Session Management: Secure Token Handling
Configure secure session management for your OpenClaw agent with proper token handling, expiry policies, and session revocation capabilities.
What You Will Get
By the end of this guide, your OpenClaw agent will have secure session management that protects user sessions from hijacking, replay attacks, and unauthorized access. Every session will be properly authenticated, time-limited, and revocable.
Session management is a critical security domain because sessions represent authenticated access. A stolen or forged session token gives an attacker the same access as the legitimate user. Proper session handling minimizes the window of opportunity for such attacks.
You will configure session token generation, set expiry and renewal policies, enable secure cookie attributes, implement session revocation, and monitor active sessions. The result is a session management system that balances security with user convenience.
Step-by-Step Setup
Follow these steps to configure secure session management.
Review Session Configuration
Open the Security tab and navigate to Session Management. Review the current session settings including token type, expiry time, and renewal policy. The defaults are reasonable for most deployments, but you may need to adjust them based on your security requirements.
Configure Token Expiry
Set the session token expiry time. Shorter expiry times are more secure but require users to re-authenticate more frequently. A common setting is 8 hours for active sessions and 30 days for remembered sessions. Set the absolute maximum session lifetime to prevent indefinite session reuse.
Enable Token Renewal
Configure automatic token renewal so active sessions are extended without requiring the user to log in again. The system issues a new token when the current one is near expiry, as long as the user is active. Idle sessions expire at the configured timeout.
Set Secure Token Attributes
Enable the HttpOnly, Secure, and SameSite attributes for session cookies. HttpOnly prevents JavaScript from accessing the cookie, mitigating XSS attacks. Secure ensures the cookie is only sent over HTTPS. SameSite prevents the cookie from being sent in cross-site requests, reducing CSRF risk.
Implement Session Revocation
Enable the ability to revoke individual sessions or all sessions for a user. This is essential for incident response: if a session is compromised, you can invalidate it immediately. The session revocation panel shows all active sessions with their device, IP, and last activity time.
Configure Concurrent Session Limits
Set a maximum number of simultaneous sessions per user. This prevents a compromised account from being used in parallel with the legitimate user without detection. When the limit is reached, the oldest session is invalidated. A limit of 5 concurrent sessions works for most teams.
Monitor Active Sessions
Review the active sessions list regularly for suspicious entries. Look for sessions from unexpected IP addresses, unusual devices, or geographic locations that do not match your team's profiles. Flag and revoke any sessions that look suspicious.
Tips and Best Practices
Use Short Expiry with Auto-Renewal
Short-lived tokens that auto-renew during activity provide better security than long-lived tokens. If a token is stolen, it expires quickly. Active users do not notice because their tokens renew automatically.
Invalidate Sessions on Password Change
Configure the system to revoke all active sessions when a user changes their password. This ensures that if the password was compromised, any sessions created with the old password are immediately invalidated.
Log Session Events
Enable logging for session creation, renewal, expiry, and revocation events. This audit trail helps investigate suspicious activity and verify that session policies are working as intended.
Avoid Storing Sensitive Data in Sessions
Sessions should contain only the minimum data needed for authentication: user ID, role, and expiry time. Do not store sensitive information like API keys or personal data in the session token.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Pages
Ready to get started?
Deploy your own OpenClaw instance in under 60 seconds. No VPS, no Docker, no SSH. Just your personal AI assistant, ready to work.
Starting at $24.50/mo. Everything included. 3-day money-back guarantee.
