3_NODE_STRATEGY

3-Node OpenClaw Configuration Strategy

Nodes Overview

Node	Location	Purpose	Network
MacBook	Local	Primary dev, voice clone	Standard
Lenovo	Home server	Secondary, always-on	Standard
China Node	China	Kimi access via VPN	VPN required

Configuration Strategy

Option 1: MacBook as Source of Truth

MacBook (master config):

• Full development setup
• Voice clone (pBB5VQYD9w7wdRFiArsB)
• All API keys
• International endpoints

Lenovo (sync from Mac):

• Same as Mac but no voice clone
• Sync via: sync_openclaw_settings.sh

China Node (separate config):

• China-specific endpoints (moonshot.cn)
• VPN-routed traffic
• Different API keys if needed

Option 2: Environment-Based Configs

Create 3 config files:

~/.openclaw/
├── openclaw.json                 # Current/active
├── openclaw.json.macbook        # MacBook specific
├── openclaw.json.lenovo         # Lenovo specific
├── openclaw.json.china          # China node specific
└── switch-config.sh             # Switch between them

Switch script:

#!/bin/bash
# switch-config.sh macbook|lenovo|china
 
NODE=$1
if [ -f ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.$NODE ]; then
    cp ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.backup
    cp ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.$NODE ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
    openclaw gateway restart
    echo "Switched to $NODE config"
else
    echo "Config for $NODE not found"
fi

Option 3: Git-Based Config Management

Setup:

# Create private config repo
cd ~/.openclaw
git init
git add openclaw.json agents/ skills/
git commit -m "Initial config"
 
# Add remote (private repo)
git remote add origin [email protected]:youruser/openclaw-config.git

On each node:

# Clone and symlink
git clone [email protected]:youruser/openclaw-config.git ~/.openclaw-config
ln -sf ~/.openclaw-config/openclaw.json ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

Update workflow:

# Make changes on any node
git add .
git commit -m "Update API key"
git push
 
# Pull on other nodes
git pull
openclaw gateway restart

Key Differences by Node

MacBook (Primary)

• Voice clone: pBB5VQYD9w7wdRFiArsB
• ElevenLabs: Full access
• Models: All providers
• Endpoints: International

Lenovo (Secondary)

• No voice clone (or use Mac’s)
• Same API keys
• Same models
• Endpoints: International

China Node

• Different endpoints:
  • Kimi: https://api.moonshot.cn/v1 (not .com)
  • Other APIs: May need mirrors
• VPN routing:
  • Traffic through VPN
  • DNS may differ
• API keys:
  • May need China-specific keys
  • Some services blocked

Sync Workflow

Daily (automated)

# On Lenovo, cron job every hour
*/30 * * * * ~/sync-from-macbook.sh

Manual (when needed)

# MacBook → Lenovo
./sync_openclaw_settings.sh lenovo@home-server
 
# MacBook → China (separate script)
./sync_to_china.sh

Recommended: Hybrid Approach

For MacBook + Lenovo:

• Use sync scripts (already built)
• MacBook = source of truth
• Lenovo = mirror

For China node:

• Separate config file
• Manual sync when needed
• Different endpoints

Quick Commands

# Check which config is active
grep 'baseUrl' ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json | head -3
 
# Backup current config
cp ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.$(date +%Y%m%d)
 
# Switch to China config
cp ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.china ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
openclaw gateway restart
 
# View all node statuses
openclaw status --all

Decision Matrix

Task	MacBook	Lenovo	China
Voice clone gen	✅ Primary	❌ No	❌ No
API key updates	✅ Source	🔄 Sync	🔄 Manual
Model testing	✅ Full	✅ Full	⚠️ Limited
24/7 runtime	❌ No	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
TTS (ElevenLabs)	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	⚠️ VPN needed

Next Steps

1. Choose strategy (recommend: MacBook source + China separate)
2. Set up China node config (different endpoints)
3. Test sync MacBook ↔ Lenovo
4. Document China-specific settings

Want me to:

• Create the China-specific config?
• Set up the git-based sync?
• Build the switch-config script?