OpenClaw: Architecture, Gateway Routing, Sandboxed MCP Skills, and Multi-Channel Deployment

Step 2: Configuration Specification (openclaw.json5)

Create or update ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json with multi-channel routing, model failover chains, and Docker sandboxing:

{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      model: {
        primary: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
        fallbacks: ["openai/gpt-5.4", "ollama/qwen2.5:72b"],
      },
      workspace: "~/.openclaw/workspace",
      sandbox: {
        mode: "non-main",        // Enforce sandbox on all non-owner sessions
        scope: "agent",          // One dedicated container per agent
        backend: "docker",
        docker: {
          image: "node:24-bookworm-slim",
          network: "none",       // Zero egress network by default
          binds: [
            "~/.openclaw/workspace/shared:/home/sandbox/shared:rw"
          ],
        },
        tools: {
          allow: [
            "bash", "read", "write", "edit", "apply_patch",
            "sessions_list", "sessions_history", "sessions_send"
          ],
          deny: ["gateway", "nodes", "cron", "discord_admin"],
        },
      },
    },
  },
  channels: {
    telegram: {
      enabled: true,
      botToken: "${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}",
      dmPolicy: "pairing",       // Unknown senders must be paired
      allowFrom: ["tg:987654321"],
    },
    whatsapp: {
      enabled: true,
      allowFrom: ["+15550199283"],
    },
    discord: {
      enabled: true,
      botToken: "${DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN}",
      dmPolicy: "pairing",
    },
  },
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      mcp: {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          servers: {
            "filesystem": {
              command: "npx",
              args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/home/sandbox/shared"],
            },
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

Step 3: Custom Skill Implementation (SKILL.md)

Create an automated GitHub PR review and triage skill in ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/github-triage/SKILL.md:

---
name: github-triage
description: Inspect pull requests, check CI workflow status, and summarize failed test runs.
user-invocable: true
metadata: {
  "openclaw": {
    "emoji": "🔍",
    "requires": { "bins": ["gh", "jq"] }
  }
}
---

Use the GitHub CLI (`gh`) to query repository status, inspect active PRs, and triage CI failures.

## Operational Commands

### 1. Fetch Pending Review Requests
```bash
gh pr list --repo owner/repo --search "review-requested:@me is:open" --json number,title,author,headRefName
```

### 2. Inspect Failed CI Workflows
```bash
gh run list --repo owner/repo --status failure --limit 5 --json name,conclusion,databaseId,headBranch
```

### 3. Retrieve Failure Logs
```bash
gh run view RUN_ID --repo owner/repo --log-failed
```

## Response Constraints
- When reporting CI failures, summarize the specific failing test suite and error traceback concisely.
- Do not approve PRs or trigger deployments without explicit user confirmation.

Verify the newly authored skill:

openclaw skills verify github-triage

Step 4: Event-Driven Automation (Cron & Webhooks)

Configure automated background tasks in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      cron: {
        "0 8 * * 1-5": {
          message: "Execute daily morning briefing: query calendar events, summarize pending GitHub PRs requiring review, and check system disk space.",
          channel: "telegram",
          sessionKey: "main",
        },
      },
    },
  },
  hooks: {
    entries: [
      {
        id: "github-webhook",
        url: "/webhook/github",
        events: ["pull_request.opened", "workflow_run.completed"],
        auth: { type: "github-webhook-secret", secret: "${WEBHOOK_SECRET}" },
        agent: {
          message: "Incoming GitHub event on {{repository}}: {{action}}. Title: {{title}}.",
          sessionKey: "main",
        },
      },
    ],
  },
}

Security Hardening Checklist

1. Enforce DM Pairing Policies: Never set dmPolicy: "open" on public channels (Telegram, Discord) without explicit allowFrom user IDs. Unknown users should receive cryptographic pairing codes requiring administrative approval via openclaw pairing approve <id>.
2. Container Isolation & Capability Dropping: Ensure non-main sessions run inside Docker containers with --cap-drop=ALL and --security-opt=no-new-privileges:true.
3. Audit Active Skills with Doctor: Regularly execute openclaw doctor to identify unauthenticated webhook endpoints, loose file permissions, or unpinned dependencies.

Troubleshooting Common Gateway Issues

1. WhatsApp Pairing Invalidation

• Symptom: Gateway logs report Baileys session disconnected: 401 Unauthorized.
• Remedy: WhatsApp session keys in ~/.openclaw/whatsapp/ expired. Delete the credentials folder and re-run openclaw gateway restart to scan the QR code.

2. Docker Sandbox Socket Permission Denied

• Symptom: Tool execution fails with EACCES: permission denied, connect /var/run/docker.sock.
• Remedy: Add the gateway user to the host Docker group: sudo usermod -aG docker $USER and restart the daemon.

3. Skill Metadata Validation Errors

• Symptom: Custom skill fails to load during startup.
• Remedy: Validate that the YAML frontmatter in SKILL.md is strictly formatted and that all required binaries in requires.bins exist in $PATH.