporting, always include:

Exact symptom seen
Command run to diagnose
Exact error text from logs: cat ~/.openclaw/logs/gateway.log | tail -20
Gateway state: launchctl print gui/$UID/ai.openclaw.gateway | grep state

If interactive fix is required, be explicit: "I can't fix this without you running a command."

---name: openclaw-self-managedescription: Self-management skill for the OpenClaw agent. Use when you need to check your own health, diagnose gateway issues, inspect channel status, or restart the gateway. Run this before reporting any connectivity issue to Raphael.---# OpenClaw Self-ManagementUse this skill when something feels wrong — gateway timeouts, channel disconnects, auth errors.---## STEP 1 — Health check (always start here)```bashopenclaw health 2>&1```| Output | Meaning | Go to ||---|---|---|| `OK` | Gateway healthy | Done ✅ || `gateway timeout after 10000ms` | Gateway not responding or device not paired | Section A || `unauthorized role: node` | Device registered as node, needs operator approval | Section A || `pairing required` | Device not yet approved as operator | Section A || Channel `disabled` | Plugin off | Section B || Channel `not configured` | Token missing | Section C |---## SECTION A — Device role issue (most common)**What's happening:** The gateway is running (LaunchAgent `ai.openclaw.gateway` is active),but this device's role is `node` instead of `operator`. The fix always requiresan interactive re-onboarding to approve the device — this cannot be done unattended.**Verify gateway is actually running:**```bashlaunchctl print gui/$UID/ai.openclaw.gateway 2>&1 | grep state# → state = running (gateway IS up, it's a pairing issue)# → state missing or not found (gateway process died — see below)```**If gateway is running but CLI can't connect → interactive fix required:**> Tell Raphael: "I need you to run `openclaw onboard` in a terminal and follow the prompts.> The gateway is running but my device needs operator approval.> Error: `{exact error text}`"**If gateway process is NOT running (not in launchctl):**```bash# Reload the LaunchAgentlaunchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist 2>&1launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist 2>&1sleep 5openclaw health```**If launchd plist doesn't exist yet:**```bashopenclaw gateway install# Then reload as above```**After Raphael runs `openclaw onboard`:**```bashopenclaw health # should return OKopenclaw channels status```---## SECTION B — Plugin disabled```bashopenclaw plugins enable telegramlaunchctl kickstart -k gui/$UID/ai.openclaw.gatewaysleep 3openclaw channels status```---## SECTION C — Channel not configured```bashopenclaw plugins enable telegramopenclaw channels add --channel telegram --token "$TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN"openclaw config set channels.telegram.dmPolicy pairinglaunchctl kickstart -k gui/$UID/ai.openclaw.gatewaysleep 3openclaw channels status```---## FULL SYSTEM CHECKAfter any fix:```bashopenclaw healthopenclaw channels statuslaunchctl print gui/$UID/ai.openclaw.gateway | grep -E "state|pid"```---## REPORTING TO RAPHAELWhen reporting, always include:1. Exact symptom seen2. Command run to diagnose3. Exact error text from logs: `cat ~/.openclaw/logs/gateway.log | tail -20`4. Gateway state: `launchctl print gui/$UID/ai.openclaw.gateway | grep state`If interactive fix is required, be explicit: "I can't fix this without you running a command."

Frequently asked questions