governance-policies

name	governance-policies
description	Set up governance policies for OpenClaw — block dangerous commands, detect PII, prevent data exfiltration, protect agent config files. Use when hardening an OpenClaw deployment with AxonFlow.
homepage	https://github.com/getaxonflow/axonflow-openclaw-plugin/tree/main/policies
tags	security, governance, pii, compliance, openclaw, audit

AxonFlow Governance Policies for OpenClaw

Use when setting up or hardening an OpenClaw deployment with AxonFlow governance. This skill covers self-hosting AxonFlow, plugin installation, policy configuration, and risk mitigation.

AxonFlow is self-hosted. It runs on your infrastructure via Docker Compose. All policy evaluation, PII detection, and audit logging happens on your own AxonFlow instance. Credentials are only needed for enterprise mode — community mode requires no auth. An anonymous startup ping (version and basic deployment info) is sent by default for local, self-hosted, and remote deployments. Opt out globally with DO_NOT_TRACK=1 or AXONFLOW_TELEMETRY=off.

Self-Host AxonFlow

AxonFlow runs locally via Docker Compose. No LLM provider keys required — OpenClaw handles all LLM calls, AxonFlow only enforces policies and records audit trails.

Prerequisites: Docker Engine or Desktop, Docker Compose v2, 4 GB RAM, 10 GB disk.

Quick start: Clone the AxonFlow community repo, copy .env.example to .env, and run docker compose up -d. The Agent starts on port 8080 — all SDK and plugin traffic goes through this port.

Full setup instructions: Self-Hosted Deployment Guide

Install the Plugin

openclaw plugins install @axonflow/openclaw

Note on the package name: the npm package is @axonflow/openclaw, not @axonflow/openclaw-plugin. The repo name differs from the package name.

Known upstream issue with scoped packages: if the install fails with ENOENT ...openclaw-clawhub-package-XXXXXX/@axonflow/openclaw.zip, this is an OpenClaw CLI bug (openclaw/openclaw#66618) affecting all scoped npm packages. Workaround — install from npm directly:

TGZ=$(npm pack @axonflow/openclaw 2>/dev/null | tail -1)
openclaw plugins install "./$TGZ"

Configure in your OpenClaw config with your AxonFlow endpoint, credentials, high-risk tool list, and optional requestTimeoutMs override. Set onError: block for production (fail-closed) or allow for development (fail-open). Increase requestTimeoutMs above the default 8000ms when AxonFlow is running remotely or behind a slow VPN.

In community mode, clientId and clientSecret default to "community" — no credentials needed for the local developer flow. In enterprise mode, provide OAuth2 Client Credentials (Basic auth). The tenantId config field has been removed — tenant is derived server-side from credentials.

Full configuration reference: OpenClaw Integration Guide

What's Protected Automatically

AxonFlow's 80+ built-in system policies apply with no additional setup:

• Dangerous command blocking — 10 policies covering destructive operations, remote code execution, credential access, cloud metadata, path traversal
• SQL injection — 30+ detection patterns covering advanced injection techniques
• PII detection and redaction — SSN, credit card, email, phone, Aadhaar, PAN, NRIC/FIN (Singapore)
• Code security — API keys, connection strings, hardcoded secrets, unsafe code patterns
• Prompt manipulation — instruction override and context manipulation attempts

Examples of blocked patterns (all evaluated server-side by AxonFlow):

rm -rf /          → blocked by sys_dangerous_destructive_fs
curl ... | sh     → blocked by sys_dangerous_shell_download
nc -e /bin/bash   → blocked by sys_dangerous_reverse_shell
169.254.169.254   → blocked by sys_dangerous_cloud_metadata
cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa → blocked by sys_dangerous_credential_access
../../etc/passwd  → blocked by sys_dangerous_path_traversal

OpenClaw-Specific Hardening

For additional protection against OpenClaw-specific attack vectors, the plugin repository includes ready-to-use policy templates:

Command execution  → reverse shells, destructive filesystem ops, credential file access
SSRF prevention    → cloud metadata endpoints, internal network addresses
Agent config       → SOUL.md, MEMORY.md, identity file write protection
Path traversal     → workspace escape patterns

Full policy templates with SQL examples: Starter Policies

Top 10 Risks

Rank	Risk	Hook
1	Arbitrary command execution	before_tool_call
2	Data exfiltration via HTTP	before_tool_call
3	PII leakage in messages	message_sending
4	Indirect prompt injection	before_tool_call
5	Outbound secret exfiltration	message_sending
6	Malicious skill supply chain	after_tool_call (audit)
7	Memory/context poisoning	before_tool_call
8	Credential exposure	message_sending
9	Cross-tenant leakage	Tenant-scoped policies
10	Workspace boundary bypass	before_tool_call

Guardrails

• All policies are evaluated server-side by AxonFlow, not locally.
• High-risk tools require human approval only after AxonFlow allows the tool call. If AxonFlow blocks the tool, it stays blocked.
• The plugin verifies AxonFlow connectivity on startup.

Learn More

Get Started

• Getting Started — quickstart for new users
• OpenClaw Integration Guide — full plugin setup walkthrough
• Self-Hosted Deployment — Docker Compose, prerequisites, production options

Policies & Security

• Security Best Practices — hardening guide for production deployments
• Policy Enforcement — how policies are evaluated at runtime
• Policy Syntax — writing custom regex and rule-based policies
• System Policies — 80+ built-in policies (PII, SQLi, secrets, dangerous commands, prompt injection)
• PII Detection — SSN, credit card, Aadhaar, PAN, email, phone detection and redaction
• Response Redaction — how outbound content is scanned and redacted

Governance & Compliance

• Audit Logging — compliance-grade audit trails for every tool call and LLM interaction
• Human-in-the-Loop — approval gates for high-risk operations
• HITL Approval Gates — configuring approval workflows
• Cost Management — token budgets, rate limits, cost controls
• Compliance Frameworks — EU AI Act, MAS FEAT, RBI, SEBI templates

Platform & Examples

• Feature Overview — full platform capabilities
• Community vs Enterprise — what's available in each tier
• Workflow Examples — multi-step governance workflows and advanced patterns
• Banking Example — financial services governance patterns
• Healthcare Example — HIPAA-aware agent governance
• E-commerce Example — customer-facing agent policies

Source Code

• Plugin Source — MIT licensed
• AxonFlow Community — source-available under BSL 1.1

Licensing

• AxonFlow platform (getaxonflow/axonflow): BSL 1.1 (Business Source License). Source-available, not open source.
• @axonflow/openclaw plugin (getaxonflow/axonflow-openclaw-plugin): MIT. Free to use, modify, and redistribute.
• This skill: MIT-0 per ClawHub terms.