| name | stinking-cloud |
| description | In D&D, Stinking Cloud fills an area with nauseating gas — creatures inside are incapacitated but the terrain itself is undamaged. The real-world version is area denial: making a zone, endpoint, or resource unusable to unwanted traffic without permanently destroying or modifying it. Rate limiting, IP-range blocks, honeypots, tarpits, geographic restrictions. Stinking Cloud is defensive — it protects a perimeter by making the area inside it miserable for intruders while leaving the underlying infrastructure intact. |
| user-invocable | true |
Stinking Cloud
Make an area inhospitable without destroying it.
Overview
Stinking Cloud is interpreted here as a metaphorical spell with a shipping-now execution model.
Canonical source: Stinking Cloud (spell)
Provider target: OpenClaw
When To Use
- You need to deter access to a resource, endpoint, or zone without destroying it.
- Defensive measures should slow, frustrate, or redirect unwanted traffic rather than block it outright.
- You want to set up a honeypot, tarpit, or deterrent zone that wastes attackers' time and resources.
Workflow
- Define the area to deny: which endpoints, IP ranges, geographic zones, or resources.
- Choose the deterrent mechanism: rate limiting, tarpitting, CAPTCHA walls, honeypots, or access throttling.
- Deploy the deterrent and verify it affects only the intended zone.
- Monitor for legitimate traffic caught in the cloud and create bypass mechanisms if needed.
- Set review criteria for when the cloud should be lifted or the perimeter adjusted.
Deliverables
- A deployed area-denial mechanism with clear boundaries.
- Monitoring for false positives: legitimate users caught in the deterrent zone.
- A review schedule for adjusting or lifting the deterrent.
Guardrails
- Area denial must not trap legitimate users without recourse. Always provide a way for real users to verify themselves and pass through.
- Stinking Cloud is temporary and defensive. If you need permanent access control, use proper authentication and authorization.
- Honeypots and tarpits must be clearly separated from production systems to avoid contamination.
Default Invocation
Use $stinking-cloud to set up area-denial defenses — rate limits, tarpits, honeypots, or deterrent zones that make an area inhospitable to unwanted traffic without destroying the underlying infrastructure.
