solution gateway high linux macos windows

Gateway won't start: 'refusing to bind ... without auth'

Fix gateway startup failures when binding to LAN/tailnet without token/password auth configured.

By CoClaw Team •

Symptoms

  • Gateway immediately exits and logs show:
    • refusing to bind gateway to <host>:18789 without auth (...)
  • openclaw gateway status shows the service restarting/crashing.

Cause

When the gateway binds to a non-loopback interface (LAN/tailnet/custom), OpenClaw requires auth to be configured (token or password). This prevents exposing an unauthenticated gateway on the network.

Fix

1) Set gateway auth (token or password)

Simplest: token auth.

  • Set gateway.auth.mode to token
  • Set gateway.auth.token (or OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN)

Then restart the gateway.

2) Or bind only to loopback (local-only)

If you do not need LAN access, bind to loopback (127.0.0.1) and use SSH tunnel / local access.

Verify

  • openclaw gateway status shows running.
  • You can open the Control UI and it stays connected.

Verification & references

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

References

Official docs

  1. OpenClaw docs: /gateway/authentication
  2. OpenClaw docs: /gateway/troubleshooting
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