openclaw/skills/clawflow/SKILL.md

name, description, metadata

name	description	metadata
clawflow	Use when work should span one or more detached tasks but still behave like one job with a single owner context. ClawFlow is the runtime substrate under authoring layers like Lobster, acpx, or plain code. Keep conditional logic in the caller; use ClawFlow for flow identity, waiting, outputs, and user-facing emergence.	openclaw emoji 🪝

ClawFlow

Use ClawFlow when a job needs to outlive one prompt or one detached run, but you still want one owner session, one thread context, and one place to inspect or resume the work.

When to use it

• Multi-step background work with one owner
• Work that waits on detached ACP or subagent tasks
• Jobs that may need to emit one clear update back to the owner
• Jobs that need a small persisted output bag between steps

What ClawFlow owns

• flow identity
• owner session and return context
• waiting state
• small persisted outputs
• finish, fail, cancel, and blocked state

It does not own branching or business logic. Put that in Lobster, acpx, or the calling code.

Runtime pattern

1. createFlow(...)
2. runTaskInFlow(...)
3. setFlowWaiting(...) or setFlowOutput(...)
4. resumeFlow(...)
5. emitFlowUpdate(...) only when needed
6. finishFlow(...) or failFlow(...)

Example shape

const flow = createFlow({
  ownerSessionKey,
  goal: "triage inbox",
});

const classify = runTaskInFlow({
  flowId: flow.flowId,
  runtime: "acp",
  task: "Classify inbox messages",
  currentStep: "wait_for_classification",
});

resumeFlow({
  flowId: flow.flowId,
  currentStep: "route_results",
});

setFlowOutput({
  flowId: flow.flowId,
  key: "classification",
  value: { route: "business" },
});

Keep conditionals above the runtime

Use the flow runtime for state and task linkage. Keep decisions in the authoring layer:

• business → post to Slack and wait
• personal → notify the owner now
• later → append to an end-of-day summary bucket

Examples

• See skills/clawflow/examples/inbox-triage.lobster
• See skills/clawflow/examples/pr-intake.lobster
• See skills/clawflow-inbox-triage/SKILL.md for a concrete routing pattern