diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 709d7f6df..ca352b8b9 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - Discord: restore model picker back navigation when a provider is missing and document the Discord picker flow. (#21458) Thanks @pejmanjohn and @thewilloftheshadow.
 - Gateway/Pairing: tolerate legacy paired devices missing `roles`/`scopes` metadata in websocket upgrade checks and backfill metadata on reconnect. (#21447, fixes #21236) Thanks @joshavant.
 - Gateway/Pairing/CLI: align read-scope compatibility in pairing/device-token checks and add local `openclaw devices` fallback recovery for loopback `pairing required` deadlocks, with explicit fallback notice to unblock approval bootstrap flows. (#21616) Thanks @shakkernerd.
+- CLI/Pairing: default `pairing list` and `pairing approve` to the sole available pairing channel when omitted, so TUI-only setups can recover from `pairing required` without guessing channel arguments. (#21527) Thanks @losts1.
 - Auth/Onboarding: align OAuth profile-id config mapping with stored credential IDs for OpenAI Codex and Chutes flows, preventing `provider:default` mismatches when OAuth returns email-scoped credentials. (#12692) thanks @mudrii.
 - Docker: pin base images to SHA256 digests in Docker builds to prevent mutable tag drift. (#7734) Thanks @coygeek.
 - Docker/Security: run E2E and install-sh test images as non-root by adding appuser directives. Thanks @thewilloftheshadow.
diff --git a/src/cli/pairing-cli.test.ts b/src/cli/pairing-cli.test.ts
index 424ca84d8..81dd81368 100644
--- a/src/cli/pairing-cli.test.ts
+++ b/src/cli/pairing-cli.test.ts
@@ -163,6 +163,15 @@ describe("pairing cli", () => {
     expect(listChannelPairingRequests).toHaveBeenCalledWith("zalo");
   });
 
+  it("defaults list to the sole available channel", async () => {
+    listPairingChannels.mockReturnValueOnce(["slack"]);
+    listChannelPairingRequests.mockResolvedValueOnce([]);
+
+    await runPairing(["pairing", "list"]);
+
+    expect(listChannelPairingRequests).toHaveBeenCalledWith("slack");
+  });
+
   it("accepts channel as positional for approve (npm-run compatible)", async () => {
     mockApprovedPairing();
 
@@ -199,4 +208,20 @@ describe("pairing cli", () => {
       accountId: "yy",
     });
   });
+
+  it("defaults approve to the sole available channel when only code is provided", async () => {
+    listPairingChannels.mockReturnValueOnce(["slack"]);
+    mockApprovedPairing();
+
+    await runPairing(["pairing", "approve", "ABCDEFGH"]);
+
+    expect(approveChannelPairingCode).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      channel: "slack",
+      code: "ABCDEFGH",
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("keeps approve usage error when multiple channels exist and channel is omitted", async () => {
+    await expect(runPairing(["pairing", "approve", "ABCDEFGH"])).rejects.toThrow("Usage:");
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/cli/pairing-cli.ts b/src/cli/pairing-cli.ts
index f028b08fc..6974663bd 100644
--- a/src/cli/pairing-cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli/pairing-cli.ts
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ export function registerPairingCli(program: Command) {
     .argument("[channel]", `Channel (${channels.join(", ")})`)
     .option("--json", "Print JSON", false)
     .action(async (channelArg, opts) => {
-      const channelRaw = opts.channel ?? channelArg;
+      const channelRaw = opts.channel ?? channelArg ?? (channels.length === 1 ? channels[0] : "");
       if (!channelRaw) {
         throw new Error(
           `Channel required. Use --channel <channel> or pass it as the first argument (expected one of: ${channels.join(", ")})`,
@@ -120,9 +120,20 @@ export function registerPairingCli(program: Command) {
     .argument("[code]", "Pairing code (when channel is passed as the 1st arg)")
     .option("--notify", "Notify the requester on the same channel", false)
     .action(async (codeOrChannel, code, opts) => {
-      const channelRaw = opts.channel ?? codeOrChannel;
-      const resolvedCode = opts.channel ? codeOrChannel : code;
-      if (!opts.channel && !code) {
+      const defaultChannel = channels.length === 1 ? channels[0] : "";
+      const usingExplicitChannel = Boolean(opts.channel);
+      const hasPositionalCode = code != null;
+      const channelRaw = usingExplicitChannel
+        ? opts.channel
+        : hasPositionalCode
+          ? codeOrChannel
+          : defaultChannel;
+      const resolvedCode = usingExplicitChannel
+        ? codeOrChannel
+        : hasPositionalCode
+          ? code
+          : codeOrChannel;
+      if (!channelRaw || !resolvedCode) {
         throw new Error(
           `Usage: ${formatCliCommand("openclaw pairing approve <channel> <code>")} (or: ${formatCliCommand("openclaw pairing approve --channel <channel> <code>")})`,
         );