OpenClaw

OpenClaw is an active Spawnfile runtime with a JSON config file and a rich markdown workspace layout. It supports multi-agent operation through native sessions, but Spawnfile v0.1 does not inject its own team router.

Status: Active

Config Shape

OpenClaw uses a JSON configuration file at ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json. The adapter emits a config file that maps Spawnfile execution intent to OpenClaw’s native structure.

Key config areas:

Agent model selection (agent.model)
Auth profile configuration
Session state and model persistence

The short-form runtime: openclaw in a Spawnfile normalizes internally to:

runtime:
  name: openclaw
  options: {}

The long form allows adapter-specific options:

runtime:
  name: openclaw
  options:
    profile: default

Workspace Layout

OpenClaw uses ~/.openclaw/workspace as its workspace root. The adapter places Spawnfile docs into this structure:

Spawnfile Role	OpenClaw File
`identity`	`IDENTITY.md`
`soul`	`SOUL.md`
`system`	`AGENTS.md`
`memory`	`MEMORY.md`
`heartbeat`	`HEARTBEAT.md`
`extras.*`	Placed by key name (e.g. `USER.md`)

Skills are placed under ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/<skill>/SKILL.md, matching the workspace skill model.

Model Mapping

The adapter maps execution.model.primary to the agent’s default model setting:

# Spawnfile
execution:
  model:
    primary:
      provider: anthropic
      name: claude-sonnet-4-5

Fallback models are mapped only if the runtime path supports them. Auth handling remains runtime-native and adapter-specific.

MCP Handling

OpenClaw supports MCP through native top-level mcp.servers config. The adapter compiles logical Spawnfile MCP declarations into that registry, using transport: "stdio" for command servers, transport: "sse" for SSE URLs, and transport: "streamable-http" for Spawnfile streamable_http servers.

Memory Handling

OpenClaw supports file-backed Spawnfile memory banks through compiler-generated Mneme MCP servers. A durable sqlite/json memory bank emits a persistent container mount for its store directory, installs the mneme CLI in the generated image, and adds a mneme-<memory-id> stdio server under mcp.servers with --mode awake; if an agent sees two banks with the same id, Spawnfile appends a compiler-owned discriminator to keep the names distinct. If the bank declares scheduled consolidation, Spawnfile also emits a matching -dream server with --mode dream and pre-seeds OpenClaw’s native cron store with an isolated memory-maintenance wake. Postgres and pure in-memory stores are reported in the compile report but do not receive generated Mneme MCP wiring in v0.1.

Workspace and Sandbox

The main session can run on the host
Non-main sessions can be sandboxed in Docker
Workspace root is explicit and configurable

The adapter maps workspace.docs, workspace.resources, and execution.sandbox.mode to OpenClaw’s workspace and session sandboxing configuration.

Teams

OpenClaw does not have a native team manifest. What it has:

Multi-agent sessions
Agent-to-agent session tools

The adapter lowers Spawnfile team members into runtime-native agents/sessions where possible and reports degradation when native semantics do not preserve Spawnfile representatives, context artifacts, or team networks.

Nested teams and full native team identity are reported as degraded.

Surfaces

OpenClaw has the strongest chat-surface support among the active runtimes. Discord, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Slack are supported with pairing, allowlist, and open access modes. Portable HTTP is not part of the v0.1 alpha surface contract.

Discord

Spawnfile lowers Discord access into OpenClaw’s rich config surface:

dmPolicy
groupPolicy
allowFrom
guilds
guilds.*.channels

Mode	Support
`pairing`	Supported
`allowlist`	Supported (users, guilds, channels)
`open`	Supported

Channel allowlists currently require exactly one guild in the Spawnfile lowering.

Spawnfile lowers Telegram access into the same rich OpenClaw channel surface:

dmPolicy
groupPolicy
allowFrom
groups

Mode	Support
`pairing`	Supported
`allowlist`	Supported (users, chats)
`open`	Supported

Spawnfile lowers WhatsApp access into OpenClaw’s channel surface:

dmPolicy
groupPolicy
allowFrom
groups

Mode	Support
`pairing`	Supported
`allowlist`	Supported (users, groups)
`open`	Supported

WhatsApp does not have a portable token secret. QR/session auth is runtime-defined.

Slack

Spawnfile lowers Slack access into OpenClaw’s channel surface using socket mode:

mode: socket
dmPolicy
groupPolicy
allowFrom
channels

Mode	Support
`pairing`	Supported
`allowlist`	Supported (users, channels)
`open`	Supported

Slack requires both bot_token_secret and app_token_secret.

What The Adapter Emits

For a single agent, the adapter emits:

An OpenClaw JSON config file
Workspace markdown files mapped from Spawnfile doc roles
Skill directories with SKILL.md files
MCP bridge configuration

For container compilation, the adapter provides container metadata including:

The standalone base image
A copy from the pinned OpenClaw runtime artifact image
System dependencies
Config and workspace paths inside the container
The start command
Port and environment configuration

OpenClaw uses noopolis/spawnfile-runtime-openclaw:2026.6.11 by default. Generated Dockerfiles copy /opt/spawnfile/runtime-installs/openclaw from that image. To test a local runtime artifact instead:

SPAWNFILE_OPENCLAW_RUNTIME_IMAGE=noopolis/spawnfile-runtime-openclaw:2026.6.11-local \
  spawnfile build ./agentic-org

Container Notes

Container output has been verified from the host, not only inside Docker.
The generated runtime must bind to a host-reachable gateway setting for Docker port publishing to work.
Compiled output places config and workspace files into final runtime paths at build time. The entrypoint only needs validation and startup.
Host-side smoke checks use the control UI root path and /healthz.

Example

From the single-agent fixture:

spawnfile_version: "0.1"
kind: agent
name: analyst

runtime: openclaw

execution:
  model:
    primary:
      provider: anthropic
      name: claude-sonnet-4-5
  sandbox:
    mode: workspace

workspace:
  docs:
    identity: IDENTITY.md
    soul: SOUL.md
    system: AGENTS.md
    memory: MEMORY.md
    heartbeat: HEARTBEAT.md
  skills:
    - ref: ./skills/web_search
      requires:
        mcp:
          - web_search

environment:
  mcp_servers:
    - name: web_search
      transport: streamable_http
      url: https://search.mcp.example.com/mcp
      auth:
        secret: SEARCH_API_KEY