The connection status is showing amber or disconnected

Check that your OpenClaw gateway is running and that the gateway URL is correct including the port. Verify you can access the gateway dashboard in a browser from outside your home network. If using ngrok, make sure the tunnel is still running — ngrok tunnels close when the terminal is closed.

I can see the OpenClaw gateway locally but not from outside my network

Your gateway isn't publicly accessible yet. Use Tailscale Funnel or ngrok to expose it. Port forwarding on your router is another option but requires more configuration and exposes your home IP address.

The voice connects but OpenClaw isn't executing tasks

Check your API token — it may have expired or been regenerated in OpenClaw. Copy a fresh token from your OpenClaw dashboard and update it in the Phona config tab. Also check the Logs tab in your Phona assistant editor to see if any errors are being reported.

My ngrok URL changes every time I restart

This is expected on the ngrok free tier. For a permanent URL, upgrade to a paid ngrok plan which gives you a fixed static domain, or switch to Tailscale Funnel which gives you a stable hostname tied to your device and is free.

Connecting OpenClaw to Phona

A complete setup guide — from making your gateway accessible to saying your first voice command. Follow these steps and you'll be up and running in under 15 minutes.

Before You Connect OpenClaw

Phona connects to your OpenClaw gateway over the internet, which means your gateway needs to be reachable from outside your home network. If you're already running OpenClaw and can access its dashboard from a different network or device (for example, your phone on mobile data), you're ready to go — skip straight to Part 2.

If your gateway is only accessible on your local network, you'll need to expose it first. The simplest way is with Tailscale, a free tool that creates a secure private network between your devices. We'll cover that in Part 1.

What you'll need

A running OpenClaw gateway (on your Mac, a server, or in the cloud)
Your OpenClaw gateway URL and API token
A Phona account (free 7-day trial, no credit card needed)

Part 1

Making Your OpenClaw Gateway Accessible with Tailscale

Tailscale creates a private, encrypted network between your devices. Once installed, your OpenClaw machine gets a stable hostname that you can reach from anywhere — your phone, another computer, or Phona's servers. It's free for personal use and takes about five minutes to set up.

Create a free Tailscale account

Go to tailscale.com and sign up with your Google, Microsoft, or GitHub account. Tailscale is free for personal use with up to 3 users and 100 devices.

Install Tailscale on your OpenClaw machine

Download the Tailscale app for the OS running OpenClaw. On a Mac, install the app from the Mac App Store or tailscale.com/download. On Linux, run:

curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh

Enable MagicDNS in the Tailscale admin panel

Go to login.tailscale.com/admin/dns and enable MagicDNS. This gives each of your devices a stable hostname like my-mac.your-tailnet.ts.net instead of a changing IP address.

Note your OpenClaw machine's Tailscale hostname

In the Tailscale admin panel under Machines, find the device running OpenClaw and copy its hostname. It will look something like:

my-mac.tail1234a.ts.net

Your OpenClaw gateway URL will be this hostname plus the port OpenClaw runs on, for example:

https://my-mac.tail1234a.ts.net:PORT

Replace PORT with the port your OpenClaw gateway is configured to use. Check your OpenClaw documentation or settings if you're unsure.

Verify it's reachable

On a device connected to Tailscale (or with Tailscale installed), open a browser and navigate to your gateway URL. You should see the OpenClaw dashboard. If you can see it, Phona will be able to connect to it.

Note: Phona's servers need to be on your Tailscale network to connect. You'll need to use Tailscale's subnet router feature or enable Tailscale Funnel to make the gateway publicly accessible. Alternatively, use ngrok (see below) which creates a public URL without any network configuration.

Alternative: ngrok (quickest option)

ngrok creates a public HTTPS URL that tunnels directly to your local OpenClaw gateway — no network configuration required. It's the fastest way to test the integration.

1. Install ngrok from ngrok.com and sign up for a free account.

2. Add your auth token:

ngrok config add-authtoken YOUR_TOKEN

3. Start a tunnel to your OpenClaw port:

ngrok http PORT

4. Copy the https:// URL ngrok gives you — this is your gateway URL for Phona.

The free ngrok tier generates a new URL every time you restart the tunnel. For a permanent URL, upgrade to a paid ngrok plan or use Tailscale Funnel instead.

Part 2

Setting Up Phona

With your gateway accessible, you're ready to connect it to Phona. This part takes about two minutes.

Sign into Phona

Go to app.phona.app and sign in. If you don't have an account yet, create one — the 7-day free trial requires no credit card.

Create a new assistant

From the dashboard, click New Assistant. When prompted to choose a type, select OpenClaw Voice. Give your assistant a name — this can be anything you like.

Find your OpenClaw API token

In your OpenClaw dashboard, navigate to Settings → API (or similar — check your OpenClaw documentation) and copy your API token. Keep this somewhere safe.

Enter your gateway credentials in Phona

In your new assistant's editor, click the OpenClaw tab. You'll see two fields:

Gateway URL — the full URL of your OpenClaw gateway, including the port
API Token — the token you copied from OpenClaw

Paste both values and save. Phona will verify the connection — you'll see a green status indicator when it's live.

Open your OpenClaw page and start talking

Click Open OpenClaw Page from the assistant editor (or copy the link and open it on any device). Press the microphone and say something — try:

"Remind me to check my emails at 9am tomorrow"

You'll hear Phona acknowledge the request and OpenClaw will create the reminder. That's it — you're connected.

OpenClaw Connection Troubleshooting

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