Summary

/tools/invoke HTTP API should include exec, read, write, edit tools for direct tool invocation without LLM token consumption.

Problem to solve

The /tools/invoke HTTP endpoint uses createOpenClawTools() which does not include coding tools (exec, read, write, edit, process). These tools are only available in createOpenClawCodingTools() used for agent sessions.

This makes it impossible to directly invoke exec or file tools via HTTP API. Users must either:

1. Use /v1/chat/completions endpoint which consumes LLM tokens
2. Connect via WebSocket which is more complex The gateway.tools.allow configuration cannot fix this because the tools are never created in the first place.

Proposed solution

Include coding tools in the /tools/invoke endpoint, controlled by:

Option A: Respect tools.profile setting (if "coding", include coding tools)

Option B: Add new config gateway.http.toolsIncludeCoding: true

Option C: Always include coding tools but respect gateway.tools.deny for restrictions

Expected behavior:

Should work when tools.profile is "coding" (default for local setup)

curl -X POST "http://localhost:18789/tools/invoke"
-H "Authorization: Bearer TOKEN"
-d '{"tool":"exec","args":{"command":"echo hello"}}'

Response: {"ok":true,"result":"hello\n"}

Alternatives considered

1. Use /v1/chat/completions - Works but consumes LLM tokens for every tool call
2. WebSocket connection - More complex, requires maintaining a persistent connection
3. Configure gateway.tools.allow - Does not work, tools are not created by createOpenClawTools()

Impact

Affected users: All users who want to invoke exec/read/write/edit via HTTP API Severity: Blocks workflow - no way to directly execute commands or read/write files via HTTP Frequency: Always - the tools are never available Consequence: Wasted LLM tokens when using /v1/chat/completions workaround Blocked automation/integration use cases Forced to use more complex WebSocket approach

Evidence/examples

Reproduction:

curl -sS -X POST "http://localhost:18789/tools/invoke"
-H "Authorization: Bearer TOKEN"
-H "Content-Type: application/json"
-d '{"tool":"exec","args":{"command":"echo hello"}}'

Response: {"ok":false,"error":{"type":"not_found","message":"Tool not available: exec"}}

Root cause in source code (gateway-cli-C2ZZYgwu.js):

const subagentFiltered = applyToolPolicyPipeline({ tools: createOpenClawTools({...}), // Missing exec, read, write, edit // ... }); Workaround (consumes tokens):

openclaw config set gateway.http.endpoints.chatCompletions.enabled true

curl -X POST "http://localhost:18789/v1/chat/completions"
-H "Authorization: Bearer TOKEN"
-d '{"model":"openclaw:main","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"run: echo hello"}]}'

Additional information

No response