AlphaClaw

Because AlphaClaw runs in ephemeral containers, any data stored in /tmp or other temporary locations will be lost during redeploys.

To ensure data durability:

• All persistent data must be stored under /data/.openclaw.
• When staging local plugins or helper files, place them under /data/.openclaw/... instead of /tmp/....
• Use standard openclaw plugins install <spec> flows for durable installations.
• Ensure plugins.load.paths entries do not point to temporary directories.

The AlphaClaw Watchdog is a self-healing mechanism that monitors the health of the OpenClaw gateway. It provides the following capabilities:

• Health checks: Performs periodic openclaw health checks at a configurable interval.
• Crash detection: Listens for gateway exit events.
• Crash-loop detection: Detects if the gateway is repeatedly crashing (default threshold: 3 crashes in 300s).
• Auto-repair: Automatically runs openclaw doctor --fix --yes and relaunches the gateway when a crash is detected.
• Notifications: Sends alerts for crashes, repairs, and recovery via Telegram, Discord, or Slack.
• Event log: Maintains a SQLite-backed incident history accessible via the UI and API.

AlphaClaw acts as a management layer wrapping the OpenClaw Gateway.

Components:

• Setup UI: A Preact + htm + Wouter frontend for user interaction.
• Express Server: The central API handling JSON requests, Authentication, and Proxying.
• Watchdog: Monitors gateway health and handles crash recovery.
• Webhooks: Manages incoming requests, transformations, and logging.
• OpenClaw Gateway: A child process running on 127.0.0.1:18789 that handles the core AI logic.
• Data Storage: All data (OpenClaw workspace, .env, logs, SQLite) is stored in the directory specified by ALPHACLAW_ROOT_DIR.

Data Flow: The Setup UI, Watchdog, and Webhooks all communicate with the OpenClaw Gateway via the Express Server, which proxies requests to the gateway process.

To ensure changes are validated and the gateway is correctly restarted, always manage environment variables through the Envars tab in the Setup UI ({{SETUP_UI_URL}}#envars).

Important: Do not edit /data/.env directly. After saving changes in the UI, the system will automatically prompt you to restart the gateway to apply the new variables.

To develop locally with a git checkout, you must build the Setup UI bundle and its associated CSS.

Requirements:

• Node.js ≥ 22.22.3 (on Node 22)
• Node.js ≥ 24.15.0 (on Node 24)
• Node.js ≥ 25.9.0 (on Node 25)

Commands:

npm install
npm run build:ui        # Generate Setup UI bundle, Tailwind CSS, and vendor CSS

npm install
npm run build:ui        # Generate Setup UI bundle, Tailwind CSS, and vendor CSS (required for local runs from a git checkout)
npm test                # Full suite (440 tests)
npm run test:watchdog   # Watchdog-focused suite (14 tests)
npm run test:watch      # Watch mode
npm run test:coverage   # Coverage report

Retrieve the content of specific threads or messages using their IDs.

• Threads: Use gog gmail thread get <threadId>. You can optionally download attachments to a specific directory using --download --out-dir <directory>.
• Messages: Use gog gmail get <messageId> to read a single message.

# Read a thread and optionally download attachments
gog gmail thread get <threadId>
gog gmail thread get <threadId> --download --out-dir ./attachments

# Read a single message
gog gmail get <messageId>

If you are using a Google Workspace account, you can access and search the organization's directory using the gog contacts directory command.

# Workspace directory (Google Workspace only)
gog contacts directory list --max 50
gog contacts directory search "Jane" --max 50

AlphaClaw provides a one-click deployment template for Render. This is the recommended method as it ships a complete stack without manual gateway setup. Render sponsors AlphaClaw; you can redeem $50 in Render credits using the code RENDER-ALPHACLAW during deployment.

To deploy, use the official Render template: Deploy to Render

To run AlphaClaw locally using npm, install the package and run the start command:

npm install @chrysb/alphaclaw
npx alphaclaw start

The gog sheets command group allows you to interact with Google Spreadsheets via the CLI. You can perform metadata operations, read/write cell ranges, manage rows and columns, and export files.

Data Formats:

• Standard Input: Use pipe-delimited (|) for rows and comma-separated (,) for columns (e.g., row1_col1|row1_col2,row2_col1|row2_col2).
• Complex Data: Use the --values-json flag to pass structured JSON arrays for cell values.

Automate your inbox with filters and auto-replies.

Filters:

• list: Lists existing filters.
• create: Creates a filter using --from '<email>' and --add-label '<label>'.
• delete <filterId>: Removes a filter.

Vacation (Auto-reply):

• get: Checks current vacation status.
• enable: Sets an auto-reply with --subject and --message.
• disable: Turns off vacation mode.

# Filters
gog gmail filters list
gog gmail filters create --from 'noreply@example.com' --add-label 'Notifications'
gog gmail filters delete <filterId>

# Vacation / auto-reply
gog gmail vacation get
gog gmail vacation enable --subject "Out of office" --message "I'm away"
gog gmail vacation disable