ironclaw/docs/channels/local.md

title, description

title	description
Local	Use IronClaw locally via terminal or browser

By default, IronClaw provides two local interfaces for chatting with your agent:

• Terminal UI (TUI): chat directly in your terminal
• Web Gateway: chat in your browser over a local HTTP server

If you haven't set up your agent yet, follow our [Quickstart guide](../quickstart)

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Terminal UI

Simply run ironclaw and the TUI will launch in your terminal. Use the keyboard shortcuts below to navigate and chat with your agent.

Key	Action
Enter	Send message
Shift+Enter	New line in composer
Ctrl+C	Quit
Ctrl+L	Clear screen
Tab	Focus next element
Esc	Cancel or back
Up/Down	Scroll history

Configuration

Option	Default	Description
CLI_ENABLED	true	Enable or disable the Terminal UI

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Web Gateway

Option	Default	Description
GATEWAY_HOST	127.0.0.1	Host interface for the Web Gateway
GATEWAY_PORT	3000	Port used by the Web Gateway
GATEWAY_ENABLED	true	Enable or disable the Web Gateway
GATEWAY_AUTH_TOKEN	auto-generated	Auth token required to open the Web UI

Authentication

By default, IronClaw generates an auth token at startup and prints it in logs. To use a stable token across restarts:

export GATEWAY_AUTH_TOKEN="your-secure-token-here"

Generate one:

openssl rand -hex 32

API endpoints

The Web Gateway also exposes local endpoints:

Endpoint	Description
GET /api/status	Server status
POST /api/chat	Send message
GET /api/jobs	List jobs
GET /api/memory	Search memory

Network access

Use localhost-only access (recommended):

export GATEWAY_HOST=127.0.0.1

Use LAN access:

export GATEWAY_HOST=0.0.0.0

When using `0.0.0.0`, use a strong auth token and place the service behind HTTPS/reverse proxy before exposing it outside your local network.

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Troubleshooting

- Ensure your terminal supports Unicode and 256 colors - Set `TERM=xterm-256color` - Restart the terminal session - Check terminal focus - Run `reset` - Disable conflicting terminal mouse mode - Verify `ironclaw run` is active - Check `GATEWAY_PORT` value - Confirm host and firewall settings - Copy token exactly from startup logs - Remove trailing spaces - Set a persistent `GATEWAY_AUTH_TOKEN` - Check local network/proxy stability - Verify reverse proxy supports WebSocket upgrades - Inspect browser console logs