Mission Control 🎮

AI Agent Orchestration Dashboard

Mission Control is a task management system that lets you create tasks, plan them through an AI-guided Q&A process, and automatically dispatch them to AI agents for execution. Think of it as a project manager for AI workers.

🎉 v1.0.0 Released! First official working build. See CHANGELOG.md for details.

---

🎯 What Does It Do?

1. Create Tasks - Add tasks with a title and description
2. AI Planning - An AI asks you clarifying questions to understand exactly what you need
3. Agent Creation - Based on your answers, the AI creates a specialized agent for the job
4. Auto-Dispatch - The task is automatically sent to the agent
5. Execution - The agent works on your task (browses web, writes code, creates files, etc.)
6. Delivery - Completed work is delivered back to Mission Control

---

🏗️ Architecture Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        YOUR COMPUTER                            │
│                                                                 │
│  ┌─────────────────┐         ┌─────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │ Mission Control │ ◄─────► │     OpenClaw Gateway        │   │
│  │   (Next.js)     │   WS    │  (AI Agent Runtime)         │   │
│  │   Port 3000     │         │  Port 18789                 │   │
│  └─────────────────┘         └─────────────────────────────┘   │
│         │                              │                        │
│         ▼                              ▼                        │
│  ┌─────────────┐              ┌─────────────────┐              │
│  │   SQLite    │              │   AI Provider   │              │
│  │  Database   │              │ (Anthropic/etc) │              │
│  └─────────────┘              └─────────────────┘              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Mission Control = The dashboard you interact with (this project)
OpenClaw Gateway = The AI runtime that actually executes tasks (separate project)

---

📋 Prerequisites

Before you start, you need:

1. Node.js (v18 or higher)

Check if you have it:

node --version

If not, download from: https://nodejs.org/

2. OpenClaw Gateway

Mission Control needs OpenClaw to run AI agents. You have two options:

Option A: Install OpenClaw (Recommended)

npm install -g openclaw

Option B: Use an existing OpenClaw instance If someone else is running OpenClaw on your network, you just need the URL and token.

3. An AI API Key

OpenClaw needs access to an AI provider. Supported providers:

• Anthropic (Claude) - Recommended
• OpenAI (GPT-4)
• Google (Gemini)
• Others via OpenRouter

---

🚀 Installation

Step 1: Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/crshdn/mission-control.git
cd mission-control

Step 2: Install Dependencies

npm install

Step 3: Create Environment File

Create a file called .env.local in the project root:

touch .env.local

Open it in a text editor and add:

# OpenClaw Gateway Connection
OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_URL=ws://127.0.0.1:18789
OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN=your-openclaw-token-here

# Optional: Custom port for Mission Control
PORT=3000

How to get these values:

Variable	Where to find it
OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_URL	The WebSocket URL where OpenClaw is running. Default is ws://127.0.0.1:18789 for local. For remote, use wss://your-server.example.com
OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN	Found in your OpenClaw config file at ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json under gateway.token

Step 4: Start OpenClaw (if not already running)

In a separate terminal:

# First time setup - this will guide you through configuration
openclaw init

# Start the gateway
openclaw gateway start

OpenClaw will ask you to configure your AI provider (like Anthropic). Follow the prompts.

Step 5: Start Mission Control

Back in the Mission Control directory:

npm run dev

You should see:

▲ Next.js 15.x.x
- Local: http://localhost:3000

Step 6: Open in Browser

Go to: http://localhost:3000

🎉 You should see the Mission Control dashboard!

---

📖 How to Use

Creating Your First Task

1. Click the "+ New Task" button
2. Enter a title (e.g., "Research best coffee machines under $200")
3. Add a description with any details
4. Click Create

The Planning Process

1. Your task appears in the PLANNING column
2. Click on it to start planning
3. An AI will ask you questions to understand exactly what you need:
   • What's the goal?
   • Who's the audience?
   • Any constraints?
4. Answer each question by selecting an option or typing your own
5. When planning is complete, an agent is automatically created and assigned

Watching Your Agent Work

1. The task moves to IN PROGRESS
2. The agent starts working (you might see browser windows open, files being created, etc.)
3. When done, the task moves to REVIEW
4. Check the deliverables and mark as DONE

Task Workflow

PLANNING → INBOX → ASSIGNED → IN PROGRESS → TESTING → REVIEW → DONE

You can drag tasks between columns manually, or let the system auto-advance them.

---

⚙️ Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Default	Description
OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_URL	Yes	ws://127.0.0.1:18789	WebSocket URL to OpenClaw Gateway
OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN	Yes	-	Authentication token for OpenClaw
PORT	No	3000	Port for Mission Control web server

OpenClaw Configuration

Your OpenClaw config lives at ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json. Key settings:

{
  "gateway": {
    "mode": "local",
    "token": "your-secret-token"
  },
  "providers": {
    "anthropic": {
      "apiKey": "${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}"
    }
  },
  "defaultModel": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5"
}

Important: Store API keys in ~/.openclaw/.env, not directly in the config:

# ~/.openclaw/.env
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-xxxxx

---

🌐 Multi-Machine Setup

You can run Mission Control and OpenClaw on different computers.

Example: Mission Control on Computer A, OpenClaw on Computer B

On Computer B (OpenClaw):

1. Configure OpenClaw to accept remote connections:

{
  "gateway": {
    "mode": "local",
    "token": "your-secret-token"
  }
}

2. Make sure port 18789 is accessible (firewall, etc.)

3. Start OpenClaw:

openclaw gateway start

On Computer A (Mission Control):

1. Set the remote URL in .env.local:

OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_URL=ws://192.168.1.100:18789
OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN=your-secret-token

Replace 192.168.1.100 with Computer B's IP address.

Using Tailscale (Recommended for Remote)

If your machines are on different networks, use Tailscale for secure connections:

OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_URL=wss://your-machine-name.tailnet-name.ts.net
OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN=your-secret-token

---

🗄️ Database

Mission Control uses SQLite for storage. The database file is automatically created at:

./mission-control.db

Resetting the Database

To start fresh, simply delete the database file:

rm mission-control.db

It will be recreated on next startup.

Viewing the Database

You can use any SQLite viewer, or the command line:

sqlite3 mission-control.db
.tables
SELECT * FROM tasks;

---

🔧 Troubleshooting

"Failed to connect to OpenClaw Gateway"

Cause: Mission Control can't reach OpenClaw.

Solutions:

1. Make sure OpenClaw is running: openclaw gateway status
2. Check the URL in .env.local is correct
3. Verify the token matches OpenClaw's config
4. Check firewall isn't blocking port 18789

"Planning questions not loading"

Cause: The AI response is slow or failed.

Solutions:

1. Check OpenClaw logs: openclaw gateway logs
2. Verify your AI API key is valid
3. Try refreshing and clicking the task again

"Agent not working on task"

Cause: Dispatch may have failed.

Solutions:

1. Check the Events panel in Mission Control
2. Look for errors in the browser console (F12)
3. Check OpenClaw logs for errors

Port Already in Use

# Find what's using port 3000
lsof -i :3000

# Kill it (replace PID with the actual number)
kill -9 PID

# Or use a different port
PORT=3001 npm run dev

---

📁 Project Structure

mission-control/
├── src/
│   ├── app/                 # Next.js pages and API routes
│   │   ├── api/            # Backend API endpoints
│   │   │   ├── tasks/      # Task CRUD operations
│   │   │   ├── agents/     # Agent management
│   │   │   └── openclaw/   # OpenClaw proxy endpoints
│   │   └── page.tsx        # Main dashboard page
│   ├── components/         # React components
│   │   ├── MissionQueue.tsx    # Kanban board
│   │   ├── TaskModal.tsx       # Task create/edit modal
│   │   └── ...
│   └── lib/                # Utilities and core logic
│       ├── db/             # Database setup and queries
│       ├── openclaw/       # OpenClaw client
│       └── store.ts        # State management
├── .env.local              # Your environment config (create this)
├── package.json
└── README.md

---

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
3. Commit your changes: git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'
4. Push to the branch: git push origin feature/amazing-feature
5. Open a Pull Request

---

📜 License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

---

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Built with Next.js
• Powered by OpenClaw
• AI by Anthropic, OpenAI, and others

---

💬 Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions

---

Happy orchestrating! 🚀