Node Connect

SkillDev tools

Use when CrawClaw Android, iOS, or macOS companion apps cannot pair or connect through QR codes, setup codes, LAN, tailnet, public URL, bootstrap token, or auth routes.

Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.

Connect ahel once, and every AI you use reads what you have installed.

Then ask your AI: use the Node Connect skill

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by qianleigood/crawclaw in skills/node-connect/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

Find the one real route from node to gateway, verify CrawClaw is advertising that route, then fix pairing or auth.

Topology first

Decide which case applies before proposing fixes:

  • same machine or emulator
  • same LAN
  • same Tailscale tailnet
  • public URL or reverse proxy

Do not mix routes.

Canonical checks

crawclaw config get gateway.mode
crawclaw config get gateway.bind
crawclaw config get gateway.tailscale.mode
crawclaw config get gateway.remote.url
crawclaw config get gateway.auth.mode
crawclaw config get gateway.auth.allowTailscale
crawclaw config get plugins.entries.device-pair.config.publicUrl
crawclaw qr --json
crawclaw devices list
crawclaw nodes status

If remote mode is involved:

crawclaw qr --remote --json

If Tailscale is involved:

tailscale status --json

Read the result, not guesses

crawclaw qr --json tells you:

  • gatewayUrl: the endpoint the app should use
  • urlSource: which config path produced that URL

Root-cause map

  • Gateway is only bound to loopback: remote nodes cannot connect yet.
  • gateway.bind=tailnet set, but no tailnet IP was found: the gateway host is not actually on Tailscale.
  • qr --remote requires gateway.remote.url: remote-mode config is incomplete.
  • pairing required: network route worked; approve the pending device.
  • bootstrap token invalid or expired: generate a fresh setup code and retry.
  • unauthorized: wrong token/password or wrong Tailscale auth expectation.

Fix style

Reply with one concrete diagnosis and one route. If the setup is still unclear, ask for the intended route and the exact app error text instead of guessing.

Signals

GitHub stars
30
Forks
1
Last commit
Sep 2026
Advanced
Catalog kind
skill
Gateway key
node-connect
Source
github.com/qianleigood/crawclaw