OpenClaw

OpenClaw is an open-source AI agent platform with 100K+ GitHub stars. It connects to AgentXchain via the local_cli adapter, running the openclaw CLI as a subprocess for each governed turn.

Before you wire OpenClaw into a governed role, read the Authority Model. write_authority, local_cli, and the subprocess' own non-interactive mode are separate concerns.

Which adapter?

local_cli — AgentXchain spawns openclaw as a subprocess, pipes the governed prompt via stdin, and reads the turn result from the staged output.

:::note Remote Gateway (not yet proven) OpenClaw also exposes a remote Gateway at ws://127.0.0.1:18789. The remote_agent adapter could theoretically connect to this, but the Gateway's callable request contract is not yet documented as a stable REST schema. This guide covers only the proven local_cli path. If the Gateway REST contract is formalized in future OpenClaw releases, a remote_agent section will be added here. :::

Prerequisites

• OpenClaw installed and available on your PATH (openclaw --version)
• agentxchain CLI installed (npm install -g agentxchain)
• An API key for your preferred model provider set in your environment (OpenClaw delegates to the configured model)

Configuration

Add a runtime to your agentxchain.json:

{
  "runtimes": {
    "openclaw-dev": {
      "type": "local_cli",
      "command": ["openclaw", "run", "--non-interactive"],
      "cwd": ".",
      "prompt_transport": "stdin"
    }
  },
  "roles": {
    "dev": {
      "runtime": "openclaw-dev",
      "mandate": "Implement features and fix bugs",
      "write_authority": "authoritative"
    }
  }
}

Key fields

Field	Value	Why
command	["openclaw", "run", "--non-interactive"]	--non-interactive runs OpenClaw in headless mode so it can operate as a governed subprocess without user prompts.
prompt_transport	"stdin"	The governed dispatch bundle is piped to OpenClaw's stdin.
cwd	"."	Run in the project root so OpenClaw sees your repo.

Verify the connection

agentxchain connector check
agentxchain connector validate openclaw-dev

This probes that the openclaw binary exists on your PATH and is executable. If it fails, check your OpenClaw installation.

Minimal working example

agentxchain init --governed --template cli-tool --goal "Build a URL shortener CLI" --dir my-project -y
cd my-project
agentxchain doctor
agentxchain connector check
agentxchain connector validate openclaw-dev
agentxchain run

Or use the guided interactive path (prompts for template, name, goal, and folder):

agentxchain init --governed

Then update agentxchain.json with the OpenClaw runtime above, run agentxchain doctor, agentxchain connector check, and agentxchain connector validate openclaw-dev, then start agentxchain run.

The governed run will dispatch turns to OpenClaw via subprocess. Each turn receives the full dispatch bundle (prompt, context, assignment) via stdin.

Multi-role example

OpenClaw excels at agentic tasks. Use it alongside other agents in a multi-role governed workflow:

{
  "runtimes": {
    "openclaw-impl": {
      "type": "local_cli",
      "command": ["openclaw", "run", "--non-interactive"],
      "cwd": ".",
      "prompt_transport": "stdin"
    },
    "manual-review": {
      "type": "manual"
    }
  },
  "roles": {
    "dev": {
      "runtime": "openclaw-impl",
      "mandate": "Implement features, write tests, fix bugs",
      "write_authority": "authoritative"
    },
    "reviewer": {
      "runtime": "manual-review",
      "mandate": "Review code quality, challenge assumptions, verify correctness",
      "write_authority": "review_only"
    }
  }
}

This gives you OpenClaw as the implementer and a manual governed reviewer preserving the review_only contract. If you want automated review-only execution, move the reviewer to api_proxy, remote_agent, or a review-only MCP server.

AgentXchain as an OpenClaw plugin

AgentXchain also ships as an OpenClaw plugin that exposes governance actions as OpenClaw skills. See the plugins/openclaw-agentxchain package in the AgentXchain repo.

The plugin exposes three tools to OpenClaw:

Tool	Description
agentxchain_step	Execute a single governed turn step
agentxchain_accept_turn	Accept the current turn's result
agentxchain_approve_transition	Approve a phase gate transition

Gotchas

• --non-interactive is required for governed subprocess execution. Without it, OpenClaw may prompt for user input and the subprocess will hang.
• Do not pair review_only with local_cli. If you need review-only execution, keep the reviewer on manual, api_proxy, remote_agent, or a tool-constrained MCP runtime.
• Gateway mode is not yet supported. The OpenClaw remote Gateway at ws://127.0.0.1:18789 uses a WebSocket protocol. AgentXchain's remote_agent adapter expects HTTP. Do not configure remote_agent for OpenClaw until the Gateway publishes a stable REST contract.
• Model configuration is OpenClaw's responsibility. AgentXchain dispatches the prompt; OpenClaw routes it to whatever model is configured in its own settings. AgentXchain's budget.max_tokens_per_turn controls the prompt size, not OpenClaw's internal token management.
• Long-running turns: OpenClaw agent tasks can take several minutes. Set timeouts.turn_timeout_ms appropriately (default is 300000ms / 5 minutes).