openclaw node run fails silently with "1008: pairing required" when connecting to a remote gateway

Summary

When connecting a node to a remote gateway (e.g., via Tailscale) using openclaw node run, the connection is immediately rejected with WebSocket code 1008: pairing required (or "device identity required") without ever creating a pending pairing request on the Gateway.

This happens because the CLI does not automatically generate or persist a Device Identity (ID + keys) by default when running in node mode, causing the Gateway's strict handshake validation to fail before the pairing logic is triggered.

Steps to reproduce

1. Setup a Gateway on Host A (Remote).
2. On Host B (Node), configure the remote URL: openclaw config set gateway.remote.url wss://...
3. Run openclaw node run (without flags).

Expected behavior

The CLI should generate a transient or persistent Device Identity automatically, allowing the Gateway to accept the handshake and queue a "Pending Pairing Request" for the administrator to approve.

Actual behavior

The process exits immediately:
node host gateway closed (1008): pairing required
No pending request appears on the Gateway.

Workaround:
The user must manually provide identity flags to bypass this:
openclaw node run --node-id my-node --display-name "My Node" ...

Environment

• OpenClaw version: 2026.1.29 (a5b4d22)
• Mode: Remote (Tailscale/WSS)