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118 lines
5.3 KiB
Markdown
118 lines
5.3 KiB
Markdown
## OpenClaw Vision
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OpenClaw is the AI that actually does things.
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It runs on your devices, in your channels, with your rules.
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This document explains the current state and direction of the project.
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We are still early, so iteration is fast.
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Project overview and developer docs: [`README.md`](README.md)
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Contribution guide: [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](CONTRIBUTING.md)
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OpenClaw started as a personal playground to learn AI and build something genuinely useful:
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an assistant that can run real tasks on a real computer.
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It evolved through several names and shells: Warelay -> Clawdbot -> Moltbot -> OpenClaw.
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The goal: a personal assistant that is easy to use, supports a wide range of platforms, and respects privacy and security.
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The current focus is:
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Priority:
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- Security and safe defaults
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- Bug fixes and stability
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- Setup reliability and first-run UX
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Next priorities:
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- Supporting all major model providers
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- Improving support for major messaging channels (and adding a few high-demand ones)
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- Performance and test infrastructure
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- Better computer-use and agent harness capabilities
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- Ergonomics across CLI and web frontend
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- Companion apps on macOS, iOS, Android, Windows, and Linux
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Contribution rules:
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- One PR = one issue/topic. Do not bundle multiple unrelated fixes/features.
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- PRs over ~5,000 changed lines are reviewed only in exceptional circumstances.
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- Do not open large batches of tiny PRs at once; each PR has review cost.
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- For very small related fixes, grouping into one focused PR is encouraged.
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## Security
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Security in OpenClaw is a deliberate tradeoff: strong defaults without killing capability.
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The goal is to stay powerful for real work while making risky paths explicit and operator-controlled.
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Canonical security policy and reporting:
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- [`SECURITY.md`](SECURITY.md)
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We prioritize secure defaults, but also expose clear knobs for trusted high-power workflows.
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## Plugins & Memory
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OpenClaw has an extensive plugin API.
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Core stays lean; optional capability should usually ship as plugins.
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We are generally slimming down core while expanding what plugins can do.
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If a useful feature cannot be built as a plugin yet, we welcome PRs and design discussions that extend the plugin API instead of adding one-off core behavior.
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There are two broad plugin styles:
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- Code plugins run OpenClaw plugin code and are appropriate for deeper runtime extension.
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- Bundle-style plugins package stable external surfaces such as skills, MCP servers, and related configuration.
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Prefer bundle-style plugins when they can express the capability.
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They have a smaller, more stable interface and better security boundaries.
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Use code plugins when the capability needs runtime hooks, providers, channels, tools, or other in-process extension points.
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Preferred plugin path is npm package distribution plus local extension loading for development.
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If you build a plugin, host and maintain it in your own repository.
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The bar for adding optional plugins to core is intentionally high.
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Plugin docs: [`docs/tools/plugin.md`](docs/tools/plugin.md)
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Plugin discovery, official publisher status, provenance, and security review live in [ClawHub](https://clawhub.ai/).
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OpenClaw docs should document core extension points; plugin promotion belongs in ClawHub, preferably under vetted org publishers for official plugins.
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Memory is a special plugin slot where only one memory plugin can be active at a time.
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Today we ship multiple memory options; over time we plan to converge on one recommended default path.
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### Skills
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We still ship some bundled skills for baseline UX.
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New skills should be published through [ClawHub](https://clawhub.ai/) first, not added to core by default.
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Official or bundled promotion should require a clear product, security, or maintainer-ownership reason.
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### MCP Support
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OpenClaw supports MCP as both a server and a runtime integration surface.
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MCP details live in [`docs/cli/mcp.md`](docs/cli/mcp.md).
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The project goal is pragmatic MCP support without duplicating existing agent,
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tool, ACPX, plugin, or ClawHub paths.
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### Setup
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OpenClaw is currently terminal-first by design.
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This keeps setup explicit: users see docs, auth, permissions, and security posture up front.
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Long term, we want easier onboarding flows as hardening matures.
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We do not want convenience wrappers that hide critical security decisions from users.
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### Why TypeScript?
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OpenClaw is primarily an orchestration system: prompts, tools, protocols, and integrations.
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TypeScript was chosen to keep OpenClaw hackable by default.
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It is widely known, fast to iterate in, and easy to read, modify, and extend.
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## What We Will Not Merge (For Now)
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- New core skills when they can live on [ClawHub](https://clawhub.ai/)
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- Full-doc translation sets for all docs (deferred; we plan AI-generated translations later)
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- Commercial service integrations that do not clearly fit the model-provider category
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- Wrapper channels around already supported channels without a clear capability or security gap
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- MCP work that duplicates existing MCP, ACPX, plugin, or ClawHub paths without a clear product or security gap
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- Agent-hierarchy frameworks (manager-of-managers / nested planner trees) as a default architecture
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- Heavy orchestration layers that duplicate existing agent and tool infrastructure
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This list is a roadmap guardrail, not a law of physics.
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Strong user demand and strong technical rationale can change it.
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