physicclaw-vea

name	physicclaw-vea
description	Control the PhysicClaw-VEA interactive 3D visualization application by sending commands to its Zustand store. Supports two control mechanisms: writing to the openclaw-control.json file, or sending HTTP POST requests to the /api/control endpoint. Use this skill to start the application and modify its internal state (mood, thinking, intensity, character, etc.).

PhysicClaw-VEA Control Skill

This skill allows Claude (or any external agent) to interact with a running instance of the PhysicClaw-VEA application.

The application must be running (npm run dev) for commands to take effect.

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Starting the Application

cd PhysicClaw-VEA
npm run dev

The dev server listens on http://localhost:5173 by default.

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Control Mechanisms

There are two ways to send commands. Both are equivalent.

Method 1 — HTTP POST to /api/control (recommended)

The Vite dev server exposes a POST /api/control endpoint. Send a JSON body with command, value, and a unique id.

curl -X POST http://localhost:5173/api/control \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"command": "setMood", "value": "excited", "id": "1"}'

import requests, time

def send_command(command: str, value):
    requests.post(
        "http://localhost:5173/api/control",
        json={"command": command, "value": value, "id": str(int(time.time()))},
    )

send_command("setMood", "excited")
send_command("setIsThinking", True)
send_command("setIntensity", 0.8)
send_command("setLastMessage", "Hello from Claude!")
send_command("setActiveCharacterId", "base-sphere")

Method 2 — Write to openclaw-control.json

Write a JSON object to the openclaw-control.json file in the project root. The Vite plugin watches for changes and broadcasts the command via HMR.

import json, time

def send_command(command: str, value):
    with open("PhysicClaw-VEA/openclaw-control.json", "w") as f:
        json.dump({"command": command, "value": value, "id": str(int(time.time()))}, f)

send_command("setMood", "excited")

Important: Always include a unique id (e.g., a Unix timestamp) with each command. The plugin and the OpenClawControl component both use this id to avoid re-processing stale commands.

Method 3 — Production: POST /functions/v1/control (deployed app)

Works against the deployed app — no dev server needed. Create an agent token in the app (AGENT TOKENS panel, bottom-left) and send commands to the Supabase Edge Function:

curl -X POST "https://<project-ref>.supabase.co/functions/v1/control" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Agent-Token: pcvea_..." \
  -d '{"command": "setMood", "value": "excited", "id": "1"}'

import requests, time

CONTROL_URL = "https://<project-ref>.supabase.co/functions/v1/control"
TOKEN = "pcvea_..."  # from the AGENT TOKENS panel — shown once at creation

def cmd(command, value):
    requests.post(
        CONTROL_URL,
        headers={"X-Agent-Token": TOKEN},
        json={"command": command, "value": value, "id": str(time.time())},
    ).raise_for_status()

cmd("setIsThinking", True)
cmd("setMood", "thinking")

Commands and values are identical to Methods 1–2. Each token controls only its owner's entity; delivery is a private Realtime channel (control:{user}). Rate limit: CONTROL_RATE_LIMIT_PER_MINUTE (default 60/min per token).

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Available Commands

Command	Value type	Description
setMood	string	Set the entity mood. Values: 'calm', 'excited', 'thinking', 'listening'
setIsThinking	boolean	Toggle thinking animation and intensity boost (+0.8)
setIntensity	number	Set shader energy intensity (range: 0 to ~2, default: 0.5)
setLastMessage	string	Set the last message displayed in the chat UI
setActiveCharacterId	string	Switch the active 3D character. Values: 'happy-idle', 'base-sphere'

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Available Characters

ID	Name	Description
happy-idle	Happy Bot	Animated FBX character (/HappyIdle.fbx), Mixamo rig
base-sphere	Energy Core	Procedural sphere with EnergyShader (no external model needed)

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Example Workflows

Make the entity excited while "thinking"

import requests, time

BASE = "http://localhost:5173/api/control"

def cmd(command, value):
    requests.post(BASE, json={"command": command, "value": value, "id": str(time.time())})

cmd("setIsThinking", True)
cmd("setMood", "excited")
cmd("setIntensity", 1.5)
# ... do work ...
cmd("setIsThinking", False)
cmd("setMood", "calm")
cmd("setIntensity", 0.5)

Switch to Energy Core and send a message

cmd("setActiveCharacterId", "base-sphere")
cmd("setLastMessage", "Switching to Energy Core mode")
cmd("setMood", "listening")

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How It Works Internally

1. Vite Plugin (vite.config.ts — openClawControlPlugin):

   • Watches openclaw-control.json for file changes.
   • Exposes POST /api/control on the dev server.
   • Broadcasts valid commands as a custom HMR event openclaw-command via the Vite WebSocket.

2. useOpenClawControl hook (src/hooks/useOpenClawControl.ts):

   • Subscribes to the openclaw-command HMR event via import.meta.hot.
   • Applies received commands directly to the Zustand soulStore.

3. OpenClawControl component (src/OpenClawControl.tsx):

   • Alternative polling mechanism: fetches /openclaw-control.json every second and applies any new command (identified by id).