OpenClaw Rust Core

A Rust implementation of OpenClaw by Neul Labs

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What is This?

This is a Rust implementation of OpenClaw, the open-source AI agent framework, developed by Neul Labs.

Why Rust?

Benefit	Impact
Performance	Sub-millisecond message routing, minimal memory footprint
Safety	Memory safety without GC, thread safety via ownership
Reliability	No null pointer exceptions, exhaustive pattern matching
Portability	Single binary deployment, cross-compilation to mobile/embedded
Interop	napi-rs bindings for Node.js compatibility

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Project Structure

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                              OpenClaw Rust Core                                  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐  ┌───────────────────────┐  │
│  │  macOS App  │  │  iOS App    │  │ Android App │  │   TS Plugins (IPC)    │  │
│  └──────┬──────┘  └──────┬──────┘  └──────┬──────┘  └───────────┬───────────┘  │
│         └────────────────┴────────────────┴──────────────────────┘              │
│                              HTTP/WS • JSON-RPC                                  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                       ┌──────────────────────────┐                              │
│                       │     openclaw-gateway     │                              │
│                       │   (axum HTTP/WS server)  │                              │
│                       │  ┌──────────────────┐    │                              │
│                       │  │   openclaw-ui    │    │                              │
│                       │  │ (Vue 3 Dashboard)│    │                              │
│                       │  └──────────────────┘    │                              │
│                       └────────────┬─────────────┘                              │
│            ┌───────────────────────┼───────────────────────┐                    │
│            │                       │                       │                    │
│   ┌────────┴────────┐   ┌─────────┴─────────┐   ┌────────┴────────┐            │
│   │  openclaw-core  │   │  openclaw-agents  │   │openclaw-channels│            │
│   │  (types, config │   │  (runtime, sandbox│   │ (Telegram, etc.)│            │
│   │   events, auth) │   │   workflow, tools)│   └─────────────────┘            │
│   └─────────────────┘   └───────────────────┘                                   │
│            │                       │                                            │
│   ┌────────┴────────┐   ┌─────────┴─────────┐                                  │
│   │ openclaw-secrets│   │openclaw-providers │                                  │
│   │  (AES-256-GCM)  │   │(Anthropic, OpenAI)│                                  │
│   └─────────────────┘   └───────────────────┘                                   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Crates

Crate	Status	Description
openclaw-core	✅ Complete	Types, config, events, secrets, auth, validation
openclaw-ipc	✅ Complete	IPC message types, nng transport
openclaw-providers	✅ Complete	Anthropic, OpenAI providers with streaming
openclaw-agents	✅ Complete	Runtime, sandbox, workflow, tools
openclaw-channels	⚠️ Partial	Channel traits, routing, allowlist
openclaw-gateway	✅ Complete	HTTP/WS server, JSON-RPC, embedded UI
openclaw-plugins	⚠️ Partial	Plugin API, FFI bridge (wasmtime)
openclaw-cli	✅ Complete	CLI commands (onboard, gateway, status, config)
openclaw-node	✅ Complete	napi-rs bindings for Node.js
openclaw-ui	✅ Complete	Vue 3 web dashboard (embedded in gateway)

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Quick Start

Installation

# From crates.io
cargo install openclaw-cli

# From source
git clone https://github.com/neul-labs/openclaw-rs
cd openclaw-rs
cargo install --path crates/openclaw-cli

Requirements

• Rust 1.85+ (2024 edition)
• Node.js 20+ (for building the embedded UI)
• System dependencies for sandboxing:
  • Linux: bubblewrap (bwrap)
  • macOS: Built-in sandbox-exec
  • Windows: No additional deps (uses Job Objects)

First Run

# Interactive setup wizard
openclaw onboard

# Start the gateway server
openclaw gateway run

# Open the web dashboard
openclaw dashboard

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Usage Examples

CLI

# Check system status
openclaw status

# Run health checks
openclaw doctor

# Configure providers
openclaw configure --section auth

# Manage agents
openclaw agents list

Node.js (via openclaw-node)

const { AnthropicProvider, NodeEventStore } = require('openclaw-node');

// Create provider
const provider = new AnthropicProvider(process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY);

// Create completion
const response = await provider.complete({
  model: 'claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022',
  messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'Hello!' }],
  maxTokens: 1024,
});

console.log(response.content);

Rust

use openclaw_providers::{AnthropicProvider, Provider};
use openclaw_core::secrets::ApiKey;

let provider = AnthropicProvider::new(ApiKey::new("sk-...".into()));
let response = provider.complete(request).await?;

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Design Principles

Principle	Implementation
Event Sourcing	Sessions stored as append-only event logs (sled)
CRDT Projections	Conflict-free state via last-write-wins merge
Defense in Depth	Input validation, sandboxing, secret redaction
Zero Trust	All external input validated at boundaries
Fail Secure	Errors default to denial, not exposure

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Documentation

• Full Documentation - Complete guides and API reference
• Architecture - System design and patterns
• Security - Threat model and security measures
• Crates - Detailed crate documentation
• Contributing - Development guide

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Contributing

We welcome contributions! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

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License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

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Acknowledgments

This project is a Rust implementation inspired by and compatible with the original OpenClaw project. We're grateful for:

• The excellent design and architecture of the original OpenClaw project
• The open-source community that makes projects like this possible
• The Rust ecosystem for its emphasis on safety and performance

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Legal Notice

• "OpenClaw" refers to the original open-source project at github.com/openclaw/openclaw
• "Claude" and "Anthropic" are trademarks of Anthropic, PBC
• "GPT" and "OpenAI" are trademarks of OpenAI, Inc
• All trademarks belong to their respective owners

This is an independent implementation by Neul Labs. Provider integrations use official public APIs.

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Links

• Original OpenClaw - The original TypeScript project
• Documentation - Full documentation
• GitHub - Source code
• Neul Labs - Organization