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2026-04-11-2050.md

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Session: 2026-04-11 20:50:50 UTC

  • Session Key: agent:main:main
  • Session ID: 914dc3ec-bfec-49a9-b213-aabb6a03d8c2
  • Source: webchat

Conversation Summary

assistant: No—you shouldn’t have to change code for Windows. The dashboard already supports overriding all the EC2-specific paths via environment variables, and the defaults only matter on the EC2.

From lib/server/paths.ts:

  • PROJECT_ROOT = process.env.PROJECT_ROOT || process.cwd()
  • DATA_DIR = process.env.DATA_DIR || path.join(PROJECT_ROOT, "data")
  • OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE = process.env.OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE || "/home/ubuntu/.openclaw/workspace"
  • DOCS_DIR = process.env.DOCS_DIR || path.join(OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE, "docs")
  • MEMORY_DIR = process.env.MEMORY_DIR || path.join(OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE, "memory")

So on Windows you just set env vars when you run npm run dev.

Windows example (PowerShell)

Say you mirror the EC2 workspace into C:\openclaw-workspace-mirror:

$env:OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE="C:\openclaw-workspace-mirror"
# optional explicit overrides:
# $env:DOCS_DIR="C:\openclaw-workspace-mirror\docs"
# $env:MEMORY_DIR="C:\openclaw-workspace-mirror\memory"

npm run dev

If you also want to mirror the repo data/ somewhere else, set:

$env:DATA_DIR="C:\path\to\openclaw-dashboard\data"

rsync on Windows?

You’ve got a few easy options:

  • WSL (best): use rsync from Ubuntu in WSL.
  • Git Bash sometimes works with rsync if installed, but WSL is more reliable.
  • Or use scp/WinSCP to copy folders.

If you tell me whether you have WSL installed, I’ll give you the cleanest “one command” sync script for Windows. user: System: [2026-04-11 15:00:09 UTC] Cron: ok System: [2026-04-11 15:15:09 UTC] Cron: Dashboard Activity Sync: ran npm run sync:activity on openclaw-dashboard/main.

  • Sync result: added: 0, total: 1090

  • git status: clean (no changes to data/activity.json or data/activity-state.json)

  • No commit/push needed. System: [2026-04-11 15:30:10 UTC] Cron: Dashboard Activity Sync: ran npm run sync:activity on openclaw-dashboard/main.

  • Result: added=0, total=1090

  • git status: clean (no changes to data/activity.json or data/activity-state.json)

No commit/push needed. System: [2026-04-11 15:45:09 UTC] Cron: Sync ran cleanly:

  • npm run sync:activity → added: 0 (total events: 1090)
  • git status shows no changes

No commit/push needed. System: [2026-04-11 16:00:08 UTC] Cron: ok System: [2026-04-11 16:15:09 UTC] Cron: Ran the activity sync on openclaw-dashboard main:

  • git checkout main ✅
  • git pull --ff-only ✅
  • npm run sync:activity ✅ (added: 0, total: 1090)

git status shows no changes (no updates to data/activity.json or data/activity-state.json), so there’s nothing to commit/push. System: [2026-04-11 16:30:12 UTC] Cron: No changes detected.

  • Ran npm run sync:activity on openclaw-dashboard main (already up to date).

  • Sync result: added=0, total=1090.

  • git status clean → no commit/push needed. System: [2026-04-11 16:45:08 UTC] Cron: No changes detected.

  • Ran npm run sync:activity on openclaw-dashboard main (after git pull --ff-only)

  • Sync result: added: 0, total: 1090

  • git status clean → no commit/push performed. System: [2026-04-11 17:00:10 UTC] Cron: No changes detected.

  • Ran npm run sync:activity on openclaw-dashboard main (after git pull --ff-only)

  • Sync result: added=0, total=1090

  • git status is clean → no commit/push performed. System: [2026-04-11 17:15:13 UTC] Cron: Sync complete.

  • Ran npm run sync:activity on openclaw-dashboard@main

  • Result: added=0, total=1090

  • git status clean → no changes to data/activity.json / data/activity-state.json, so no commit/push needed. System: [2026-04-11 17:30:07 UTC] Cron: SYNC_ACTIVITY: no changes (activity already up to date; nothing committed/pushed). System: [2026-04-11 17:45:13 UTC] Cron: No changes from npm run sync:activity (added: 0, total: 1090), and git status is clean. Exiting without commit/push. System: [2026-04-11 18:00:12 UTC] Cron: Sync complete.

  • Ran npm run sync:activity on openclaw-dashboard/main

  • Result: added=0, total=1090, updatedAt=2026-04-11T18:00:06.927Z

  • git status clean — no changes to data/activity.json or data/activity-state.json, so no commit/push. System: [2026-04-11 18:15:08 UTC] Cron: Sync ran successfully (added: 0, total: 1090). No changes detected in data/activity.json or data/activity-state.json, so nothing to commit/push. System: [2026-04-11 18:30:10 UTC] Cron: No changes detected.

  • Ran npm run sync:activity on openclaw-dashboard main (after git pull --ff-only)

  • Sync result: added=0, total=1090

  • git status clean → nothing to commit/push System: [2026-04-11 18:45:09 UTC] Cron: No changes detected.

  • Ran npm run sync:activity on openclaw-dashboard main (already up to date)

  • Sync result: added: 0, total: 1090

  • git status clean → no commit/push performed. System: [2026-04-11 19:00:11 UTC] Cron: Dashboard Activity Sync: ran npm run sync:activity on openclaw-dashboard/main after a fast-forward pull.

  • Sync result: added=0, total=1090

  • git status: clean (no changes to data/activity.json or data/activity-state.json)

No commit/push needed. System: [2026-04-11 19:15:11 UTC] Cron: ok System: [2026-04-11 19:30:10 UTC] Cron: Activity sync ran successfully (added: 0, total: 1090).

git status is clean — no changes to data/activity.json or data/activity-state.json, so I did not commit/push. System: [2026-04-11 19:45:08 UTC] Cron: ok

would you be able to commit some data for me, so when i run locally on my windows machine i jsut need to update the env (how do i do that?) [message_id: afb2da77-d313-494f-8fb3-9b695ed8efd1] assistant: Yeah, we can make local-on-Windows dead simple by committing a safe “dev workspace fixture” into the openclaw-dashboard repo, so you don’t need to rsync anything from EC2 just to preview UI.

What I can commit (safe defaults)

  • A folder like dev/workspace/ inside the repo containing:
    • docs/ (a few markdown docs, including the new Tailscale setup doc)
    • memory/ (a couple sample memory files)
  • Then locally you point OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE at that folder.

This won’t be your live EC2 data, but it’s enough for UI/layout work (which is what you want). Also: your repo data/*.json already gets committed by your sync jobs, so /activity and /cron will look real locally as long as you pull latest.

Before I do it: do you want me to include real workspace docs/memory from your EC2 in that fixture, or keep it synthetic/sanitized? (I recommend synthetic unless you explicitly want real.)

How to set env on Windows (2 good ways)

Option A: .env.local (best, persistent)

In the repo root on Windows, create a file named .env.local:

OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE=C:/path/to/openclaw-dashboard/dev/workspace
# optional, usually not needed:
# DATA_DIR=C:/path/to/openclaw-dashboard/data

Then run:

npm run dev

Notes:

  • Use forward slashes in paths on Windows (C:/...) to avoid escaping issues.
  • .env.local is typically gitignored (so your local path won’t get committed).

Option B: set for current terminal session (PowerShell)

$env:OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE="C:\path\to\openclaw-dashboard\dev\workspace"
npm run dev

This resets when you close the terminal.

If you say “synthetic fixture is fine”, I’ll go ahead and add dev/workspace/ to the openclaw-dashboard repo and commit it, plus add a short note in the README about using .env.local on Windows. user: synthetic fixture is fine [message_id: 73e07c0b-ed1b-44a8-a40f-48eb3e1cb489] assistant: Done. I added and committed a synthetic workspace fixture to the openclaw-dashboard repo, plus updated the repo README with Windows-friendly env setup.

What’s now in the repo:

  • dev/workspace/ (synthetic stand-in for ~/.openclaw/workspace)
    • dev/workspace/docs/* (shows up in /docs)
    • dev/workspace/memory/* (shows up in /memory)
  • dev/README.md explaining usage
  • README.md now includes “Local development (incl. Windows)” instructions

On your Windows machine: how to use it

  1. Pull latest:
git pull
  1. Create a file named .env.local in the repo root with either of these:

Simplest (relative path):

OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE=./dev/workspace

Windows absolute path (recommended if you run into path weirdness):

OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE=C:/Users/<you>/code/openclaw-dashboard/dev/workspace
  1. Run dev:
npm run dev

Now /docs and /memory will render from the fixture, and /activity + /cron will use the repo’s data/*.json (so as long as you pull, those pages look “real enough” without needing EC2 sync).

If you want, next we can add a npm run dev:fixture script that sets OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE=./dev/workspace automatically so you don’t even need .env.local. user: System: [2026-04-11 20:00:13 UTC] Cron: Dashboard Activity Sync complete.

  • Ran npm run sync:activity in /home/ubuntu/projects/openclaw-dashboard
  • Detected changes in:
    • data/activity.json
    • data/activity-state.json
  • Committed + pushed to main:
    • 7629a32 chore: sync activity System: [2026-04-11 20:15:17 UTC] Cron: No changes after npm run sync:activity (added: 0, total events: 1091). git status is clean, so I’m exiting without committing/pushing. System: [2026-04-11 20:30:09 UTC] Cron: ok

so what abt when i pushed changes, how do i make the dashboard running here automatically pick up the chages [message_id: 257e09b6-7f7b-4828-baab-579c8e8343b0] assistant: Right now, it won’t automatically pick up new commits by itself.

Your EC2 setup is:

  • systemd runs next start from whatever code is currently on disk in ~/projects/openclaw-dashboard
  • it only updates when you pull/build/restart (because Next production server doesn’t hot-reload)

So you need an auto-“deploy” loop. There are 3 common ways:

Option A (simple + reliable): a systemd timer that pulls + rebuilds + restarts

Every N minutes:

  1. git fetch
  2. if origin/main moved → git pull --ff-only
  3. npm ci (optional) + npm run build
  4. systemctl restart openclaw-dashboard

Pros: dead simple, no GitHub config.
Cons: up to N minutes of delay; rebuild happens on EC2.

Option B (push-driven): GitHub Actions deploy on push to main

On push:

  • GitHub Action SSH’s into EC2 and runs the same pull/build/restart.

Pros: near-instant.
Cons: you manage SSH keys + GitHub Actions secrets.

Option C (manual but one command): script deploy-dashboard.sh

You run one command when you want to update.

What I recommend for you

Option A (systemd timer) is the “set and forget” version that matches the rest of your setup.

If you tell me how quickly you want it to pick up changes (e.g. every 1 min, 5 min, 15 min), I can implement the timer + script on the EC2.

Also confirm: do you only deploy from main, or do you ever want to deploy from another branch? user: can you explain option B to me a bit more [message_id: 88be7a12-63b0-4cab-b8f2-3dfe58eaf52f] assistant: Option B is “deploy on push”: whenever you push to GitHub (usually main), GitHub Actions runs a workflow that logs into your EC2 and updates the running dashboard.

What it looks like end-to-end

  1. You push code:
git push origin main

  1. GitHub automatically starts a workflow (in .github/workflows/deploy.yml).

  2. That workflow SSH’s into the EC2 and runs something like:

cd ~/projects/openclaw-dashboard
git pull --ff-only
npm ci        # optional, but good if deps might change
npm run build
sudo systemctl restart openclaw-dashboard
  1. A few seconds later, your Tailscale-served dashboard is running the new code.

What you need to set it up

A) SSH access from GitHub Actions to your EC2

  • Create a dedicated SSH keypair for deploys.
  • Put the public key into ~ubuntu/.ssh/authorized_keys on the EC2 (ideally as a restricted “deploy” key).
  • Store the private key in GitHub repo secrets (e.g. EC2_SSH_KEY), plus:
    • EC2_HOST (or you can hardcode)
    • optionally EC2_USER (usually ubuntu)

B) Make sure the runner can reach your EC2 Two possibilities:

  • Public SSH: easiest (Actions can reach your EC2’s public IP/DNS on port 22). Downside: you’re exposing SSH to the internet (you can mitigate with SG restrictions, fail2ban, etc.).
  • Tailscale-based SSH: cleaner security posture, but more setup:
    • Install Tailscale in the GitHub Actions runner using tailscale/github-action
    • Authenticate it to your tailnet using a reusable auth key stored as a secret
    • Then SSH to the EC2 using its Tailscale name/IP (e.g. openclaw.tail...)

Most people do public SSH first; security-minded setups do Tailscale in Actions.

Pros / Cons

Pros

  • Updates happen automatically on push (no waiting for timers).
  • You get a visible deployment log in GitHub Actions.
  • Easy to add “only deploy if build passes” or run tests first.

Cons

  • You’re operating “remote control of your EC2” from GitHub; secrets need to be handled carefully.
  • If your workflow runs sudo systemctl restart ..., you may need passwordless sudo for that command (which is normal on Ubuntu’s ubuntu user).

My questions (to pick the right variant)

  1. Is your EC2 SSH currently reachable from the public internet (port 22 open to your IP), or do you prefer Tailscale-only access?
  2. Are you comfortable storing a deploy SSH key in GitHub secrets?
  3. Do you want deploys on every push to main, or only when you tag/release?

If you answer those, I can propose the exact workflow YAML and the safest way to wire it up. user: sounds complicated.. maybe we should go with A for now... if we poll say every 5 mins, or even 1 min, does that hammer the machine, or it won't have any impact [message_id: ba37f508-7290-403f-8221-92c37036c901] assistant: Polling every 1–5 minutes is totally fine as long as the job is cheap when there are no changes.

What “cheap” looks like

A good poll loop does:

  • git fetch (small network call)
  • compare HEAD vs origin/main
  • exit immediately if unchanged

That has basically negligible CPU/RAM impact. Even every 1 minute won’t “hammer” an EC2.

What can be expensive (and how we avoid it)

The expensive parts are:

  • npm ci
  • npm run build
  • systemctl restart

So we only run those when origin/main actually changed.

My recommendation

  • Start with every 5 minutes (nice balance).
  • If you want faster, every 1 minute is still fine because most runs will be “no-op”.

One gotcha

Your current openclaw-dashboard.service runs npm run build on every restart (ExecStartPre). That’s okay, but it means when we do deploy updates we’ll already be rebuilding. For the poller script we can either:

  • let the service do the build on restart (simple), or
  • do build in the script and remove ExecStartPre (more control)

I’d keep it simple initially.

If you want, I can implement Option A now:

  • a script like /usr/local/bin/openclaw-dashboard-update.sh
  • a systemd timer openclaw-dashboard-update.timer that runs it every 5 minutes (or 1 minute)

Tell me which interval you want: 1 min or 5 min. user: yes pls we can start with 5 [message_id: 51f87957-ab10-40e2-8e83-419ec4c8f4d8] assistant: Yep — with Option A in place, the dashboard on EC2 will now automatically pick up whatever you push to main (with up to ~5 minutes delay).

What I set up

A systemd timer runs every ~5 minutes and executes an update script that:

  1. git fetch origin main
  2. compares local HEAD vs origin/main
  3. if no change → exits (cheap no-op)
  4. if changed → git pull --ff-only
  5. runs npm ci only if package.json or package-lock.json changed
  6. restarts openclaw-dashboard.service (which rebuilds on restart via ExecStartPre)

How to check it

Timer status:

sudo systemctl status openclaw-dashboard-update.timer
sudo systemctl list-timers | grep openclaw-dashboard-update

Last runs / logs:

sudo journalctl -u openclaw-dashboard-update.service --no-pager -n 100

Force an update check immediately:

sudo systemctl start openclaw-dashboard-update.service

Files involved (FYI)

  • Script: /usr/local/bin/openclaw-dashboard-update.sh
  • Timer: /etc/systemd/system/openclaw-dashboard-update.timer
  • Service: /etc/systemd/system/openclaw-dashboard-update.service

If you want to change the cadence later

We can edit the timer from OnUnitActiveSec=5min to 1min (or whatever) and reload.

If you push a change to openclaw-dashboard/main now, it should deploy itself within ~5 minutes automatically. user: System: [2026-04-11 20:45:11 UTC] Cron: Activity sync ran successfully (added: 0, total: 1091). No changes detected in data/activity.json or data/activity-state.json, so no commit/push was performed. System: [2026-04-11 20:45:36 UTC] Exec completed (fresh-gl, code 0) :: 172-31-21-143 systemd[1]: openclaw-dashboard-update.service: Deactivated successfully. Apr 11 20:45:36 ip-172-31-21-143 systemd[1]: Finished openclaw-dashboard-update.service - Update openclaw-dashboard from origin/main and restart service if changed. Apr 11 20:45:36 ip-172-31-21-143 systemd[1]: openclaw-dashboard-update.service: Consumed 24.914s CPU time, 926.2M memory peak, 0B memory swap peak. System: [2026-04-11 20:45:38 UTC] Exec completed (faint-ot, code 0) :: w-dashboard-update.timer Process: 124680 ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/openclaw-dashboard-update.sh (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS) Main PID: 124680 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS) CPU: 24.914s Apr 11 20:45:13 ip-172-31-21-143 openclaw-dashboard-update.sh[124734]: npm audit fix --force Apr 11 20:45:13 ip-172-31-21-143 openclaw-dashboard-update.sh[124734]: Run npm audit for details.

can you document this pls. can you also make a note to always document whenever we set up something new like this [message_id: 286de54f-430e-4fe8-9a94-16a473b5dd0f] assistant: Documented.

  • New doc: /home/ubuntu/.openclaw/workspace/docs/openclaw-dashboard-auto-deploy.md
    • Explains the systemd timer + oneshot service + update script approach, what it does, file paths, and the exact commands to check status/logs/disable/force-run.

Also added a standing convention note so we don’t forget next time:

  • Updated /home/ubuntu/.openclaw/workspace/TOOLS.md with: “Whenever we set up something new… write a short doc under /workspace/docs/” (with a checklist of what to include).

Both are committed and pushed to the workspace repo.