OpenClaw Guide

Deploy to OpenClaw — 10th platform, first with native behaviors support. ClawHub publication and ~/.openclaw/ structure.

OpenClaw Integration Guide

Connect AIWG to OpenClaw for structured SDLC workflows, artifact management, and multi-agent orchestration — all accessible from the OpenClaw terminal.

Overview

AIWG integrates with OpenClaw through two complementary modes:

  • MCP sidecar — Full workflow engine via `aiwg mcp serve`. OpenClaw calls AIWG tools for artifact management, template rendering, and staged execution.
  • Native skills — AIWG skills deployed directly to OpenClaw's skill directories. Discovered and loaded by OpenClaw's native skill loader.
OpenClaw → MCP → AIWG (workflows, artifacts, templates)
OpenClaw → native skills (quick single-step operations)

Ownership boundaries:

  • OpenClaw owns: conversation flow, tool orchestration, session state, user-facing chat
  • AIWG owns: workflow execution, template-driven outputs, artifact generation, project state in `.aiwg/`
  • MCP is the seam. Clear ownership, not system fusion.

Prerequisites

  • OpenClaw installed and working (docs.openclaw.ai)
  • AIWG installed via npm: `npm install -g aiwg`
  • Verify both independently:
# Verify OpenClaw
openclaw --version

# Verify AIWG
aiwg version
aiwg mcp info    # Confirm MCP server capabilities

Quick Start

Option A: Native Skills Only (simplest)

Deploy AIWG skills to OpenClaw's skill directories:

# Deploy SDLC framework skills
aiwg use sdlc --provider openclaw

# Deploy all frameworks
aiwg use all --provider openclaw

# Verify AIWG kernel skills
find ~/.openclaw/skills/aiwg -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type d
openclaw skills list | grep aiwg

AIWG kernel skills land in `~/.openclaw/skills/aiwg/<skill-name>/SKILL.md` to avoid collisions with non-AIWG ClawHub installs. The larger on-demand skill index remains under `~/.openclaw/.aiwg/skills/`.

Option B: MCP Sidecar (full power)

Connect AIWG as an MCP server for the complete workflow engine:

1. Add MCP configuration

In your OpenClaw config (typically `~/.openclaw/config.yaml` or workspace config):

mcp_servers:
  aiwg:
    command: "aiwg"
    args: ["mcp", "serve"]
    tools:
      include:
        - discover
        - command-run
        - artifact-read
        - artifact-write
        - template-render
        - agent-list
        - skill-list

2. Reload and verify

# Restart OpenClaw to pick up new MCP config
openclaw reload

# Verify AIWG tools are visible
openclaw tools list | grep aiwg

You should see the whitelisted tools available in your OpenClaw session.

3. Test the connection

You: Run a workflow to create an architecture decision record
OpenClaw: [calls aiwg command-run/template-render/artifact-write → creates .aiwg/architecture/adr-001.md]

Use both modes together for maximum flexibility:

# Deploy native skills
aiwg use sdlc --provider openclaw

# Add MCP config (see Option B)
  • Native skills handle quick, single-step operations (doc scraping, code analysis, etc.)
  • MCP sidecar handles full SDLC workflows, artifact management, and multi-agent orchestration

Routing Guidance

When both modes are active, route requests based on complexity:

Route to AIWG MCP when:

  • SDLC phase work is needed (inception, elaboration, construction transitions)
  • Artifact generation required (architecture docs, test plans, requirements)
  • Multi-agent orchestration requested (parallel reviewers, synthesis)
  • Template-driven output needed (use case templates, ADR templates)
  • Agent loops or iterative task execution
  • Recovery-oriented or staged planning work

Use AIWG native skills when:

  • Skill trigger phrase matches (e.g., "scrape docs", "run security audit", "analyze code")
  • Quick single-step operation with no artifact persistence needed
  • Voice profile application or content validation

Keep in OpenClaw when:

  • Short one-off conversation questions
  • Code editing without SDLC artifact tracking
  • Quick debugging sessions
  • Tasks that don't need persistent artifacts

What Gets Deployed

`aiwg use sdlc --provider openclaw` deploys:

Artifact TypeTarget DirectoryCount
Kernel skills`~/.openclaw/skills/aiwg/`15-30
On-demand skill index`~/.openclaw/.aiwg/skills/`90+
Agents`~/.openclaw/agents/`90+
Commands`~/.openclaw/commands/`50+
Rules`~/.openclaw/rules/`33
Behaviors`~/.openclaw/behaviors/`5+

Behaviors — OpenClaw's Reactive Layer

OpenClaw is the first platform to support behaviors natively. Behaviors are a new AIWG artifact type: reactive capabilities with scripts and event hooks that fire automatically when system events occur — not just when a user asks.

Skills:    User asks → skill runs → done
Behaviors: User asks → behavior runs → done
           File written → behavior reacts → done
           Deploy completes → behavior reacts → done
           30 minutes pass → behavior reacts → done

AIWG ships behaviors for SDLC workflows out of the box:

BehaviorHooksWhat It Does
`security-sentinel`on_file_write, on_deploy, on_scheduleContinuous security monitoring
`test-watcher`on_file_write, on_scheduleReactive test execution
`build-monitor`on_tool_complete, on_scheduleBuild health tracking
`quality-gate-watcher`on_commit, on_pr_openSDLC gate enforcement
`artifact-sync`on_file_write (.aiwg/**)Keep artifact index current

OpenClaw discovers behaviors in `~/.openclaw/behaviors/` and wires their hooks at startup. No additional configuration needed after `aiwg use`.

See the Behaviors Guide for the full format spec and authoring guide.

ClawHub Installation (alternative)

If AIWG is published to ClawHub, install without a full AIWG installation:

# Install SDLC skills from ClawHub
clawhub install aiwg-sdlc

# Install all AIWG skills
clawhub install aiwg-sdlc aiwg-forensics aiwg-media aiwg-research

# Update
clawhub update --all

See ClawHub docs for registry details.

Skill Format

AIWG skills use the AgentSkills SKILL.md format, which is natively compatible with OpenClaw:

---
name: sdlc-accelerate
description: End-to-end SDLC ramp-up from idea to construction-ready
platforms: [claude-code, hermes, openclaw]
metadata: {"openclaw": {"primaryEnv": "terminal"}}
---

# Skill content...

OpenClaw-Specific Gating

Skills with external dependencies use `metadata.openclaw.*` for gating:

FieldPurposeExample
`requires.bins`Required binaries`["curl", "docker"]`
`requires.env`Required env vars`["AIWG_TOKEN"]`
`os`OS filter`["linux", "macos"]`
`primaryEnv`Preferred environment`"terminal"`
`always`Load unconditionally`true`

Most AIWG skills require no gating — they run on any platform.

Verification Checklist

After setup, verify the integration:

  • [ ] `openclaw skills list` shows AIWG skills (if native deployment)
  • [ ] `openclaw tools list` shows AIWG MCP tools (if MCP sidecar)
  • [ ] Run one native skill: "analyze this codebase for quality"
  • [ ] Run one MCP workflow: "create an architecture decision record"
  • [ ] Check `.aiwg/` directory created with artifacts
  • [ ] Disable AIWG MCP server — verify OpenClaw still works (graceful degradation)

Troubleshooting

Skills not showing up

# Verify deployment
find ~/.openclaw/skills/aiwg -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type d
find ~/.openclaw/.aiwg/skills -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type d

# Check OpenClaw skill discovery
openclaw skills list --verbose

# Re-deploy
aiwg use sdlc --provider openclaw

MCP connection failing

# Test AIWG MCP server independently
aiwg mcp serve
# Should start without errors

# Check OpenClaw MCP config
openclaw config show | grep aiwg

# Verify tool whitelist
openclaw tools list

Skills conflict with existing skills

OpenClaw skill precedence: `workspace/skills/` > `~/.openclaw/skills/` > bundled > `extraDirs`. AIWG deploys kernel skills to `~/.openclaw/skills/aiwg/` (user-global) and on-demand skills to `~/.openclaw/.aiwg/skills/`. Workspace skills take precedence if names collide.

Performance

The MCP sidecar adds minimal overhead — AIWG runs as a local process. For latency-sensitive operations, use native skills instead of MCP.

Cross-References