Summary

Add a deploy-local.sh script and deploy:local npm script that rsyncs a successful build to ~/.openclaw/dist/ and updates the gateway LaunchAgent plist to run from there.

Problem

The launchd gateway plist points directly at ~/Developer/openclaw/dist/index.js. This couples the live gateway to the repo — any pnpm build immediately affects the running service, and a failed or in-progress build can crash the gateway mid-execution. The goal is to decouple them so the gateway runs a stable deployed build while development continues freely in the repo.

Acceptance criteria

• pnpm deploy:local builds, tests, and deploys to ~/.openclaw/dist/ atomically
• OPENCLAW_DEPLOY_SKIP_TESTS=1 pnpm deploy:local skips tests for fast iteration
• Gateway plist updated to point at ~/.openclaw/dist/index.js
• openclaw gateway status --deep passes after first deploy
• Subsequent pnpm build in repo does NOT restart or affect the running gateway
• Module resolution works (no ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND in gateway log)

Implementation plan

1. Create scripts/deploy-local.sh (build → symlinks → rsync → plist update → restart)
2. Add "name": "openclaw" to ~/.openclaw/package.json (done by script at runtime)
3. Create ~/.openclaw/node_modules symlink → repo node_modules/ (done by script)
4. Create ~/.openclaw/skills symlink → repo skills/ (done by script)
5. Add deploy:local and deploy:local:fast scripts to package.json

Files affected

• scripts/deploy-local.sh (new)
• package.json (modify — add deploy scripts)
• ~/.openclaw/package.json (runtime edit by script)
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist (runtime edit by script)

Additional notes

Key constraint: dist/ is not self-contained — bundled JS still resolves npm packages via ancestor node_modules/ lookup, and resolveOpenClawPackageRootSync() needs a package.json with "name": "openclaw" in an ancestor dir. Both are solved by the symlink + package.json patch steps in the deploy script.

AI-assisted plan (Claude Code, Opus 4.6).