doctor
Diagnose and repair config, Gateway, plugin, and channel problems
This record as markdown: /tools/openclaw/doctor.md
What doctor does on OpenClaw
AI agents invoke doctor to trigger actions in OpenClaw. What it does depends on the arguments the agent supplies, and its effects often reach beyond the immediate call: builds kicked off, notifications sent, workflows started.
Why doctor is rated High
While 'diagnose' is a read-like operation, 'repair' implies actively modifying or reconfiguring system components. This goes beyond a simple read and constitutes execution of corrective actions with potentially significant side effects. The broad scope (config, Gateway, plugin, channel) gives it a high blast radius if misused.
From the tool's definition 'Diagnose and repair config, Gateway, plugin, and channel problems' — the 'repair' action implies executing corrective operations on system components (config, Gateway, plugins, channels), not merely reading state.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs doctor safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and OpenClaw, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For doctor, this is the rule to start with:
doctor stays usable, but rate-capped: a runaway agent can't fire it dozens of times a minute. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect OpenClaw, apply this rule, and every doctor call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about doctor
Diagnose and repair config, Gateway, plugin, and channel problems. It is categorised as a Execute tool in the OpenClaw MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.
Register the OpenClaw MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for doctor: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches OpenClaw. Nothing to install.
doctor is a Execute tool with high risk. Execute tools should be rate-limited and have argument validation enabled.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the doctor rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for doctor. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
doctor is provided by the OpenClaw MCP server (openclaw). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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