macOS Logging

OpenClaw routes macOS app logs through swift-log (unified logging by default) and can write a local, rotating file log to disk when you need a durable capture.

- Verbosity: Debug pane → Logs → App logging → Verbosity

- Enable: Debug pane → Logs → App logging → "Write rolling diagnostics log (JSONL)"

- Location: ''~/Library/Logs/OpenClaw/diagnostics.jsonl'' (rotates automatically; old files are suffixed with ''.1'', ''.2'', …)

- Clear: Debug pane → Logs → App logging → "Clear"

Notes:

- This is off by default. Enable only while actively debugging.

- Treats file as sensitive; don't share it without review.

Unified logging redacts most payloads unless a subsystem opts into ''privacy -off''. Per Peter's write-up on macOS ''logging privacy shenanigans'' (2025) this is controlled by a plist in ''/Library/Preferences/Logging/Subsystems/'' keyed by subsystem name. Only new log entries pick up the flag, so enable it before reproducing an issue.

- Write the plist to a temp file first, then install it atomically as root:

cat '<<''EOF'' >'/tmp/bot.molt.plist
'<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>'
'<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">'
'<plist version="1.0">'
'<dict>'
    '<key>'DEFAULT-OPTIONS'</key>'
    '<dict>'
        '<key>'Enable-Private-Data'</key>'
        '<true/>'
    '</dict>'
'</dict>'
'</plist>'
EOF
sudo install -m 644 -o root -g wheel /tmp/bot.molt.plist /Library/Preferences/Logging/Subsystems/bot.molt.plist

- No reboot is required; logd notices the file quickly, but only new log lines will include private payloads.

- View richer output with the existing helper, e.g. ''./scripts/clawlog.sh --category WebChat --last 5m''.

- Remove the override: ''sudo rm /Library/Preferences/Logging/Subsystems/bot.molt.plist''.

- Optionally run ''sudo log config --reload'' to force logd to drop the override immediately.

- Remember this surface can include phone numbers and message bodies; keep the plist in place only while you actively need the extra detail.