architecture

name	architecture
description	References Serverless OpenClaw architecture. Covers network design, CDK stack structure, DynamoDB data model, API protocols, and container design.
allowed-tools	Read, Glob, Grep

Architecture Reference

Design Documents

• architecture.md — VPC/network, security groups, CDK stacks, DynamoDB schema, API protocols, security model
• implementation-plan.md — Detailed design based on MoltWorker reference
• cold-start-optimization.md — Cold start optimization (Phase 1 complete, Phase 2 in progress)

Core Architecture Principles

1. Cost minimization: No NAT Gateway, no ALB, no Interface Endpoints
2. Serverless-first: Lambda (events), Fargate Spot (long-running), DynamoDB (PAY_PER_REQUEST)
3. Single responsibility: 7 separate Lambdas, 9 separate CDK stacks
4. Layer separation: API Gateway → Lambda → Bridge → OpenClaw Gateway
5. Protocol translation: Lambda(HTTP) ↔ Bridge ↔ OpenClaw Gateway(JSON-RPC 2.0 WebSocket)

AGENT_RUNTIME Feature Flag

Controls which agent backend handles requests:

Value	Behavior
fargate	Route all agent requests to Fargate container (Phase 1 mode)
lambda	Route all agent requests to Lambda agent (Phase 2 mode)
both	Smart routing via classifyRoute(): reuse running Fargate, honor /heavy//fargate hints, default to Lambda, fallback to Fargate on Lambda failure

See architecture.md §12 for full Lambda architecture details and smart routing rules.

Lambda Data Flow (Phase 2)

Client → API Gateway (WS/REST) → Gateway Lambda → Lambda Agent Function
                                                  → runEmbeddedPiAgent()
                                                  → OpenClaw in-process

CDK Stacks (9 total)

SecretsStack + NetworkStack → StorageStack → {AuthStack, ComputeStack} → ApiStack → WebStack + MonitoringStack + LambdaAgentStack