Reverse Proxy — OpenClaw Glossary
A server that sits in front of one or more web servers (like OpenClaw Gateway), intercepting requests from clients and forwarding them to the internal server. Nginx and Caddy are common reverse proxies.
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Reverse proxy ek middleman ki tarah kaam karta hai. Jab koi user aapki website ya bot ko access karna chahta hai, toh request pehle reverse proxy (jaise Nginx) ke paas aati hai. Yeh proxy check karta hai ki sab safe hai, SSL (HTTPS) add karta hai, aur fir request ko aapke andar chal rahe OpenClaw Gateway tak bhejta hai.
What is a Reverse Proxy?
A reverse proxy is a type of server that sits in front of other internal servers. When a user requests a web page, their browser connects to the reverse proxy. The reverse proxy then fetches the data from the internal server (like your OpenClaw Gateway) and sends it back to the user.
Popular reverse proxy software includes Nginx, Caddy, and Apache.
Why it matters for OpenClaw
By default, the OpenClaw Gateway runs on http://127.0.0.1:18789. It is not designed to be exposed directly to the wild internet. It does not handle HTTPS (SSL certificates) natively, meaning if you expose it directly, all your traffic is unencrypted.
If you want to access your dashboard from anywhere using a custom domain (e.g., https://agent.mycompany.com), you need a reverse proxy. The reverse proxy will:
- Accept connections on standard ports (80 for HTTP, 443 for HTTPS).
- Handle the SSL/TLS encryption so your traffic is secure.
- Forward the decrypted request to the internal OpenClaw Gateway running safely on
127.0.0.1:18789. - Add additional security measures, like basic authentication (passwords) or IP allowlisting.
Common mistake
Exposing the Gateway directly instead of proxying.
Many users try to skip setting up Nginx. They simply change the Gateway to bind to 0.0.0.0 and open port 18789 in their firewall. This is extremely dangerous. It exposes your OpenClaw instance to the entire internet without HTTPS encryption, meaning anyone on your network (like a public Wi-Fi cafe) can intercept your session tokens and hijack your agent.
Fix: If you need public access, learn how to configure Nginx or Caddy. If you just need personal access, use an SSH Tunnel or Tailscale instead — no reverse proxy required.
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