---
title: Ports and networking
description: Which ports ClawMetry uses, why the dashboard binds to loopback by default, how to expose it safely behind a reverse proxy, and the API token model.
keywords: clawmetry port 8900, expose clawmetry dashboard, reverse proxy agent dashboard, clawmetry api token
eyebrow: Configuration
---

# Ports and networking

## The ports

| Port | Service | Default binding |
|---|---|---|
| `8900` | The dashboard | `127.0.0.1` |
| `4100` | The enforcement proxy | `127.0.0.1` |
| ephemeral | The daemon's query server | `127.0.0.1`, token-authenticated |
| `18789` | The OpenClaw gateway | Not ClawMetry's — read, not served |

The daemon's query server picks an ephemeral port and advertises it in
`~/.clawmetry/local_query.json` along with a bearer token and its pid.

## Why loopback is the default

The dashboard renders your agents' transcripts. Those contain whatever your
agents read and wrote — source code, API responses, and any secret that ended up
in a tool result.

Binding it to a routable interface publishes all of that. It is a deliberate
default, not a limitation.

```bash
clawmetry --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8900     # default
clawmetry --host 0.0.0.0   --port 8900     # exposed — read the rest of this page
```

## Exposing it safely

The pattern that works: keep ClawMetry on loopback and put an authenticating
reverse proxy in front of it.

```nginx title="nginx"
server {
  listen 443 ssl;
  server_name clawmetry.internal.example.com;

  ssl_certificate     /etc/ssl/certs/internal.crt;
  ssl_certificate_key /etc/ssl/private/internal.key;

  auth_basic           "ClawMetry";
  auth_basic_user_file /etc/nginx/.htpasswd;

  location / {
    proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8900;
    proxy_set_header Host              $host;
    proxy_set_header X-Real-IP         $remote_addr;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;

    # Server-Sent Events: no buffering, long timeouts
    proxy_buffering off;
    proxy_read_timeout 3600s;
  }
}
```

The SSE settings matter. The Activity feed, the health stream and the log stream
are all Server-Sent Events, and a proxy that buffers them shows you nothing
while appearing to work.

## API tokens

For programmatic access, or as a second layer behind a proxy:

```bash
export CLAWMETRY_API_TOKENS=<token-a>,<token-b>
```

```bash
TOKEN=<token-a>
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" localhost:8900/api/local/sessions
```

Comma-separated so you can rotate: add the new token, move clients over, remove
the old one.

→ [Authentication](/docs/api/auth/)

## Origin checks

The control endpoints — pause, stop, kill — are origin-checked, because they
signal real processes. A reverse proxy must forward the origin correctly or
those requests are refused.

That refusal is the correct behaviour: a cross-origin request that can kill your
agent's process is exactly the thing the check exists to stop.

## OTLP ingestion

The OTLP receivers accept untrusted data that lands in your store, so they are
authenticated. For a local-only setup where the receiver is not reachable
off-box:

```bash
CLAWMETRY_OTLP_ALLOW_UNAUTH=1 clawmetry
```

Do not set that on anything with a routable address.

## Outbound

In the default local install, **nothing**. With cloud sync connected:

| Destination | Purpose |
|---|---|
| The ingest endpoint (default `ingest.clawmetry.com`) | Encrypted snapshots |
| PyPI | Update checks, unless disabled |

```bash
export CLAWMETRY_OFFLINE=1        # no network calls at all
export CLAWMETRY_AUTO_UPDATE=0    # no update checks
```

Through a TLS-inspecting corporate proxy:

```bash
export CLAWMETRY_CA_BUNDLE=/etc/ssl/certs/corporate-ca.pem
```

Do not reach for `CLAWMETRY_TLS_NO_VERIFY` except while actively diagnosing a
TLS problem you intend to fix.

## Firewall rules

For a locked-down host, the minimum:

- **Inbound:** none, if you use the dashboard locally. Port 8900 from your admin
  network if you expose it behind a proxy.
- **Outbound:** 443 to the ingest endpoint, if cloud sync is on. 443 to PyPI, if
  updates are on. Nothing otherwise.

## Multiple instances

```bash
clawmetry --port 8901 --workspace ~/agents/staging
```

Each instance needs its own `CLAWMETRY_HOME`, or they will contend for the same
store:

```bash
CLAWMETRY_HOME=~/.clawmetry-staging clawmetry --port 8901
```