solution web-ui high macos linux windows

Control UI: disconnected (1008): device identity required (HTTP / insecure context)

Fix Control UI failures caused by opening the dashboard over plain HTTP on a remote host. Use HTTPS (recommended) or local access; optionally allow insecure auth.

By CoClaw Team •

Symptoms

  • Control UI disconnects with:
    • “disconnected (1008): device identity required”
  • This commonly happens when you open the dashboard via:
    • http://<lan-ip>:18789/
    • http://<tailscale-ip>:18789/

Cause

On remote plain HTTP, many browsers run in a non-secure context and block WebCrypto. OpenClaw uses WebCrypto to establish device identity for Control UI auth/pairing, so the gateway rejects the connection.

Fix

Expose the Control UI via HTTPS (for example, using Tailscale Serve), then open the HTTPS URL.

2) Or open locally via an SSH tunnel

Tunnel the port and open the UI locally:

ssh -N -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789 user@host

Then open:

  • http://127.0.0.1:18789/

3) If you must use HTTP remotely (advanced)

You can allow insecure auth for the Control UI and rely on token auth (security trade-offs). See the Control UI docs linked above for the exact config option.

Verify

  • The Control UI connects and stays connected.
  • The disconnect message no longer appears.

Verification & references

  • Reviewed by:CoClaw Code Team
  • Last reviewed:March 14, 2026
  • Verified on: macOS · Linux · Windows

References

Official docs

  1. OpenClaw docs: /gateway/troubleshooting
  2. OpenClaw docs: /web/control-ui
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