External connections

External Connections let an OpenClaw instance work with third-party services such as Gmail, GitHub, Google Calendar, Notion, and Google Sheets. Claworc uses Composio to handle the sign-in and to hold the resulting access tokens, so the agent can act on your behalf without ever seeing a password, token, or API key.

Once you connect a service, Claworc automatically generates a skill for it. From then on, you just ask the agent to do things like “summarize today’s unread email” or “open a GitHub issue for this bug”.

What it’s for

• Email — read, search, label and send messages from a connected Gmail account.
• Code and issues — list repositories, open issues and comment on pull requests in GitHub.
• Docs and notes — create and update pages in Notion or rows in Google Sheets.
• Calendars and analytics — check upcoming events in Google Calendar or pull reports from Google Analytics.

Composio offers well over a thousand integrations. The list you see in Claworc is fetched live from Composio, sorted by popularity, and only includes services Composio can authenticate on your behalf.

How it works

1. An administrator adds one Composio API key to Claworc’s global settings.
2. A user connects a service to an instance by signing in through a popup window.
3. Composio stores the access token. Claworc stores only a reference to it.
4. Claworc writes a claworc-<service> skill into the instance so the agent knows which tools exist and how to call them.
5. The agent calls those tools through a small broker running next to it. The broker adds the Composio key on the way out.

Security

The Composio API key never leaves the control plane and is never sent to an instance. Claworc doesn’t store OAuth tokens in its database. Each instance gets its own broker secret, so it can only use the services connected to it, never those of other instances.

Step 1: Get a Composio API key

1. Sign up at dashboard.composio.dev. The free tier includes a generous monthly allowance of tool calls and does not require a credit card.

2. In the dashboard, open Platform, select your project, go to Settings and open the API Keys tab.

3. Click Create API Key and grant the permission areas below. Claworc needs all of them.

   Permission area	Access level
   Toolkits	Read
   Tools	Read
   Tool execution	Write
   Auth configs	Write
   Connected accounts	Read and write

4. Copy the key. Paste it into Claworc in the next step.

Caution

Composio fixes a key’s permissions when it is created. They cannot be edited afterward. If the Test button in Claworc reports a missing permission, create a new key with the full set and replace the old one.

Step 2: Add the key to Claworc settings

This step requires an administrator account. One key serves every instance in your Claworc installation.

1. Open Settings and go to the API Keys tab. Scroll to the Composio API Key card at the bottom.

2. Click Change and paste the key.

   

3. Click Test. Claworc checks the key against Composio and verifies that it grants every permission from the table above, without creating anything in your Composio project. You will see one of three results:

   • Composio API key is valid — all required permissions are granted.
   • Composio API key is invalid — Composio rejected the key. Check for a copy-paste mistake.
   • Missing Composio permissions — the key works but lacks one or more areas. The message lists which ones. Create a new key with the full set (see the note above).

4. Click Save in the bar at the bottom of the page.

Step 3: Connect a service to an OpenClaw instance

Anyone who can edit an instance can connect external services.

1. Open the instance and switch to the Settings tab. Find the External Connections section, just above Webhook.

2. Click + Add connection. Type in the search box to filter the list, then click the service you want.

   

3. A popup window opens with the service’s own sign-in page. Sign in and grant the requested access. If your browser blocks the popup, allow popups for your Claworc dashboard and try again.

4. When the sign-in completes, the pop-up shows Connection authorized and closes itself. The dialog in Claworc closes too, and the new connection appears in the list as ACTIVE, along with the account it is linked to (for example, the Gmail address).

You can connect several services to the same instance, and connect the same service to several instances. Each instance signs in separately, so different agents can act as different accounts.

The generated skill

As soon as a connection becomes active, Claworc writes a skill named claworc-<service> (for example, claworc-gmail) into the instance. You do not need to upload or deploy anything.

The skill instructs the agent:

• which tools the service offers, with a description and the input and output parameters of the most useful ones;
• how to discover the remaining tools on demand;
• how to call each tool through the local broker, with a ready-made example request.

Removing a connection

Click the trash icon next to a connection and confirm. Claworc revokes the linked account at Composio, removes the connection from the instance, and deletes the generated skill unless another active connection still uses the same service. Deleting an instance removes all of its connections the same way.

Troubleshooting

• “Failed to load services. Is the Composio API key set in Settings?” — no key has been saved yet, or the saved key is invalid. Ask an administrator to complete Step 2.
• “Missing Composio permissions” after clicking Test — the key was created without one of the required areas. Create a new key with the full set from Step 1 and save it.
• “Composio has no managed credentials for this service.” — Composio does not provide built-in sign-in for that service. It can still be connected if you register your own OAuth application in the Composio dashboard; otherwise pick a different service.
• “Authorization window closed before finishing.” — the popup was closed before the service confirmed access. Click the service again and keep the popup open until it closes on its own.
• The agent says it cannot reach the service — check that the connection shows ACTIVE in the instance settings. If the instance was just restarted, give it a moment: the skill is re-synced when the instance comes back online.