connect-to-another-openclaw

Connect to and manage another OpenClaw server remotely. Check status, sync skills, restart gateway, and monitor channels.

Security Scan

The skill's code, docs, and runtime instructions are consistent with a remote OpenClaw administration tool; it performs privileged SSH-based management actions that are expected for this purpose but require caution when granting access to remote hosts and keys.

Purpose & Capability

The name/description (remote OpenClaw management) matches what the files implement: SSH-based status checks, port fixes, skill listing/sync, log tailing, and gateway restarts. Required capabilities (SSH access, SkillHub on remote) are appropriate for the stated functionality.

Instruction Scope

SKILL.md and main.py instruct the agent to run many remote shell commands (ls, lsof/ss, pkill, openclaw gateway restart, tail, and SkillHub installs). These actions are within the stated scope but involve running privileged operations on the remote host (killing processes, restarting services, installing skills). The skill also reads a local skills file (default /root/.openclaw/workspace/local_skills.txt) for diffs; users should be aware of that path and permissions.

Install Mechanism

There is no install spec and the package is delivered as code (main.py + docs). No external downloads or installers are invoked by the skill itself. This is the lower-risk delivery model for this type of tool.

Credentials

The skill declares optional environment variables for SSH key, user, and ports which align with its SSH-based function. It does not request unrelated credentials. The default local skills file path and default to root user are somewhat heavy-handed but coherent with remote admin tasks.

Persistence & Privilege

The skill does not request always:true and does not modify other skills or system-wide agent settings. It executes on demand and relies on SSH to a user-specified host.

Assessment

This skill legitimately connects to remote OpenClaw servers over SSH and will execute commands that can kill processes, restart services, and install skills on the remote host—so only use it against systems you control and trust. Before installing or running: - Prefer using a non-root administrative user where possible and avoid leaving the default root path (/root/...) if you are not root. - Use a dedicated SSH key and keep its permissions tight (chmod 600). The code sets StrictHostKeyChecking=no which disables host key verification—consider running initial SSH manually to verify host keys or modify the tool if you need strict verification. - Understand that sync-to-remote can trigger remote SkillHub installs (which will install code on the remote machine). Review what will be installed and avoid auto-confirm (--yes) unless you trust the remote SkillHub index. - For sensitive environments, run test-connection first, inspect local_skills_file used by diff, and consider auditing the remote commands the skill runs (ls, lsof/ss, pkill, system/service restarts, tail) to ensure they meet your operational policies.

What This Skill Does

Provides a unified interface to connect to a remote OpenClaw server via SSH, perform health checks, manage skills, and troubleshoot common issues like port conflicts.

Prerequisites

1. SSH Access to the remote machine:
   • SSH private key file (recommended) OR password access
   • Remote user must have sudo/root privileges
   • Remote machine must have OpenClaw installed
2. SkillHub on both local and remote (for skill sync)
3. Network connectivity (port 22 SSH)

Primary Workflow

1. Connect and Check Status

connect-openclaw --host <your-remote-host> --action status

Important: Replace <your-remote-host> with your actual remote server IP or domain (e.g., 192.168.1.100 or myserver.com). This is a required placeholder.

This will:

• Test SSH connectivity
• Check OpenClaw Gateway status
• List active channels (QQBot, etc.)
• Show recent sessions

2. Fix Common Issues

connect-openclaw --host <your-remote-host> --action fix-port

Automatically:

• Detect port conflicts on gateway port (default 18790)
• Kill conflicting processes (SSH tunnels, test services)
• Restart OpenClaw gateway
• Verify recovery

3. Sync Skills

# See differences
connect-openclaw --host <your-remote-host> --action diff

# Install remote's missing skills to local
connect-openclaw --host <your-remote-host> --action sync-to-local

# Install local's missing skills to remote (if remote has SkillHub)
connect-openclaw --host <your-remote-host> --action sync-to-remote

4. Send Message via Remote QQBot

connect-openclaw --host <your-remote-host> --action send-qqbot \
  --session "agent:main:qqbot:direct:..." \
  --message "Hello from local OpenClaw"

Commands Reference

Command	Description
status	Full health check of remote OpenClaw
fix-port	Auto-fix port 18790 conflicts
diff	Compare local vs remote skills
sync-to-local	Install remote-only skills to local
sync-to-remote	Push local-only skills to remote
list-skills	List all skills on remote
list-channels	List configured channels
list-sessions	Show active sessions
tail-logs	Tail OpenClaw logs filtered by channel
test-connection	Simple SSH test

Configuration

The skill uses these environment variables (optional):

Variable	Purpose	Default
CONNECT_OPENCLAW_SSH_KEY	Path to SSH private key	~/.ssh/id_rsa
CONNECT_OPENCLAW_USER	Remote username	root
CONNECT_OPENCLAW_PORT	SSH port	22
CONNECT_OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT	Remote OpenClaw port	18790

You can also pass these as CLI flags:

connect-openclaw --host example.com --user admin --key ~/.ssh/mykey.pem --action status

Examples

Quick diagnostic

connect-openclaw --host <your-remote-host> --action status

Fix port conflict and restart

connect-openclaw --host <your-remote-host> --action fix-port

Compare skills before syncing

connect-openclaw --host <your-remote-host> --action diff

One-way sync (remote → local)

connect-openclaw --host <your-remote-host> --action sync-to-local

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Installation

If not already installed, run:

skillhub install Connect_to_another_openclaw

Or clone this repository to ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/Connect_to_another_openclaw/.

Requirements

• Python 3.9+ (or Node.js version if implemented in JS)
• paramiko (Python SSH library) or native ssh command
• Access to remote shell

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
SSH connection failed	Check key permissions (chmod 600), network, and authorized_keys
SkillHub not found on remote	Install SkillHub on remote first
Permission denied	Ensure remote user has sudo/root and correct key
Port still in use after fix	Manually check with lsof -i :18790 and kill processes

Notes

• Always test with --action test-connection first
• fix-port will kill processes matching ssh -N.*18790 and voice-bridge-light
• Skill sync uses SkillHub CLI; ensure it's installed on both sides
• For safety, sync-to-remote prompts before each installation (use --yes to auto-confirm)

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Version: 1.0.0 Author: 小李 (基于 2026-03-28 实践经验) License: MIT