OpenClaw DNS CLI: Wide-Area Discovery with CoreDNS
Reference for the openclaw dns command, which sets up CoreDNS for unicast DNS-SD discovery on Tailscale. Useful for macOS users configuring wide-area discovery with Homebrew CoreDNS.
Read this when
- You want wide-area discovery (DNS-SD) via Tailscale + CoreDNS
- You're setting up split DNS for a custom discovery domain (example: openclaw.internal)
openclaw dns
DNS utilities for broad area discovery using Tailscale and CoreDNS. Currently limited to macOS with Homebrew CoreDNS.
Related:
- Gateway discovery: Discovery
- Wide area discovery settings: Configuration
dns setup
Apply or plan a CoreDNS configuration for unicast DNS-SD discovery.
openclaw dns setup
openclaw dns setup --domain openclaw.internal
openclaw dns setup --apply
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
--domain <domain> | Domain used for wide area discovery, for instance openclaw.internal. |
--apply | Apply or refresh the CoreDNS configuration and start or restart the service. Requires sudo and works only on macOS. |
If --domain is not provided, OpenClaw reads discovery.wideArea.domain from the configuration file.
When --apply is absent, the command only displays:
- The resolved discovery domain and the zone file path
- Current IP addresses on the tailnet
- A suggested
openclaw.jsondiscovery configuration - Tailscale Split DNS nameserver and domain values to enter in the Tailscale admin console
With --apply (macOS only, Homebrew CoreDNS required):
- Creates the zone file if it does not exist
- Inserts the CoreDNS import stanza if it is not present
- Restarts the
corednsHomebrew service