openclaw-tools

name

openclaw-tools

description

OpenClaw tools reference. Use when explaining, configuring, or troubleshooting tools: exec, browser, cron, sessions, subagents, ACP, Lobster, slash commands, /prose, OpenProse, thinking, tool permissions, sandbox, loop detection, LLM task, search providers, media generation. Triggers on: tools, exec, browser, cron, sessions, subagent, canvas, slash commands, /prose, openprose, prose workflow, loop detection, elevated, exec approvals, ACP, thinking, permissions, webhook, clawflow, code execution, auth monitoring, tool profile, search providers, image generation, music generation, video generation, media tools, creating skills, btw, steer, gmail, pubsub, gmail pubsub, poll, polling.

Routing hints

You should route to this skill when the user asks about OpenClaw tools — exec, browser, cron, sessions, subagents, ACP, slash commands, /prose, OpenProse, thinking, tool permissions, sandbox, loop detection, LLM task, search providers, media generation, Lobster, Skill Workshop, or any tool-level question. References: exec.md, browser.md, cron.md, sessions.md, subagents.md, acp-agents.md, acp-agents-setup.md, slash-commands.md, loop-detection.md, thinking.md, elevated.md, permissions.md, lobster.md, skill-workshop.md, clawhub.md, brave-search.md, duckduckgo-search.md, exa-search.md, firecrawl.md, gemini-search.md, grok-search.md, kimi-search.md, minimax-search.md, ollama-search.md, parallel-search.md, perplexity-search.md, searxng-search.md, tavily.md, tts.md, image-generation.md, music-generation.md, video-generation.md, web-fetch.md, webhook.md, clawflow.md, creating-skills.md.

OpenClaw Tools

Tool profiles

Profile	What it allows
minimal	session_status only
coding	FS, runtime, web, sessions, cron, image/video generation
messaging	Messaging tools + session tools
full	No restrictions

Set via tools.profile on an agent, or tools.allow / tools.deny for fine-grained control.

Core tools

Tool	Purpose
exec	Run shell commands
read / write / edit	File operations
process	Manage background processes
gateway	Config inspect/apply/patch, restart
browser	Browser automation
cron	Schedule jobs, set reminders
canvas	Render/control canvas UI

Session tools

sessions_list, sessions_history, sessions_send, sessions_spawn, sessions_yield, session_status, subagents

Memory tools

Tool	Purpose
memory_search	Semantic search over memory
honcho_context	Full user representation
honcho_search_conclusions	Semantic search over conclusions
honcho_ask	Q&A about the user

Tool config

{
  "tools": {
    "profile": "full",
    "allow": ["*"],
    "deny": []
  }
}

Per-agent override:

{
  "agents": {
    "list": [{
      "id": "locked-down",
      "tools": {
        "profile": "minimal",
        "allow": ["read", "sessions_list", "sessions_history"],
        "deny": ["exec", "write", "browser"]
      }
    }]
  }
}

Thinking

Enable verbose reasoning: /thinking toggle in session. Configure default:

{ "agents": { "defaults": { "thinkingDefault": "high" } } }

Loop detection

Built-in safeguard against infinite tool call loops. Config:

{ "tools": { "loopDetection": { "maxIterations": 100 } } }

Workflow tools

Tool	Purpose	Skill
/prose slash command	Run or compile .prose multi-agent workflow files	openclaw-prose
Lobster	Deterministic, approval-gated pipeline runtime	(see Lobster)
Subagents	Spawn child sessions for fan-out	sessions_spawn

OpenProse (the open-prose plugin) requires sessions_spawn, read, write, and web_fetch in the agent's tools.allow. Programs that fan out via parallel: use the same sessions_spawn primitive as ad-hoc subagents.

References

• references/index.md — full tool list and reference
• references/exec.md — exec tool, timeouts, elevated
• references/browser.md — browser automation
• references/subagents.md — spawning subagents
• references/capability-cookbook.md — tool capability guide
• references/creating-skills.md — adding custom skills
• references/loop-detection.md — loop detection config
• references/thinking.md — thinking configuration

Related skills

• openclaw-prose — OpenProse .prose workflow language (plugin + /prose slash command + skill pack)