openclaw/apps/macos

OpenClaw macOS app (dev + signing)

Quick dev run

# from repo root
scripts/restart-mac.sh

Options:

scripts/restart-mac.sh --no-sign   # fastest dev; ad-hoc signing (TCC permissions do not stick)
scripts/restart-mac.sh --sign      # force code signing (requires cert)
scripts/restart-mac.sh --background-only # keep services running without automatic windows

--background-only suppresses first-run onboarding, update and CLI prompts, and the --chat/--dashboard auto-open helpers. Pairing, control-channel, and Mac node services still start. It also keeps GUI-owned onboarding and saved Gateway profile Keychain state cold, so a signer or ACL transition cannot raise a SecurityAgent prompt during unattended work. The primary Gateway route still comes from the normal environment/config endpoint. Combine it with --attach-only when an external process owns the local Gateway.

App profiles

Launch a separately configured app instance with the same profile name used by the CLI:

OPENCLAW_PROFILE=work /Applications/OpenClaw.app/Contents/MacOS/OpenClaw

Profile names use 1–64 lowercase letters, numbers, underscores, or hyphens and must start with a letter or number. default selects the normal app; gateway, mac, and node are reserved LaunchAgent identities.

scripts/restart-mac.sh intentionally rejects named profiles because its packaging cleanup is host-global. Build/package normally, then launch the named profile directly with the command above.

A named profile keeps state in ~/.openclaw-<name>, uses its own app defaults, Keychain services, duplicate-instance lock, and the CLI-managed Gateway service ai.openclaw.<name>. Unless config or environment selects a port, each profile derives a stable port in the profile 20000...59999 range. The app does not install or modify the host-global Mac node service or OpenClaw login item while a profile is active. The runtime child node still runs in process as usual. App relocation, Sparkle updates, and post-update service repair are disabled in profile mode; update the installed app through the normal default-profile workflow.

Full chat windows keep Reasoning, Tool Activity, pinned and recent models, and collapsed sidebar groups in the active profile's app defaults.

Profiles are not test sandboxes. PortGuardian intentionally shares its tunnel ledger and orphan cleanup across app instances, and port reservation inspects other profiles' Gateway service claims. Use a clean test account or VM when validation must not access or change operator state.

Native tests

Run the full app suite only in disposable macOS CI or a VM without operator credentials or a live Gateway. A test filter or temporary HOME is not enough: preferences and Keychain use system services, and AppKit/WebKit tests can open windows and helper processes. Local subsets need a verified OS sandbox as well as test-owned resources. See native test safety.

The macos-swift CI job builds tests once, then runs them through scripts/test-macos-native.mts. The full suite retains default-profile behavior; named-profile AppState isolation tests run separately. Each process gets private home, config/state paths, and a short TMPDIR for tools that honor it before the test bundle loads. Foundation uses Darwin's per-user temp directory instead; TestIsolation fixtures own and clean unique directories there, and the disposable OS worker owns and discards the surrounding directory. The launcher also creates an unlocked, disposable Keychain in that home and selects it as the user-domain default and search list, so catalog migration can save without prompting to create a login Keychain. It disables automatic locking only for that test resource and deletes it after the test process group and output pipes close. Failed or unverified cleanup retains resources and fails the launch. The disposable runner owns default preferences and system-service state; a named profile gets a fresh preferences domain. The launcher itself is not a sandbox. Local scripts/prepush-ci.sh keeps Swift lint/build checks but reports native test proof as incomplete and requires the exact commit's macos-swift CI result.

Packaging flows

Development bundle (signed but not notarized):

scripts/package-mac-app.sh

This creates dist/OpenClaw.app and signs it via scripts/codesign-mac-app.sh. It is not a distribution artifact. For a notarized app ZIP and DMG, use:

scripts/package-mac-dist.sh

For an unattended Peekaboo elevation host, use the closed Foundation signing profile and source-addressed ZIP workflow. package is an internal release operator command: it requires the OpenClaw Foundation signing identity and notarization credentials, and its archive is not a general-download artifact.

scripts/mac-elevation-host.sh package \
  --peekaboo-source-commit <full-peekaboo-sha>
cd dist/elevation-host
export PREFIX="OpenClaw-<full-openclaw-sha>-Peekaboo-<full-peekaboo-sha>-stable"
export INSTALLER_SHA256="<authenticated-installer-sha256>"
export RECEIPT_SHA256="<authenticated-receipt-sha256>"
[[ "$(shasum -a 256 "$PREFIX-installer.sh" | awk '{print $1}')" == "$INSTALLER_SHA256" ]] || exit 1
shasum -a 256 -c "$PREFIX.zip.sha256"
shasum -a 256 -c "$PREFIX-installer.sh.sha256"
./"$PREFIX-installer.sh" verify \
  --archive "$PREFIX.zip" \
  --receipt "$PREFIX.json" \
  --receipt-sha256 "$RECEIPT_SHA256"
./"$PREFIX-installer.sh" migration-plan \
  --migrate-launch-agent "$HOME/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.node.plist"
./"$PREFIX-installer.sh" install \
  --archive "$PREFIX.zip" \
  --receipt "$PREFIX.json" \
  --receipt-sha256 "$RECEIPT_SHA256" \
  --migrate-launch-agent "$HOME/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.node.plist"
./"$PREFIX-installer.sh" status --state-dir "<existing-state-dir>"

The elevation package is ZIP-only, notarized and stapled, contains exactly OpenClaw.app, omits Apple Events entitlements, records an immutable receipt, and verifies a freshly extracted copy. The same source-addressed artifact set includes a portable installer copied from that exact Git commit plus separate archive and installer checksum files. Transfer the archive, receipt, portable installer, and both checksums; the target Mac does not need a source checkout. The release operator must deliver the receipt SHA-256 through the authenticated handoff alongside the separately authenticated installer digest. verify uses that receipt digest to select the approved archive and then checks its signer, entitlements, architectures, and both source revisions. The portable installer is not covered by the app's code signature, so this explicit two-digest operator handoff remains part of the internal workflow's trust boundary.

Installation requires an existing app-readable remote Gateway config and a paired macOS node identity in the selected state directory. Use migration-plan before changing a CLI-managed node LaunchAgent. For a currently running background app with no LaunchAgent, use the explicit --adopt-running-app plan/install option instead. The installer copies no token or password: it preserves only the state and config ownership paths, then requires the same node identity to reconnect as openclaw-macos/node with the new app version and computer-use capabilities before committing. Installation owns the separate ai.openclaw.mac.elevation-host launchd job with RunAtLoad and KeepAlive. It refuses to replace or race the ordinary ai.openclaw.mac Launch at login job. recover restores the recorded prior bundle after a failed cutover; uninstall removes only the elevation job and preserves the app, state, Keychain, TCC, and recovery receipt. Installation exits successfully once the launchd-owned process is both Bridge-ready and reconnected to the Gateway as the expected computer-use node. Missing TCC remains a degraded status result until the required grants are present. Managed upgrades use generation-unique plist and receipt backups. Recovery preserves the replaced app in a unique evidence directory and restores the prior install receipt, so status and a same-artifact reinstall remain valid after rollback.

Signing behavior

Auto-selects identity (first match):

1. Developer ID Application
2. Apple Distribution
3. Apple Development
4. first available identity

If none found:

• errors by default
• set ALLOW_ADHOC_SIGNING=1 or SIGN_IDENTITY="-" to ad-hoc sign

Team ID audit (Sparkle mismatch guard)

After signing, we read the app bundle Team ID and compare every Mach-O inside the app. If any embedded binary has a different Team ID, signing fails.

Skip the audit:

SKIP_TEAM_ID_CHECK=1 scripts/package-mac-app.sh

Library validation workaround (dev only)

If Sparkle Team ID mismatch blocks loading (common with Apple Development certs), opt in:

DISABLE_LIBRARY_VALIDATION=1 scripts/package-mac-app.sh

This adds com.apple.security.cs.disable-library-validation to app entitlements. Use for local dev only; keep off for release builds.

Useful env flags

• SIGN_IDENTITY="Apple Development: Your Name (TEAMID)"
• ALLOW_ADHOC_SIGNING=1 (ad-hoc, TCC permissions do not persist)
• CODESIGN_TIMESTAMP=off (offline debug)
• DISABLE_LIBRARY_VALIDATION=1 (dev-only Sparkle workaround)
• SKIP_TEAM_ID_CHECK=1 (bypass audit)