OpenClaw Dev Knowledgebase

Comprehensive OpenClaw knowledge base — features/architecture/development/deployment/operations + plugin API + agent configuration.

⛔ Iron Law: Never破坏 Memory

• Absolutely never delete, overwrite, or truncate any files in memory/ directory or MEMORY.md
• Only append operations allowed, no rewrite or truncate
• When migrating workspaces, must completely preserve memory/ and MEMORY.md

⛔ Iron Law: Run openclaw doctor First

• Any anomaly, run openclaw doctor first — it auto-detects and fixes common issues

⛔ Iron Law: Zero Hardcoding (Org Rule #1)

• Skill files forbidden to hardcode: paths (/Users/, /Volumes/), emails, IP:Port, API Key, model names
• Runtime value authoritative sources: ~/.openclaw/openclaw.env (env vars), ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json (config)
• Lab paths (/Volumes/EXT/openclaw-god/) forbidden in any production-side workspace files

Knowledge Index

Core Concepts

Topic	Reference
Node / Workspace / Agent / Model	references/core-concepts.md
Sessions / Memory / Automation / Security	references/sessions-memory-automation-security.md
Hooks / Webhooks / Heartbeat	references/hooks-webhooks-heartbeat.md
Tools / Browser / Plugins	references/tools-browser-plugins.md
Workspace / Channels / Discovery	references/workspace-channels-discovery.md

Development Guide

Topic	Reference
Plugin API (openclaw.plugin.json, api.register*)	references/plugin-api.md
Plugin Examples and Troubleshooting	references/plugin-examples.md
Agent Configuration (agents.list[], bindings, security)	references/agent-config.md
System Prompt Examples (SOUL.md, AGENTS.md, USER.md)	references/system-prompt-examples.md

Operations Reference

Topic	Reference
Install and Debug (macOS/Linux/Windows)	references/install-and-debug.md
Multi-node Networking (Tailscale, SSH, Remote Node)	references/multi-node-networking.md
Network Model	references/networking.md
Runbooks	references/runbooks.md

Runtime Analysis (Living Docs)

Topic	Reference
Log Analysis Methodology (5-step systematic analysis)	references/log-analysis-methodology.md
Fault Patterns Library (known pattern signatures, agent can append)	references/fault-patterns.md

Source Code Reference

Topic	Reference
Source Code Directory Structure	references/source-code-map.md
Extensions and Skills	references/extensions-and-skills.md

Operation Guides (Runbooks)

Operation	Reference
Create New Agent (interactive scaffold)	references/scaffold-agent-guide.md
Create New Plugin (interactive scaffold)	references/scaffold-plugin-guide.md
Plugin Operations Management (install/uninstall/upgrade/diagnosis)	references/plugin-management.md
Sync Knowledge Base (align with upstream docs)	references/sync-knowledge-runbook.md

Core Architecture

Gateway (control plane, single process)
├── Agents (multiple, each with independent workspace/sessions)
├── Channels (WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, iMessage...)
├── Plugins (TypeScript extensions: tools/channels/providers)
├── Nodes (paired devices: exec/screen/canvas/camera)
└── Sessions (DM isolation, one session per conversation)

Key Paths

Path	Description
~/.openclaw/openclaw.json	Main config
~/.openclaw/agents/<id>/sessions/	Session logs
~/.openclaw/workspace-<id>/	Agent workspace
~/.openclaw/extensions/	Global plugin directory

Common Commands

# Status
openclaw health
openclaw status --deep --all
openclaw doctor

# Agents
openclaw agents list --bindings
jq '.agents.list[] | {id, model, workspace}' ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

# Channels
openclaw channels status --probe

# Plugins
openclaw plugins list

# Gateway Management
openclaw gateway install
openclaw gateway start | stop | restart

Installation

Platform	Command
macOS / Linux	curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash
Windows (WSL2)	iwr -useb https://openclaw.ai/install.ps1 | iex
No root	curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install-cli.sh | bash

Plugin Development Quick Start

# 1. Create directory + manifest + package.json
mkdir my-plugin && cd my-plugin
cat > openclaw.plugin.json << 'EOF'
{"id": "my-plugin", "name": "My Plugin", "description": "What it does", "configSchema": {"type": "object", "additionalProperties": false, "properties": {}}}
EOF
cat > package.json << 'EOF'
{"name": "my-plugin", "version": "1.0.0", "type": "module", "openclaw": {"extensions": ["./index.ts"]}}
EOF

# 2. TypeScript entry (must be in root, not in src/)
cat > index.ts << 'EOF'
import { Type } from "@sinclair/typebox";
import { definePluginEntry } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/plugin-entry";

export default definePluginEntry({
  id: "my-plugin",
  name: "My Plugin",
  description: "What it does",
  register(api) {
    api.registerTool({
      name: "my_tool",
      description: "My tool",
      parameters: Type.Object({ input: Type.String() }),
      async execute(_toolCallId, params) {
        return { content: [{ type: "text", text: params.input }] };
      },
    });
  },
});
EOF

# 3. Link install (dev mode)
openclaw plugins install -l .

Agent Configuration Quick Start

// ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json → agents.list[]
{
  id: "my-agent",
  name: "My Agent",
  workspace: "~/.openclaw/workspace-my-agent",
  model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5",
  subagents: { allowAgents: ["worker-1"] },
}

Workspace bootstrap files: SOUL.md (identity) / AGENTS.md (delegation) / USER.md (user preferences)

Skill Resolution Order

Workspace skills  (highest priority)
  └── ~/.openclaw/workspace-<agent>/skills/
Managed skills    (medium)
  └── ~/.openclaw/skills/ (shared)
Bundled skills    (lowest)
  └── Built into OpenClaw