Skip to main content

​
Voice Wake (Global Wake Words)

OpenClaw treats wake words as a single global list owned by the Gateway.
  • There are no per-node custom wake words.
  • Any node/app UI may edit the list; changes are persisted by the Gateway and broadcast to everyone.
  • macOS and iOS keep local Voice Wake enabled/disabled toggles (local UX + permissions differ).
  • Android currently keeps Voice Wake off and uses a manual mic flow in the Voice tab.

​
Storage (Gateway host)

Wake words are stored on the gateway machine at:
  • ~/.openclaw/settings/voicewake.json
Shape: 
{ "triggers": ["openclaw", "claude", "computer"], "updatedAtMs": 1730000000000 }

​
Protocol

​
Methods

  • voicewake.get → { triggers: string[] }
  • voicewake.set with params { triggers: string[] } → { triggers: string[] }
Notes:
  • Triggers are normalized (trimmed, empties dropped). Empty lists fall back to defaults.
  • Limits are enforced for safety (count/length caps).

​
Events

  • voicewake.changed payload { triggers: string[] }
Who receives it:
  • All WebSocket clients (macOS app, WebChat, etc.)
  • All connected nodes (iOS/Android), and also on node connect as an initial “current state” push.

​
Client behavior

​
macOS app

  • Uses the global list to gate VoiceWakeRuntime triggers.
  • Editing “Trigger words” in Voice Wake settings calls voicewake.set and then relies on the broadcast to keep other clients in sync.

​
iOS node

  • Uses the global list for VoiceWakeManager trigger detection.
  • Editing Wake Words in Settings calls voicewake.set (over the Gateway WS) and also keeps local wake-word detection responsive.

​
Android node

  • Voice Wake is currently disabled in Android runtime/Settings.
  • Android voice uses manual mic capture in the Voice tab instead of wake-word triggers.