Manual Browser Login for Automation

When a website demands authentication, log in manually using the host browser's openclaw profile. Never share your credentials with the model: automated sign-in attempts frequently activate bot detection systems and may result in account suspension.

For both reading (search and threads) and posting on X/Twitter or other bot-sensitive platforms, rely on the host browser with manual login. Sandboxed browser sessions have a higher probability of triggering bot detection mechanisms.

Return to the primary browser documentation: Browser.

Which Chrome profile is used?

OpenClaw manages a dedicated Chrome profile called openclaw (distinguished by an orange UI), which remains separate from your everyday browsing profile.

For agent browser tool calls:

The agent's default behavior is to use its own isolated openclaw browser.
Reserve profile="user" for cases where existing logged-in sessions are necessary and you are present at the machine to click or approve any attach prompts.
When multiple user browser profiles exist, specify the exact profile rather than relying on automatic selection.

Two methods exist for accessing the openclaw profile:

Instruct the agent to launch the browser, then perform the login yourself.
Open it through the command line:

openclaw browser start
openclaw browser open https://x.com

To use a non-default profile, place --browser-profile <name> before the subcommand (the default is openclaw):

openclaw browser --browser-profile <name> open https://x.com

Sandboxing: allow host browser access

When the agent operates in a sandboxed environment, its browser tool calls default to the sandbox browser rather than the host. To direct the agent toward the host browser instead:

{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      sandbox: {
        mode: "non-main",
        browser: {
          allowHostControl: true,
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

CLI commands always address the host browser, never the sandbox, so you can open the host browser on your own regardless of this configuration:

openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw open https://x.com

After setting sandbox.browser.allowHostControl: true, the agent's browser tool calls can also target the host. Alternatively, turn off sandboxing for the agent responsible for posting updates.

Manual login (recommended)

Which Chrome profile is used?

Sandboxing: allow host browser access

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