Tips & Tricks

Everything you need to get the most out of TARS and your OpenClaw. These tips are also available inside the app under Settings.

How TARS Works

TARS connects securely to your OpenClaw over your private Tailscale network. All messages and content flow through this encrypted connection — never through push notifications or third-party servers.

When the app is open

Real-time communication over Tailscale — chat, agent streaming, approvals, and live status updates.

When the app is backgrounded

The TARS Channel plugin queues messages on your OpenClaw server and sends a push notification to alert you. When you open the app, queued messages are fetched privately over Tailscale.

Essential: Configure Your Agents

Your agents need to know how to send messages to your phone. Add delivery instructions to your agent's TOOLS.md — the file agents read at the start of every session.

Add this to your TOOLS.md

## TARS iOS App — Message Delivery

To send messages to my phone, ALWAYS use the TARS channel:

openclaw message send --channel tars \
  --target tars --message "Your message"

For structured notifications with a title:

openclaw message send --channel tars \
  --target tars --message \
  '{"title":"Alert Title","body":"Details"}'

NEVER use nodes notify or nodes invoke for TARS —
those only work when the app is open. The TARS
channel works whether the app is open or backgrounded.

Proactive Alerts

Configure your agents to proactively alert you when something needs attention — errors, completed tasks, or anything noteworthy.

Add this rule to your TOOLS.md

When something noteworthy happens — an error, a
completed task, a question that needs my input, or
anything that warrants my attention — send me an
alert through the TARS channel. Use JSON format
with a clear title and description:

openclaw message send --channel tars \
  --target tars --message \
  '{"title":"Brief Title","body":"What happened
  and what action is needed"}'

Scheduled Briefings

Set up cron jobs that deliver scheduled briefings to your phone — morning summaries, evening wrapups, or periodic health checks. Briefings appear as cards in your Dashboard.

Morning briefing prompt

Create a cron job called "morning-briefing" that runs daily at 7:00 AM in my timezone. It should check the weather, review any overnight activity, and summarize what's on my calendar today. Send the results to the TARS channel as a briefing using JSON format with type set to "briefing" and a clear title like "Morning Briefing".

Evening wrapup prompt

Create a cron job called "evening-wrapup" that runs daily at 9:00 PM in my timezone. It should summarize what happened today — tasks completed, any errors encountered, and anything pending for tomorrow. Send the results to the TARS channel as a briefing.

Quick Prompts

Quick Prompts let you trigger common actions with a single tap from the Dashboard. Set up prompts for things you ask your agents regularly.

"What's new?" — Check for updates

"Status check" — System health report

"Turn off lights" — Smart home control

"What's on my calendar?" — Today's schedule

"Summarize my inbox" — Email digest

"Run backups" — Trigger maintenance

Configure Quick Prompts in the app under Settings > Quick Prompts. Each prompt is tied to a specific agent and sends with one tap.

Privacy & Security

TARS is designed with privacy as the top priority:

Push notifications

Generic alerts only — no message content, no titles, no agent data. Just a notification that something is waiting.

All content delivery

Everything flows over your private Tailscale connection, directly from your OpenClaw. Messages are queued on YOUR server and fetched when you open the app. No third party ever sees your content.

Test Your Setup

Try each of these to verify your setup and see what TARS can do. Run these commands on your OpenClaw device:

Test: System Alert

openclaw message send --channel tars \
  --target tars --message \
  '{"title":"System Alert Test",
    "body":"If you see this card in your
    TARS Dashboard, alerts are working.",
    "type":"systemAlert"}'

Test: Briefing Card

openclaw message send --channel tars \
  --target tars --message \
  '{"title":"Test Briefing",
    "body":"This is a test briefing card.",
    "type":"briefing"}'

Verification Checklist

Settings > Gateway shows Connected
Settings > Node shows Connected
OpenClaw Notifications shows Enabled
Agent TOOLS.md has TARS delivery section
Run each test command above
Push notification arrives on iPhone
Cards appear in Dashboard
Approval buttons are tappable

If a test doesn't arrive, check that Tailscale is connected and OpenClaw Notifications is enabled in Settings.

Going Further

Additional ways to take full advantage of TARS with your OpenClaw.

Understanding the TARS Channel

The TARS Channel plugin is the bridge between your OpenClaw agents and your iPhone. It runs entirely on your OpenClaw device — no external servers involved.

How messages flow

Agent sends message via TARS channel
  ↓
Plugin buffers message on your device
  (~/.openclaw/tars-pending.json)
  ↓
Content-free push notification wakes the app
  ↓
App fetches messages over Tailscale
  ↓
Cards appear in your Dashboard

Messages are buffered for up to 48 hours and automatically cleaned up after delivery. The buffer holds up to 50 messages, so nothing gets lost even if your phone is off for a while.

Multi-Agent Workflows

TARS supports multiple agents simultaneously. Each agent can send you alerts, briefings, and approval requests independently. Set up dedicated Quick Prompts for each agent to streamline your workflow.

Main agent — General tasks and questions

Research agent — Deep dives and analysis

Smart home agent — Lights, cameras, climate

Computer agent — Screen control and automation

Switch between agents in the Chat tab, or use Quick Prompts on the Dashboard to send targeted commands to specific agents.

Approval Requests

Agents can send approval cards with action buttons directly to your Dashboard. Approve or decline requests without opening a chat — perfect for automated workflows that need human sign-off.

Example: Approval card with actions

openclaw message send --channel tars \
  --target tars --message \
  '{"title":"Deploy to Production?",
    "body":"All tests passed. Ready to deploy v2.1",
    "type":"systemAlert",
    "actions":[
      {"id":"approve","title":"Deploy","style":"primary"},
      {"id":"decline","title":"Cancel","style":"destructive"}
    ]}'

When you tap a button, your response is sent back to the agent over your Tailscale connection.

Smart Home Integration

TARS can control your smart home devices through OpenClaw agents. Access HomeKit cameras directly from your Dashboard, and use voice or text commands to control lights, thermostats, and entertainment systems.

HomeKit cameras — Live feeds on your Dashboard

Hue lights — Scene control via Quick Prompts

Roku/TV — Media control from anywhere

Climate — Temperature and fan control

Set up Quick Prompts for your most common smart home commands: "Turn off all lights", "Set thermostat to 72", "Show front door camera".

Push-to-Talk & Voice

Hold the orb on the Dashboard to activate push-to-talk. Your voice is transcribed and sent to your agent instantly. Great for hands-free control while driving with CarPlay or wearing your Apple Watch.

Tips for voice

Speak naturally — the transcription handles conversational language. For precise commands like code or file paths, use the Chat tab instead. Voice works best for quick questions, status checks, and smart home commands.

Every Platform

TARS goes wherever you do. Access your OpenClaw from your iPhone, Apple Watch, CarPlay, home screen widgets, and the Share Extension.