Gateway

The v1 gateway routes incoming requests to registered plugins. It supports three payment methods — Stripe (existing), MPP (Machine Payments Protocol) via the Tempo blockchain, and session-based billing for low-latency, off-chain per-call payments.

Base URL

POST /api/v1/gateway

Request

Headers

Header	Type	Required	Description
`Content-Type`	string	Yes	Must be `application/json`
`X-Plugin-Id`	string	No	Plugin to route the request to. Overrides the `plugin` field in the body.
`X-Payment-Method`	string	No	Payment method to use: `stripe`, `mpp`, or `session`. Defaults to `stripe`.
`Authorization`	string	No	For MPP payments, use `Payment <credential>`. For session auth, handled via cookies.
`X-Session-Id`	string	No	Active session ID for session-based billing. Required when `X-Payment-Method` is `session`.
`X-Wallet-Address`	string	No	Wallet address that owns the session (0x-prefixed). Required when `X-Payment-Method` is `session`.
`Accept`	string	No	Set to `text/event-stream` for streaming responses (where supported).

Body

{
  "plugin": "generate-text",
  "messages": [{ "role": "user", "content": "Hello" }]
}

Field	Type	Required	Description
`plugin`	string	No	Plugin ID to route to. The `X-Plugin-Id` header takes priority if both are provided. Defaults to `generate-text`.

Additional body fields are forwarded to the target plugin.

Plugins

The gateway routes to the following plugins:

Plugin ID	Name	Description	Auth required	Streaming
`agent`	Agent	Agent orchestrator for multi-step tasks	Yes	Yes
`generate-text`	Text Generation	LLM text generation	Yes	Yes
`tts`	Text-to-Speech	Speech synthesis	Yes	No
`stt`	Speech-to-Text	Speech transcription	Yes	No

generate-text is the default plugin when no plugin ID is specified.

Authentication

Protected plugins require either a valid session (cookie-based via NextAuth), a verified MPP payment credential, or an active payment session. If you pay with MPP or use session-based billing, cookie-based authentication is not required.

Payment flow

The gateway supports three payment methods per request:

Stripe — Default. Requires an active subscription or credits. See Stripe integration.
MPP — Crypto-native payments on the Tempo blockchain. See MPP payments.
Session — Off-chain, per-call billing using a pre-funded payment session. See MPP payments — sessions and the wallet sessions API.

The server selects the payment method using the following priority:

X-Payment-Method header (session, mpp, or stripe)
Presence of an Authorization: Payment header (implies mpp)
Default: stripe

MPP 402 challenge

When an MPP request has no valid credential, the gateway returns 402 Payment Required with pricing information for both payment methods:

{
  "error": "payment_required",
  "message": "Payment required for agent. Choose payment method: Stripe or Tempo MPP.",
  "mpp": {
    "scheme": "Payment",
    "amount": "0.05",
    "currency": "0x20c0000000000000000000000000000000000000",
    "recipient": "0xd8fd0e1dce89beaab924ac68098ddb17613db56f",
    "description": "Agent orchestrator request",
    "nonce": "a1b2c3d4e5f6...",
    "expiresAt": 1742472000000
  },
  "stripe": {
    "checkoutUrl": "/api/v1/payments/stripe/create?plugin=agent",
    "amount": "0.05",
    "currency": "usd"
  }
}

The WWW-Authenticate header is also set:

Payment amount="0.05", currency="0x20c0000000000000000000000000000000000000", recipient="0xd8fd0e1dce89beaab924ac68098ddb17613db56f"

Session-based billing

When X-Payment-Method is session, the gateway auto-debits the caller’s payment session using an off-chain voucher. This avoids the 402 challenge/response round-trip and settles each call in sub-100ms. To use session-based billing:

Open a payment session via POST /api/wallet/sessions. See wallet sessions.
Include X-Session-Id and X-Wallet-Address headers on every gateway request.
The gateway looks up the session, verifies the balance covers the plugin price, and debits the session automatically.
The response includes a Payment-Receipt header with the voucher reference and an X-Session-Remaining header with the updated balance.

If the session is missing, expired, or has insufficient balance, the gateway returns 402 with a descriptive error. See error responses for the full list of session-related error codes.

Response

Success (200)

{
  "plugin": "generate-text",
  "message": "Request processed by generate-text plugin",
  "timestamp": "2026-03-20T03:33:15.000Z",
  "payment": {
    "method": "stripe",
    "receipt": null
  }
}

When paid via MPP, the response includes a Payment-Receipt header and the payment.receipt field contains the transaction hash. When paid via a session, the payment.receipt field contains the voucher reference (formatted as session:<sessionId>:<nonce>).

Response headers

Header	Description
`x-plugin-id`	The plugin that handled the request
`Payment-Receipt`	Payment receipt. For MPP: transaction hash. For sessions: voucher reference (`session:<sessionId>:<nonce>`). Only present for MPP or session-paid requests.
`X-Session-Remaining`	Remaining session balance in USD after the debit. Only present for session-paid requests.

Error responses

Status	Error code	Description
400	`unknown_plugin`	No pricing configured for the requested plugin (session billing only)
401	`Unauthorized`	Authentication required for a protected plugin and no valid session, MPP credential, or payment session
402	`payment_required`	MPP payment required. Response includes challenge and pricing.
402	`session_required`	Session billing was requested but `X-Session-Id` or `X-Wallet-Address` header is missing
402	`session_invalid`	No active session found for the provided session ID and wallet address
402	`insufficient_balance`	Session balance is too low to cover the plugin price. Response includes `session.remaining` and `session.cost`.
402	`voucher_failed`	The off-chain voucher could not be processed (e.g., concurrent debit race)
500	`internal`	Internal server error
502	`no_plugin`	No plugin registered for the given ID

Per-agent gateway authentication

Each agent container receives a unique gateway auth token at provisioning time. The internal gateway authenticates requests using token-based auth on port 18789.

Field	Description
`gateway.auth.mode`	`token`
`gateway.auth.token`	Unique hex token auto-generated per container. Provisioning generates a 48-character token (24 bytes of entropy). The container entrypoint generates a 32-character token (16 bytes) if no token is passed via the `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN` environment variable.
`gateway.port`	`18789`

The container entrypoint writes its own minimal configuration to $HOME/.openclaw/openclaw.json using a slightly different schema (auth.method at the top level instead of gateway.auth.mode). The provisioning config written by the backend uses the gateway.auth.mode path. When the entrypoint runs, it overwrites the provisioning config with its own minimal skeleton. To preserve the full provisioning config, pass the gateway token via the OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN environment variable so the entrypoint uses the same token.

Agent container configuration

When an agent is provisioned, the backend generates an OpenClaw configuration with the following parameters. These values are set automatically and cannot be overridden by the caller.

Container environment variables

The following environment variables are set on every agent container at launch:

Variable	Default	Description
`HOME`	`/home/node`	Home directory for the `node` user that the official OpenClaw image runs as
`TERM`	`xterm-256color`	Terminal type
`NODE_COMPILE_CACHE`	`/var/tmp/openclaw-compile-cache`	Directory for the Node.js compile cache. Speeds up cold starts by caching compiled bytecode across process restarts.
`OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN`	`1`	When set to `1`, prevents the OpenClaw process from automatically respawning after exit. Container-level restart policies (Docker `--restart` or orchestrator health checks) handle process recovery instead.
`OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN`	Auto-generated	Gateway authentication token. When not set, the entrypoint generates a 32-character hex token. See per-agent gateway authentication.
`OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT`	`18789`	Port the gateway listens on inside the container
`AGENTBOT_USER_ID`	Per-user	Owner user ID passed at provisioning time
`AGENTBOT_PLAN`	`solo`	Subscription plan tier (`solo`, `collective`, `label`, or `network`)
`AGENTBOT_MODE`	`home`	Installation mode (`home` for self-hosted, `link` for existing OpenClaw)
`AGENTBOT_API_KEY`	Per-user	API key for authenticating with the Agentbot platform

Gateway settings

Parameter	Value	Description
`gateway.bind`	`loopback`	Bind address for the gateway. The container entrypoint overrides this to `loopback` via the `--bind loopback` CLI flag, so the gateway only listens on `127.0.0.1`. Docker port mapping forwards external traffic to the loopback address inside the container. The provisioning config sets `lan` but the entrypoint takes precedence at runtime.
`gateway.port`	`18789`	Internal gateway port
`gateway.auth.mode`	`token`	Authentication mode
`gateway.auth.rateLimit.maxAttempts`	`10`	Maximum authentication attempts before lockout
`gateway.auth.rateLimit.windowMs`	`60000`	Rate limit window in milliseconds (1 minute)
`gateway.auth.rateLimit.lockoutMs`	`300000`	Lockout duration in milliseconds (5 minutes)
`gateway.auth.rateLimit.exemptLoopback`	`true`	Exempt loopback addresses from rate limiting
`gateway.auth.allowTailscale`	`true`	Allow Tailscale network connections
`gateway.controlUi.enabled`	`true`	Gateway control UI is enabled in containers.

Tool settings

Parameter	Value	Description
`tools.profile`	`messaging` or `coding`	`messaging` for solo plan, `coding` for all other plans
`tools.deny`	`["browser", "canvas"]`	Tools disabled in container environments
`tools.exec.allowedCommands`	Array of whitelisted commands	Commands the agent is permitted to execute (includes `git`, `node`, `npm`, `python3`, `curl`, `ls`, `cat`, `grep`, `find`, `wget`, `mkdir`, `cp`, `mv`, `rm`, `echo`, `date`, `whoami`, `chmod`, `chown`, `touch`, `head`, `tail`, `wc`, `sort`, `uniq`, `awk`, `sed`, `tar`, `zip`, `unzip`, `docker`, `ps`, `df`, `du`)
`tools.exec.allowedPaths`	`["~/.openclaw/workspace", "/tmp", "/home/node"]`	Filesystem paths the agent can access. The official OpenClaw image runs as the `node` user (`/home/node`). Configuration is stored at `/home/node/.openclaw/openclaw.json`.
`tools.exec.denyPaths`	`["/etc/shadow", "/etc/passwd", "/proc", "/sys"]`	Filesystem paths the agent is blocked from accessing
`tools.web.maxChars`	`50000`	Maximum characters returned from web tool requests
`tools.loopDetection.maxIterations`	`20`	Maximum loop iterations before the agent is interrupted
`tools.loopDetection.windowMinutes`	`5`	Time window for loop detection

Session settings

Parameter	Value	Description
`session.maxTokens`	`100000`	Maximum tokens per session
`session.compaction.strategy`	`auto`	Automatic context compaction strategy
`session.compaction.triggerAtPercent`	`80`	Compaction triggers when token usage reaches this percentage

Agent defaults

Parameter	Value	Description
`agents.defaults.workspace`	`~/.openclaw/workspace`	Default workspace directory
`agents.defaults.imageMaxDimensionPx`	`1200`	Maximum image dimension in pixels (optimizes vision token usage)
`agents.defaults.userTimezone`	`Europe/London`	Default timezone (overridden by signup timezone when available)
`agents.defaults.timeFormat`	`24h`	Time format
`agents.defaults.compaction.maxMessages`	`200`	Maximum messages before compaction
`agents.defaults.compaction.keepLastN`	`20`	Number of recent messages preserved after compaction
`agents.defaults.heartbeat.every`	`30m`	Self-monitoring heartbeat interval
`agents.defaults.skipBootstrap`	`false`	Whether to skip the bootstrap phase
`agents.defaults.bootstrapMaxChars`	`4000`	Maximum characters for bootstrap content

Health monitoring

The gateway monitors channel health for each agent container. When a channel becomes unresponsive, the gateway can automatically restart it.

Parameter	Value	Description
`channelHealthCheckMinutes`	`5`	Interval between health checks for each channel
`channelStaleEventThresholdMinutes`	`30`	Channel is considered stale if no events are received within this window
`channelMaxRestartsPerHour`	`10`	Maximum number of automatic channel restarts per hour

CORS

The gateway supports CORS preflight via OPTIONS /api/v1/gateway. Allowed methods are POST and OPTIONS. The Authorization, Content-Type, X-Plugin-Id, X-Payment-Method, X-Session-Id, and X-Wallet-Address headers are permitted.

Rate limits

Endpoint	Limit
`/api/v1/gateway`	100/min

Examples

Route a request to the agent plugin (Stripe)

curl -X POST https://agentbot.raveculture.xyz/api/v1/gateway \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Plugin-Id: agent" \
  -H "Cookie: next-auth.session-token=YOUR_SESSION" \
  -d '{"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Summarize my tasks"}]}'

Route a request with MPP payment

curl -X POST https://agentbot.raveculture.xyz/api/v1/gateway \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Plugin-Id: generate-text" \
  -H "Authorization: Payment {\"scheme\":\"Payment\",\"transaction\":\"0x76...\",\"challengeNonce\":\"abc123\"}" \
  -d '{"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}]}'

Route a request with session-based billing

curl -X POST https://agentbot.raveculture.xyz/api/v1/gateway \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Plugin-Id: agent" \
  -H "X-Payment-Method: session" \
  -H "X-Session-Id: ses_a1b2c3d4e5f6..." \
  -H "X-Wallet-Address: 0xd8fd0e1dce89beaab924ac68098ddb17613db56f" \
  -d '{"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Summarize my tasks"}]}'

The response includes the remaining session balance:

Payment-Receipt: session:ses_a1b2c3d4e5f6...:v_abc123def456
X-Session-Remaining: 9.95

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Integrations

Core Services

Payments

API Reference

MCP

Security

Gateway

Gateway

Base URL

Request

Headers

Body

Plugins

Authentication

Payment flow

MPP 402 challenge

Session-based billing

Response

Success (200)

Response headers

Error responses

Per-agent gateway authentication

Agent container configuration

Container environment variables

Gateway settings

Tool settings

Session settings

Agent defaults

Health monitoring

CORS

Rate limits

Examples

Route a request to the agent plugin (Stripe)

Route a request with MPP payment

Route a request with session-based billing

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Integrations

Core Services

Payments

API Reference

MCP

Security

​Gateway

​Base URL

​Request

​Headers

​Body

​Plugins

​Authentication

​Payment flow

​MPP 402 challenge

​Session-based billing

​Response

​Success (200)

​Response headers

​Error responses

​Per-agent gateway authentication

​Agent container configuration

​Container environment variables

​Gateway settings

​Tool settings

​Session settings

​Agent defaults

​Health monitoring

​CORS

​Rate limits

​Examples

​Route a request to the agent plugin (Stripe)

​Route a request with MPP payment

​Route a request with session-based billing

Gateway

Base URL

Request

Headers

Body

Plugins

Authentication

Payment flow

MPP 402 challenge

Session-based billing

Response

Success (200)

Response headers

Error responses

Per-agent gateway authentication

Agent container configuration

Container environment variables

Gateway settings

Tool settings

Session settings

Agent defaults

Health monitoring

CORS

Rate limits

Examples

Route a request to the agent plugin (Stripe)

Route a request with MPP payment

Route a request with session-based billing