The Gateway handles commands sent as standalone messages starting with /. Host-only bash commands use ! <cmd> (with /bash <cmd> as an alias).

When a conversation is bound to an ACP session, normal text routes to the ACP harness. Gateway management commands remain local: /acp ... always reaches the OpenClaw command handler, and /status plus /unfocus stay local whenever command handling is enabled for the surface.

Three command types

• Commands — Standalone /... messages handled by the Gateway. Must be sent as the only content in the message.
• Directives — /think, /fast, /verbose, /trace, /reasoning, /elevated, /exec, /model, /queue — stripped from the message before the model sees it. Persist session settings when sent alone; act as inline hints when sent with other text.
• Inline shortcuts — /help, /commands, /status, /whoami — run immediately and are stripped before the model sees the remaining text. Authorized senders only.

Directive behavior details

- Directives are stripped from the message before the model sees it.
- In **directive-only** messages (the message is only directives), they
  persist to the session and reply with an acknowledgement.
- In **normal chat** messages with other text, they act as inline hints and
  do **not** persist session settings.
- Directives only apply for **authorized senders**. If `commands.allowFrom`
  is set, it is the only allowlist used; otherwise authorization comes from
  channel allowlists/pairing plus `commands.useAccessGroups`. Unauthorized
  senders see directives treated as plain text.

Configuration

{
  commands: {
    native: "auto",
    nativeSkills: "auto",
    text: true,
    bash: false,
    bashForegroundMs: 2000,
    config: false,
    mcp: false,
    plugins: false,
    debug: false,
    restart: true,
    ownerAllowFrom: ["discord:123456789012345678"],
    ownerDisplay: "raw",
    ownerDisplaySecret: "${OWNER_ID_HASH_SECRET}",
    allowFrom: {
      "*": ["user1"],
      discord: ["user:123"],
    },
    useAccessGroups: true,
  },
}

param

Enables parsing /... in chat messages. On surfaces without native commands (WhatsApp, WebChat, Signal, iMessage, Google Chat, Microsoft Teams), text commands work even when set to false.

param

Registers native commands. Auto: on for Discord/Telegram; off for Slack; ignored for providers without native support. Override per-channel with channels.<provider>.commands.native. On Discord, false skips slash-command registration; previously registered commands may stay visible until removed.

param

Registers skill commands natively when supported. Auto: on for Discord/Telegram; off for Slack. Override with channels.<provider>.commands.nativeSkills.

param

Enables ! <cmd> to run host shell commands (/bash <cmd> alias). Requires tools.elevated allowlists.

param

How long bash waits before switching to background mode (0 backgrounds immediately).

param

Enables /config (reads/writes openclaw.json). Owner-only.

param

Enables /mcp (reads/writes OpenClaw-managed MCP config under mcp.servers). Owner-only.

param

Enables /plugins (plugin discovery/status plus install + enable/disable). Owner-only for writes.

param

Enables /debug (runtime-only config overrides). Owner-only.

param

Enables /restart and gateway restart tool actions.

param

Explicit owner allowlist for owner-only command surfaces. Separate from commands.allowFrom and DM pairing access.

param

.commands.enforceOwnerForCommands" type="boolean" default="false"> Per-channel: requires owner identity for owner-only commands. When true, sender must match commands.ownerAllowFrom or hold internal operator.admin scope. A wildcard allowFrom entry is not sufficient.

param

Controls how owner ids appear in the system prompt.

param

HMAC secret used when commands.ownerDisplay: "hash".

param

Per-provider allowlist for command authorization. When configured, it is the only authorization source for commands and directives. Use "*" for a global default; provider-specific keys override it.

param

Enforces allowlists/policies for commands when commands.allowFrom is not set.

Command list

Commands come from three sources:

• Core built-ins: src/auto-reply/commands-registry.shared.ts
• Generated dock commands: src/auto-reply/commands-registry.data.ts
• Plugin commands: plugin registerCommand() calls

Availability depends on config flags, channel surface, and installed/enabled plugins.

Core commands

Sessions and runs

| Command | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `/new [model]` | Archive the current session and start a fresh one |
| `/reset [soft [message]]` | Reset the current session in place. `soft` keeps the transcript, drops reused CLI backend session ids, and reruns startup |
| `/compact [instructions]` | Compact the session context. See [Compaction](/en/concepts/compaction) |
| `/stop` | Abort the current run |
| `/session idle <duration\|off>` | Manage thread-binding idle expiry |
| `/session max-age <duration\|off>` | Manage thread-binding max-age expiry |
| `/export-session [path]` | Export the current session to HTML. Alias: `/export` |
| `/export-trajectory [path]` | Export a JSONL trajectory bundle for the current session. Alias: `/trajectory` |

Note

  Control UI intercepts typed `/new` to create and switch to a fresh
  dashboard session, except when `session.dmScope: "main"` is configured
  and the current parent is the agent's main session — in that case `/new`
  resets the main session in place. Typed `/reset` still runs the Gateway's
  in-place reset. Use `/model default` when you want to clear a pinned
  session model selection.

Model and run controls

| Command | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `/think <level\|default>` | Set the thinking level or clear the session override. Aliases: `/thinking`, `/t` |
| `/verbose on\|off\|full` | Toggle verbose output. Alias: `/v` |
| `/trace on\|off` | Toggle plugin trace output for the current session |
| `/fast [status\|on\|off\|default]` | Show, set, or clear fast mode |
| `/reasoning [on\|off\|stream]` | Toggle reasoning visibility. Alias: `/reason` |
| `/elevated [on\|off\|ask\|full]` | Toggle elevated mode. Alias: `/elev` |
| `/exec host=<auto\|sandbox\|gateway\|node> security=<deny\|allowlist\|full> ask=<off\|on-miss\|always> node=<id>` | Show or set exec defaults |
| `/model [name\|#\|status]` | Show or set the model |
| `/models [provider] [page] [limit=<n>\|all]` | List configured/auth-available providers or models |
| `/queue <mode>` | Manage active-run queue behavior. See [Queue](/en/concepts/queue) and [Queue steering](/en/concepts/queue-steering) |
| `/steer <message>` | Inject guidance into the active run. Alias: `/tell`. See [Steer](/en/tools/steer) |

verbose / trace / fast / reasoning safety

    - `/verbose` is for debugging — keep it **off** in normal use.
    - `/trace` reveals only plugin-owned trace/debug lines; normal verbose chatter stays off.
    - `/fast on|off` persists a session override; use the Sessions UI `inherit` option to clear it.
    - `/fast` is provider-specific: OpenAI/Codex map it to `service_tier=priority`; direct Anthropic requests map it to `service_tier=auto` or `standard_only`.
    - `/reasoning`, `/verbose`, and `/trace` are risky in group settings — they may reveal internal reasoning or plugin diagnostics. Keep them off in group chats.

Model switching details

    - `/model` persists the new model immediately to the session.
    - If the agent is idle, the next run uses it right away.
    - If a run is active, the switch is marked pending and applied at the next clean retry point.

Discovery and status

| Command | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `/help` | Show the short help summary |
| `/commands` | Show the generated command catalog |
| `/tools [compact\|verbose]` | Show what the current agent can use right now |
| `/status` | Show execution/runtime status, Gateway and system uptime, plugin health, plus provider usage/quota |
| `/status plugins` | Show detailed plugin health: load errors, quarantines, channel failures, dependency issues, compatibility notices |
| `/goal [status\|start\|pause\|resume\|complete\|block\|clear] ...` | Manage the current session's durable [goal](/en/tools/goal) |
| `/diagnostics [note]` | Owner-only support-report flow. Asks for exec approval every time |
| `/crestodian <request>` | Run the Crestodian setup and repair helper from an owner DM |
| `/tasks` | List active/recent background tasks for the current session |
| `/context [list\|detail\|map\|json]` | Explain how context is assembled |
| `/whoami` | Show your sender id. Alias: `/id` |
| `/usage off\|tokens\|full\|cost` | Control the per-response usage footer or print a local cost summary |

Skills, allowlists, approvals

| Command | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `/skill <name> [input]` | Run a skill by name |
| `/allowlist [list\|add\|remove] ...` | Manage allowlist entries. Text-only |
| `/approve <id> <decision>` | Resolve exec or plugin approval prompts |
| `/btw <question>` | Ask a side question without changing session context. Alias: `/side`. See [BTW](/en/tools/btw) |

Subagents and ACP

| Command | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `/subagents list\|log\|info` | Inspect sub-agent runs for the current session |
| `/acp spawn\|cancel\|steer\|close\|sessions\|status\|set-mode\|set\|cwd\|permissions\|timeout\|model\|reset-options\|doctor\|install\|help` | Manage ACP sessions and runtime options |
| `/focus <target>` | Bind the current Discord thread or Telegram topic to a session target |
| `/unfocus` | Remove the current thread binding |
| `/agents` | List thread-bound agents for the current session |

Owner-only writes and admin

| Command | Requires | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `/config show\|get\|set\|unset` | `commands.config: true` | Read or write `openclaw.json`. Owner-only |
| `/mcp show\|get\|set\|unset` | `commands.mcp: true` | Read or write OpenClaw-managed MCP server config. Owner-only |
| `/plugins list\|inspect\|show\|get\|install\|enable\|disable` | `commands.plugins: true` | Inspect or mutate plugin state. Owner-only for writes. Alias: `/plugin` |
| `/debug show\|set\|unset\|reset` | `commands.debug: true` | Runtime-only config overrides. Owner-only |
| `/restart` | `commands.restart: true` (default) | Restart OpenClaw |
| `/send on\|off\|inherit` | owner | Set send policy |

Voice, TTS, channel control

| Command | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `/tts on\|off\|status\|chat\|latest\|provider\|limit\|summary\|audio\|help` | Control TTS. See [TTS](/en/tools/tts) |
| `/activation mention\|always` | Set group activation mode |
| `/bash <command>` | Run a host shell command. Alias: `! <command>`. Requires `commands.bash: true` |
| `!poll [sessionId]` | Check a background bash job |
| `!stop [sessionId]` | Stop a background bash job |

Dock commands

Dock commands switch the active session's reply route to another linked channel. See Channel docking for setup and troubleshooting.

Generated from channel plugins with native-command support:

• /dock-discord (alias: /dock_discord)
• /dock-mattermost (alias: /dock_mattermost)
• /dock-slack (alias: /dock_slack)
• /dock-telegram (alias: /dock_telegram)

Dock commands require session.identityLinks. The source sender and target peer must be in the same identity group.

Bundled plugin commands

Command	Description
/dreaming [on|off|status|help]	Toggle memory dreaming. See Dreaming
/pair [qr|status|pending|approve|cleanup|notify]	Manage device pairing. See Pairing
/phone status|arm ...|disarm	Temporarily arm high-risk phone node commands
/voice status|list|set <voiceId>	Manage Talk voice config. Discord native name: /talkvoice
/card ...	Send LINE rich card presets. See LINE
/codex status|models|threads|resume|compact|review|diagnostics|account|mcp|skills	Control the Codex app-server harness. See Codex harness

QQBot-only: /bot-ping, /bot-version, /bot-help, /bot-upgrade, /bot-logs

Skill commands

User-invocable skills are exposed as slash commands:

• /skill <name> [input] always works as the generic entrypoint.
• Skills may register as direct commands (e.g. /prose for OpenProse).
• Native skill-command registration is controlled by commands.nativeSkills and channels.<provider>.commands.nativeSkills.
• Names are sanitized to a-z0-9_ (max 32 chars); collisions get numeric suffixes.

Skill command dispatch

By default, skill commands route to the model as a normal request.

Skills can declare `command-dispatch: tool` to route directly to a tool
(deterministic, no model involvement). Example: `/prose` (OpenProse plugin)
— see [OpenProse](/en/prose).

Native command arguments

Discord uses autocomplete for dynamic options and button menus when required
args are omitted. Telegram and Slack show a button menu for commands with
choices. Dynamic choices resolve against the target session model, so model-
specific options like `/think` levels follow the session's `/model` override.

/tools — what the agent can use now

/tools answers a runtime question: what this agent can use right now in this conversation — not a static config catalog.

/tools         # compact view
/tools verbose # with short descriptions

Results are session-scoped. Changing agent, channel, thread, sender authorization, or model can change the output. For profile and override editing, use the Control UI Tools panel or config surfaces.

/model — model selection

/model             # show model picker
/model list        # same
/model 3           # select by number from picker
/model openai/gpt-5.4
/model opus@anthropic:default
/model default     # clear the session model selection
/model status      # detailed view with endpoint and API mode

On Discord, /model and /models open an interactive picker with provider and model dropdowns. The picker respects agents.defaults.models, including provider/* entries.

/config — on-disk config writes

Note

Owner-only. Disabled by default — enable with commands.config: true.

/config show
/config show messages.responsePrefix
/config get messages.responsePrefix
/config set messages.responsePrefix="[openclaw]"
/config unset messages.responsePrefix

Config is validated before write. Invalid changes are rejected. /config updates persist across restarts.

/mcp — MCP server config

Note

Owner-only. Disabled by default — enable with commands.mcp: true.

/mcp show
/mcp show context7
/mcp set context7={"command":"uvx","args":["context7-mcp"]}
/mcp unset context7

/mcp stores config in OpenClaw config, not embedded-agent project settings.

/debug — runtime-only overrides

Note

Owner-only. Disabled by default — enable with commands.debug: true. Overrides apply immediately to new config reads but do not write to disk.

/debug show
/debug set messages.responsePrefix="[openclaw]"
/debug set channels.whatsapp.allowFrom=["+1555","+4477"]
/debug unset messages.responsePrefix
/debug reset

/plugins — plugin management

Note

Owner-only for writes. Disabled by default — enable with commands.plugins: true.

/plugins
/plugins list
/plugin show context7
/plugins enable context7
/plugins disable context7
/plugins install ./path/to/plugin

/plugins enable|disable updates plugin config and hot-reloads the Gateway plugin runtime for new agent turns. /plugins install restarts managed Gateways automatically because plugin source modules changed.

/trace — plugin trace output

/trace          # show current trace state
/trace on
/trace off

/trace reveals session-scoped plugin trace/debug lines without full verbose mode. It does not replace /debug (runtime overrides) or /verbose (normal tool output).

/btw — side questions

/btw is a quick side question about the current session context. Alias: /side.

/btw what are we doing right now?
/side what changed while the main run continued?

Unlike a normal message:

• Uses the current session as background context.
• In Codex harness sessions, runs as an ephemeral Codex side thread.
• Does not change future session context.
• Is not written to transcript history.

See BTW side questions for the full behavior.

Surface notes

Session scoping per surface

- **Text commands:** run in the normal chat session (DMs share `main`, groups have their own session).
- **Native Discord commands:** `agent:<agentId>:discord:slash:<userId>`
- **Native Slack commands:** `agent:<agentId>:slack:slash:<userId>` (prefix configurable via `channels.slack.slashCommand.sessionPrefix`)
- **Native Telegram commands:** `telegram:slash:<userId>` (targets the chat session via `CommandTargetSessionKey`)
- **`/stop`** targets the active chat session to abort the current run.

Slack specifics

`channels.slack.slashCommand` supports a single `/openclaw`-style command.
With `commands.native: true`, create one Slack slash command per built-in
command. Register `/agentstatus` (not `/status`) because Slack reserves
`/status`. Text `/status` still works in Slack messages.

Fast path and inline shortcuts

- Command-only messages from allowlisted senders are handled immediately (bypass queue + model).
- Inline shortcuts (`/help`, `/commands`, `/status`, `/whoami`) also work embedded in normal messages and are stripped before the model sees the remaining text.
- Unauthorized command-only messages are silently ignored; inline `/...` tokens are treated as plain text.

Argument notes

- Commands accept an optional `:` between the command and args (`/think: high`, `/send: on`).
- `/new <model>` accepts a model alias, `provider/model`, or a provider name (fuzzy match); if no match, the text is treated as the message body.
- `/allowlist add|remove` requires `commands.config: true` and honors channel `configWrites`.

Provider usage and status

• Provider usage/quota (e.g., "Claude 80% left") shows in /status for the current model provider when usage tracking is enabled.
• Token/cache lines in /status can fall back to the latest transcript usage entry when the live session snapshot is sparse.
• Execution vs runtime: /status reports Execution for the effective sandbox path and Runtime for who is running the session: OpenClaw Default, OpenAI Codex, a CLI backend, or an ACP backend.
• Per-response tokens/cost: controlled by /usage off|tokens|full.
• /model status is about models/auth/endpoints, not usage.

Related

• Skills — How skill slash commands are registered and gated.
• Creating skills — Build a skill that registers its own slash command.
• BTW — Side questions without changing session context.
• Steer — Guide the agent mid-run with /steer.