Nodes

A Node is a machine or environment where tools run: the hands to the Foxwarm server’s brain. Every installation has the local master Node. Add another when a task needs files or programs on another machine, your browser, or a separate environment.

A Node only carries out file, shell and browser operations. The conversation, memory, models, Skills and MCP connections stay on the server, so a new Node needs no API keys or other setup beyond its client. See How Foxwarm works.

Selecting a Node changes where tools execute. It does not move the Session’s conversation history or the Agent’s memory to that Node.

Pair a client on another machine

From a Foxwarm Session, request bootstrap instructions:

/node pair-help

Run the appropriate bootstrap on the target machine. Use a master URL that the target can actually reach; its localhost is usually not the Foxwarm server. Keep the pairing token private.

Back in Foxwarm, inspect the pending request and approve the Node you intended to add:

/node list
/node approve <pending-id> worker-one

The approved Node receives its own credentials for subsequent connections. Save any credentials shown by the pairing flow securely.

Client choices

• The standard CLI client runs directly on Linux, macOS, or Windows. Linux x64 onboarding downloads the standalone native client; it needs no Node.js or .NET runtime. Other platforms keep the Node.js client.
• The interactive client adds a local approval interface for tool calls.
• The Docker bootstrap selects the native client for Linux x64 containers and the Node.js client for other supported container architectures. Credentials and Agent files persist through data mounts.
• The Browser Node extension provides supported browser operations.

When replacing a Docker Node created with an older template, copy its /app/agents contents into the host data directory’s agents subdirectory before removing the old container. The new template mounts that directory at the same in-container path.

Tools differ between clients. If a Node is marked upgrade required, update it from the current master’s bootstrap or source bundle before using it. Existing approved credentials can normally be retained.

See the repository’s Node client guide for bootstrap flags, service installation, and client troubleshooting.

Share your existing browser

Open Nodes → New nodes → Browser, download the extension ZIP and extract it. In Chrome or Chromium, open chrome://extensions, enable Developer mode and use Load unpacked to select the extracted folder. The setup page provides your Main address and private pairing token; enter them in the extension, Connect, then approve its request in Foxwarm.

Use the extension popup to share a tab or an entire window with Ask or Auto. New installations share nothing. A shared window includes current, new and moved-in HTTP(S) tabs; an explicit tab Off excludes it. Clear restores inheritance. Tab/window sharing lasts for the browser session; remembered site rules persist.

Page operations show Chrome’s debugging banner. Pressing Cancel or the extension’s Stop stops Browser Node until you deliberately Connect again. Debugger permission is broad and the extension enforces sharing; Chrome does not isolate this permission by window. Avoid editing the same tab at the same time as an Agent. The first distribution supports unpacked Chrome/Chromium, not Firefox or a browser store.

Browser tools have short Node-local names such as list_tabs, get_tab_content, fill and screenshot. They control your shared logged-in tabs. The separate browse_* tools use a process-owned browser. You can leave a development Node selected and explicitly target Browser Node through tool discovery and call_tool.

Select the execution Node

To select an approved or provider-created Node for the current Session:

/node worker-one

To return to local execution:

/node master

Tools that use the Session’s current Node will execute there. A tool with an explicit Node argument can target a different permitted Node. An Agent’s rules still decide which Nodes it may use; selecting a Node does not grant access to it. An Agent’s default Node only sets where its new Sessions start.

/node list shows the local Node, approved clients, and pending pairings. Provider-created Nodes use the model-facing node tool for discovery and lifecycle operations; they are not pending clients to approve.

Provider-created Nodes

A Node provider is configured in state/config.yaml under nodeProviders. Restart Foxwarm after changing provider configuration.

Executable providers use the provider protocol. Their capabilities depend on the adapter; do not assume every provider supplies browser tools, terminals, or lifecycle operations.

Access and trust

Node authentication identifies a client. Tool rules decide which Agents may use it; with Node trees, granting a Node also covers the Nodes created under it. Neither replaces the host’s file permissions or network controls.

Grant shell access only to environments suitable for the task.

External MCP clients have a narrower Node surface than internal Sessions. See MCP execution environments before configuring external access.