Use when the user says "open a session on the team server for this", "hand this off to ", or "summarize this for a new agent and start it on ", and the target is a shared OpenClaw Gateway behind an identity-aware proxy (Cloudflare Access).
One Gateway request, as the operator's own identity. No browser automation, no SSH, no polling.
Script: scripts/team-handoff.sh
Setup (once per machine)
- Operator config, outside any repo:
${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-~/.config}/openclaw/team-handoff.env
OPENCLAW_HANDOFF_URL=https://gateway.example # the shared Gateway's public origin
OPENCLAW_HANDOFF_AGENT=main # default agent id on that Gateway
OPENCLAW_HANDOFF_PROJECT=example-project # default projects.list id
# optional:
# OPENCLAW_HANDOFF_CLI=/path/to/openclaw # installed OpenClaw CLI (default: openclaw on PATH)
# OPENCLAW_HANDOFF_PROFILE_DIR=~/.openclaw/profiles/team
# OPENCLAW_HANDOFF_SSH_HOST=gateway-host # operator fallback only; see below
-
Isolated CLI profile so the local Gateway config is never touched. The script writes it on first
probewhen missing:OPENCLAW_STATE_DIRandOPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATHpoint at the profile dir, whoseopenclaw.jsonholds onlygateway.mode: "remote",gateway.remote.url, and anexecsecret provider that runscloudflared access token -app=<url>for theCf-Access-Tokenheader (gateway.remote.edgeAuth, see the OpenClaw docs page "Remote access", section "Gateway behind an identity-aware proxy"). The providercommandmust be the realcloudflaredbinary, not a symlink. -
The human logs in once per Access session lifetime (agents cannot):
cloudflared access login https://gateway.exampleprobeprintsokwhen the chain works.Exec provider "cloudflare-access" exited with code 1or an HTTP 302 on upgrade means the login lapsed: ask the human to run it again; do not switch to the SSH fallback on your own.
Why there is no token to mint: with gateway.auth.mode: "trusted-proxy" the
proxy authenticates the user and the Gateway maps the identity header to scopes;
first connection auto-pairs a CLI device with the proxy's deviceAutoApprove
scopes, which cover sessions.create.
Use
bash scripts/team-handoff.sh probe
bash scripts/team-handoff.sh create \
--label "Installed-package entry cap durable fix" \
--name tree-cap-fix --base origin/main \
--message-file /path/to/handoff.md
bash scripts/team-handoff.sh status <sessionKey>
bash scripts/team-handoff.sh archive <sessionKey> <sessionId>
create prints url: in the Control UI form
<origin>/chat/<agent>/<label-slug>-<session-key-uuid-without-dashes>, plus the
session key and run id. Hand the human that URL. Creation returns before the
worktree is prepared; running with worktree: null right after is normal, and
the agent's first turn starts once the checkout binds. Read status once; do not
loop.
Payload
- Branch first. Push the work, pass
--base <branch>, keep the long handoff in the branch (for example.openclaw/handoff.md); the message is then three lines: what the branch is, what to do first, what not to do. Local files are unreachable from the Gateway; commit them or summarize the numbers. - Without a branch, the whole handoff goes in
--message-file: a one-line title first (it becomes the session title and URL slug), then goal, verified facts with numbers, owner files, the agreed plan and order, proof expectations, and explicit non-goals. - Name scope boundaries when a local session keeps part of the work, so two agents do not open duplicate PRs.
Failure modes
managed worktree allocation lease .../capacity was lost: the Gateway lost its worktree capacity lease during a slow project refetch. A retry in the same session then fails withbranch already exists: openclaw/<name>because the failed attempt leaked its branch. Create a new session with a different--name; archive the dead one.chat.sendrequiresidempotencyKey;sessions.patchlifecycle changes requireexpectedSessionId.
SSH operator fallback
--via ssh runs the same sessions.create on the Gateway host as the Gateway's
service user (OPENCLAW_HANDOFF_SSH_HOST, OPENCLAW_HANDOFF_REMOTE_CLI,
OPENCLAW_HANDOFF_REMOTE_USER). The session is then owned by the operator
identity, not the human. Use only when the human asks for it; never change
Gateway config or restart anything from this path.
Don'ts
- Do not drive the Gateway's web UI from an agent browser or sign in to the identity provider.
- Do not point the machine's primary
openclaw.jsonat the shared Gateway. - Do not poll session history in a loop.