openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix Feature Request: Multi-Token Authentication for Team Collaboration

Background

We are a development team using OpenClaw to manage multiple AI Agents (product manager, frontend developer, backend developer, designer, etc.). Team members need cross-instance communication and collaboration, such as:

• Colleague A's Agent needs to access Colleague B's Agent
• External partners need limited API access
• Team leader needs full permissions, regular members need restricted permissions

Current Problem

OpenClaw currently uses a single token architecture:

{
  "auth": {
    "mode": "token",
    "token": "***"
  }
}

This causes the following issues:

1. No permission differentiation: Everyone shares the same token, cannot distinguish "who is calling"
2. Security risk: If token is leaked, attacker has full permissions
3. Cannot implement fine-grained access control: Cannot restrict a user to only access specific Agents
4. Difficult auditing: Cannot trace specific user operations

Proposed Solutions

Solution A: Multi-Token Configuration

Allow configuring multiple tokens in openclaw.json, each with different permissions:

{
  "auth": {
    "mode": "multi-token",
    "tokens": [
      {
        "id": "admin",
        "token": "***",
        "permissions": ["*"],
        "description": "Team leader - full permissions"
      },
      {
        "id": "partner",
        "token": "***",
        "permissions": ["agent:product-manager", "agent:designer-mirror"],
        "description": "Partner - can only access product manager and mirror Agent"
      },
      {
        "id": "readonly",
        "token": "***",
        "permissions": ["read:*"],
        "description": "Read-only user - can only view, cannot modify"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Solution B: User Identity Header

Include user identity in API requests, Agent can identify message source:

curl -X POST http://gateway/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ***" \
  -H "X-OpenClaw-User: partner" \
  -d '{"model": "openclaw/product-manager", "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "sync design requirements"}]}'

Agents can define rules in SOUL.md:

• Only admin users can execute destructive operations
• partner users can only access specific Agents
• External user requests need to be reported to the leader

Solution C: API Key Management System

Similar to OpenAI's API Key management:

• Add "API Keys" management page in OpenClaw Control UI
• Can create, revoke, and view API Keys
• Each Key has independent permission scope and usage statistics

Expected Benefits

1. Improved security: Different users have different permissions, reducing token leak risks
2. Smoother collaboration: External partners can safely access specific functions
3. Traceable auditing: Every operation can be traced to specific users
4. Better scalability: Prepare for future more users and team expansion

Implementation Suggestions

1. Backward compatibility: Keep single token mode, multi-token as optional feature
2. Permission model: Define clear permission levels (admin, read, write, agent-specific)
3. UI support: Add Token management interface in Control UI
4. Documentation update: Update configuration docs to explain multi-token usage

Use Case Example

// Team leader (full permissions)
const adminToken = "***";
await openclaw.deleteMemory("agent:frontend-dev", "2026-06-01"); // Success

// Partner (restricted permissions)
const partnerToken = "a1b2c3d4...";
await openclaw.deleteMemory("agent:frontend-dev", "2026-06-01", partnerToken); // Denied

// Partner accessing allowed Agents
await openclaw.chat("agent:designer-mirror", "sync design progress", partnerToken); // Success
await openclaw.chat("agent:product-manager", "ask PRD details", partnerToken); // Success
await openclaw.chat("agent:frontend-dev", "modify code", partnerToken); // Denied

Related Discussion

This feature is valuable for the following scenarios:

• Enterprise teams: Multiple departments use the same OpenClaw instance but need isolation
• SaaS platforms: Provide AI Agent services for multiple customers, each with independent token
• Open source projects: Maintainers have full permissions, contributors have restricted permissions
• Educational institutions: Teachers have management permissions, students only have usage permissions

Author: Laiqing Team (OpenClaw user) Date: 2026-06-02 Version: OpenClaw v2026.5.28