- In chat replies, file references must be repo-root relative only (example: `extensions/bluebubbles/src/channel.ts:80`); never absolute paths or `~/...`.
- GitHub comment footgun: never use `gh issue/pr comment -b "..."` when body contains backticks or shell chars. Always use single-quoted heredoc (`-F - <<'EOF'`) so no command substitution/escaping corruption.
- GitHub linking footgun: don’t wrap issue/PR refs like `#24643` in backticks when you want auto-linking. Use plain `#24643` (optionally add full URL).
- PR review conversations: if a bot leaves review conversations on your PR, address them and resolve those conversations yourself once fixed. Leave a conversation unresolved only when reviewer or maintainer judgment is still needed; do not leave bot-conversation cleanup to maintainers.
- GitHub searching footgun: don't limit yourself to the first 500 issues or PRs when wanting to search all. Unless you're supposed to look at the most recent, keep going until you've reached the last page in the search
- Do not edit files covered by security-focused `CODEOWNERS` rules unless a listed owner explicitly asked for the change or is already reviewing it with you. Treat those paths as restricted surfaces, not drive-by cleanup.
- If an issue/PR matches one of the reasons below, apply the label and let `.github/workflows/auto-response.yml` handle comment/close/lock.
- Do not manually close + manually comment for these reasons.
- Why: keeps wording consistent, preserves automation behavior (`state_reason`, locking), and keeps triage/reporting searchable by label.
-`r:*` labels can be used on both issues and PRs.
-`r: skill`: close with guidance to publish skills on Clawhub.
-`r: support`: close with redirect to Discord support + stuck FAQ.
-`r: no-ci-pr`: close test-fix-only PRs for failing `main` CI and post the standard explanation.
-`r: too-many-prs`: close when author exceeds active PR limit.
-`r: testflight`: close requests asking for TestFlight access/builds. OpenClaw does not provide TestFlight distribution yet, so use the standard response (“Not available, build from source.”) instead of ad-hoc replies.
-`r: third-party-extension`: close with guidance to ship as third-party plugin.
-`r: moltbook`: close + lock as off-topic (not affiliated).
- Source code: `src/` (CLI wiring in `src/cli`, commands in `src/commands`, web provider in `src/provider-web.ts`, infra in `src/infra`, media pipeline in `src/media`).
- Plugins/extensions: live under `extensions/*` (workspace packages). Keep plugin-only deps in the extension `package.json`; do not add them to the root `package.json` unless core uses them.
- Plugins: install runs `npm install --omit=dev` in plugin dir; runtime deps must live in `dependencies`. Avoid `workspace:*` in `dependencies` (npm install breaks); put `openclaw` in `devDependencies` or `peerDependencies` instead (runtime resolves `openclaw/plugin-sdk` via jiti alias).
- Installers served from `https://openclaw.ai/*`: live in the sibling repo `../openclaw.ai` (`public/install.sh`, `public/install-cli.sh`, `public/install.ps1`).
- For docs, UI copy, and picker lists, order services/providers alphabetically unless the section is explicitly describing runtime behavior (for example auto-detection or execution order).
-`docs/zh-CN/**` is generated; do not edit unless the user explicitly asks.
- Pipeline: update English docs → adjust glossary (`docs/.i18n/glossary.zh-CN.json`) → run `scripts/docs-i18n` → apply targeted fixes only if instructed.
- Before rerunning `scripts/docs-i18n`, add glossary entries for any new technical terms, page titles, or short nav labels that must stay in English or use a fixed translation (for example `Doctor` or `Polls`).
-`pnpm docs:check-i18n-glossary` enforces glossary coverage for changed English doc titles and short internal doc labels before translation reruns.
- If deps are missing (for example `node_modules` missing, `vitest not found`, or `command not found`), run the repo’s package-manager install command (prefer lockfile/README-defined PM), then rerun the exact requested command once. Apply this to test/build/lint/typecheck/dev commands; if retry still fails, report the command and first actionable error.
- Dynamic import guardrail: do not mix `await import("x")` and static `import ... from "x"` for the same module in production code paths. If you need lazy loading, create a dedicated `*.runtime.ts` boundary (that re-exports from `x`) and dynamically import that boundary from lazy callers only.
- Dynamic import verification: after refactors that touch lazy-loading/module boundaries, run `pnpm build` and check for `[INEFFECTIVE_DYNAMIC_IMPORT]` warnings before submitting.
- Extension SDK self-import guardrail: inside an extension package, do not import that same extension via `openclaw/plugin-sdk/<extension>` from production files. Route internal imports through a local barrel such as `./api.ts` or `./runtime-api.ts`, and keep the `plugin-sdk/<extension>` path as the external contract only.
- Extension package boundary guardrail: inside `extensions/<id>/**`, do not use relative imports/exports that resolve outside that same `extensions/<id>` package root. If shared code belongs in the plugin SDK, import `openclaw/plugin-sdk/<subpath>` instead of reaching into `src/plugin-sdk/**` or other repo paths via `../`.
- Extension API surface rule: `openclaw/plugin-sdk/<subpath>` is the only public cross-package contract for extension-facing SDK code. If an extension needs a new seam, add a public subpath first; do not reach into `src/plugin-sdk/**` by relative path.
- Never share class behavior via prototype mutation (`applyPrototypeMixins`, `Object.defineProperty` on `.prototype`, or exporting `Class.prototype` for merges). Use explicit inheritance/composition (`A extends B extends C`) or helper composition so TypeScript can typecheck.
- If this pattern is needed, stop and get explicit approval before shipping; default behavior is to split/refactor into an explicit class hierarchy and keep members strongly typed.
- In tests, prefer per-instance stubs over prototype mutation (`SomeClass.prototype.method = ...`) unless a test explicitly documents why prototype-level patching is required.
- Written English: use American spelling and grammar in code, comments, docs, and UI strings (e.g. "color" not "colour", "behavior" not "behaviour", "analyze" not "analyse").
- For targeted/local debugging, keep using the wrapper: `pnpm test -- <path-or-filter> [vitest args...]` (for example `pnpm test -- src/commands/onboard-search.test.ts -t "shows registered plugin providers"`); do not default to raw `pnpm vitest run ...` because it bypasses wrapper config/profile/pool routing.
- If local Vitest runs cause memory pressure (common on non-Mac-Studio hosts), use `OPENCLAW_TEST_PROFILE=low OPENCLAW_TEST_SERIAL_GATEWAY=1 pnpm test` for land/gate runs.
- Changelog placement: in the active version block, append new entries to the end of the target section (`### Changes` or `### Fixes`); do not insert new entries at the top of a section.
**Full maintainer PR workflow (optional):** If you want the repo's end-to-end maintainer workflow (triage order, quality bar, rebase rules, commit/changelog conventions, co-contributor policy, and the `review-pr` > `prepare-pr` > `merge-pr` pipeline), see `.agents/skills/PR_WORKFLOW.md`. Maintainers may use other workflows; when a maintainer specifies a workflow, follow that. If no workflow is specified, default to PR_WORKFLOW.
-`sync`: if working tree is dirty, commit all changes (pick a sensible Conventional Commit message), then `git pull --rebase`; if rebase conflicts and cannot resolve, stop; otherwise `git push`.
- Bulk PR close/reopen safety: if a close action would affect more than 5 PRs, first ask for explicit user confirmation with the exact PR count and target scope/query.
- Release flow: use the private [maintainer release docs](https://github.com/openclaw/maintainers/blob/main/release/README.md) for the actual runbook; use `docs/reference/RELEASING.md` for the public release policy.
- Parallels macOS retests: use the snapshot most closely named like `macOS 26.3.1 fresh` when the user asks for a clean/fresh macOS rerun; avoid older Tahoe snapshots unless explicitly requested.
- Parallels beta smoke: use `--target-package-spec openclaw@<beta-version>` for the beta artifact, and pin the stable side with both `--install-version <stable-version>` and `--latest-version <stable-version>` for upgrade runs. npm dist-tags can move mid-run.
- Parallels beta smoke, Windows nuance: old stable `2026.3.12` still prints the Unicode Windows onboarding banner, so mojibake during the stable precheck log is expected there. Judge the beta package by the post-upgrade lane.
-`prlctl exec` is fine for deterministic repo commands, but it can misrepresent interactive shell behavior (`PATH`, `HOME`, `curl | bash`, shebang resolution). For installer parity or shell-sensitive repros, prefer the guest Terminal or `prlctl enter`.
- Fresh Tahoe snapshot current reality: `brew` exists, `node` may not be on `PATH` in noninteractive guest exec. Use absolute `/opt/homebrew/bin/node` for repo/CLI runs when needed.
- Preferred automation entrypoint: `pnpm test:parallels:macos`. It restores the snapshot most closely matching `macOS 26.3.1 fresh`, serves the current `main` tarball from the host, then runs fresh-install and latest-release-to-main smoke lanes.
- Discord roundtrip smoke is opt-in. Pass `--discord-token-env <VAR> --discord-guild-id <guild> --discord-channel-id <channel>`; the harness will configure Discord in-guest, post a guest message, verify host-side visibility via the Discord REST API, post a fresh host-side message back into the channel, then verify `openclaw message read` sees it in-guest.
- Keep the Discord token in a host env var only. For Peter’s Mac Studio bot, fetch it into a temp env var from `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json` over SSH instead of hardcoding it in repo files/shell history.
- For Discord smoke on this snapshot: use `openclaw message send/read` via the installed wrapper, not `node openclaw.mjs message ...`; lazy `message` subcommands do not resolve the same way through the direct module entrypoint.
- For Discord guild allowlists: set `channels.discord.guilds` as one JSON object. Do not use dotted `config set channels.discord.guilds.<snowflake>...` paths; numeric snowflakes get treated as array indexes.
- Avoid `prlctl enter` / expect for the Discord config phase; long lines get mangled. Use `prlctl exec --current-user /bin/sh -lc ...` with short commands or temp files.
- Latest-release pre-upgrade diagnostics still need compatibility fallback: stable `2026.3.12` does not know `--require-rpc`, so precheck status dumps should fall back to plain `gateway status --deep` until the guest is upgraded.
- All-OS parallel runs should share the host `dist` build via `/tmp/openclaw-parallels-build.lock` instead of rebuilding three times.
- Current expected outcome on latest stable pre-upgrade: `precheck=latest-ref-fail` is normal on `2026.3.12`; treat it as a baseline signal, not a regression, unless the post-upgrade `main` lane also fails.
- Fresh host-served tgz install: restore fresh snapshot, install tgz as guest root with `HOME=/var/root`, then run onboarding as the desktop user via `prlctl exec --current-user`.
- For `openclaw onboard --non-interactive --secret-input-mode ref --install-daemon`, expect env-backed auth-profile refs (for example `OPENAI_API_KEY`) to be copied into the service env at install time; this path was fixed and should stay green.
- Don’t run local + gateway agent turns in parallel on the same fresh workspace/session; they can collide on the session lock. Run sequentially.
- Root-installed tarball smoke on Tahoe can still log plugin blocks for world-writable `extensions/*` under `/opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw`; treat that as separate from onboarding/gateway health unless the task is plugin loading.
- Preferred automation entrypoint: `pnpm test:parallels:windows`. It restores the snapshot most closely matching `pre-openclaw-native-e2e-2026-03-12`, serves the current `main` tarball from the host, then runs fresh-install and latest-release-to-main smoke lanes.
- Latest-release pre-upgrade diagnostics still need compatibility fallback: stable `2026.3.12` does not know `--require-rpc`, so precheck status dumps should fall back to plain `gateway status --deep` until the guest is upgraded.
- Always use `prlctl exec --current-user` for Windows guest runs; plain `prlctl exec` lands in `NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM` and does not match the real desktop-user install path.
- Prefer explicit `npm.cmd` / `openclaw.cmd`. Bare `npm` / `openclaw` in PowerShell can hit the `.ps1` shim and fail under restrictive execution policy.
- Use PowerShell only as the transport (`powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass`) and call the `.cmd` shims explicitly from inside it.
- Harness output: pass `--json` for machine-readable summary; per-phase logs land under `/tmp/openclaw-parallels-windows.*`.
- Current expected outcome on latest stable pre-upgrade: `precheck=latest-ref-fail` is normal on `2026.3.12`; treat it as a baseline signal, not a regression, unless the post-upgrade `main` lane also fails.
- Keep Windows onboarding/status text ASCII-clean in logs. Fancy punctuation in banners shows up as mojibake through the current guest PowerShell capture path.
- Preferred automation entrypoint: `pnpm test:parallels:linux`. It restores the snapshot most closely matching `fresh` on `Ubuntu 24.04.3 ARM64`, serves the current `main` tarball from the host, then runs fresh-install and latest-release-to-main smoke lanes.
- Use plain `prlctl exec` on this snapshot. `--current-user` is not the right transport there.
- Fresh snapshot reality: `curl` is missing and `apt-get update` can fail on clock skew. Bootstrap with `apt-get -o Acquire::Check-Date=false update` and install `curl ca-certificates` before testing installer paths.
- Fresh `main` tgz smoke on Linux still needs the latest-release installer first, because this snapshot has no Node/npm before bootstrap. The harness does stable bootstrap first, then overlays current `main`.
- This snapshot does not have a usable `systemd --user` session. Treat managed daemon install as unsupported here; use `--skip-health`, then verify with direct `openclaw gateway run --bind loopback --port 18789 --force`.
- Env-backed auth refs are still fine, but any direct shell launch (`openclaw gateway run`, `openclaw agent --local`, Linux `gateway status --deep` against that direct run) must inherit the referenced env vars in the same shell.
-`prlctl exec` reaps detached Linux child processes on this snapshot, so a background `openclaw gateway run` launched from automation is not a trustworthy smoke path. The harness verifies installer + `agent --local`; do direct gateway checks only from an interactive guest shell when needed.
- When you do run Linux gateway checks manually from an interactive guest shell, use `openclaw gateway status --deep --require-rpc` so an RPC miss is a hard failure.
- Prefer direct argv guest commands for fetch/install steps (`curl`, `npm install -g`, `openclaw ...`) over nested `bash -lc` quoting; Linux guest quoting through Parallels was the flaky part.
- Harness output: pass `--json` for machine-readable summary; per-phase logs land under `/tmp/openclaw-parallels-linux.*`.
- Current expected outcome on Linux smoke: fresh + upgrade should pass installer and `agent --local`; gateway remains `skipped-no-detached-linux-gateway` on this snapshot and should not be treated as a regression by itself.
- Gateway currently runs only as the menubar app; there is no separate LaunchAgent/helper label installed. Restart via the OpenClaw Mac app or `scripts/restart-mac.sh`; to verify/kill use `launchctl print gui/$UID | grep openclaw` rather than assuming a fixed label. **When debugging on macOS, start/stop the gateway via the app, not ad-hoc tmux sessions; kill any temporary tunnels before handoff.**
- macOS logs: use `./scripts/clawlog.sh` to query unified logs for the OpenClaw subsystem; it supports follow/tail/category filters and expects passwordless sudo for `/usr/bin/log`.
- SwiftUI state management (iOS/macOS): prefer the `Observation` framework (`@Observable`, `@Bindable`) over `ObservableObject`/`@StateObject`; don’t introduce new `ObservableObject` unless required for compatibility, and migrate existing usages when touching related code.
- Connection providers: when adding a new connection, update every UI surface and docs (macOS app, web UI, mobile if applicable, onboarding/overview docs) and add matching status + configuration forms so provider lists and settings stay in sync.
- iOS Team ID lookup: `security find-identity -p codesigning -v` → use Apple Development (…) TEAMID. Fallback: `defaults read com.apple.dt.Xcode IDEProvisioningTeamIdentifiers`.
- A2UI bundle hash: `src/canvas-host/a2ui/.bundle.hash` is auto-generated; ignore unexpected changes, and only regenerate via `pnpm canvas:a2ui:bundle` (or `scripts/bundle-a2ui.sh`) when needed. Commit the hash as a separate commit.
- Release signing/notary credentials are managed outside the repo; maintainers keep that setup in the private [maintainer release docs](https://github.com/openclaw/maintainers/tree/main/release).
- **Multi-agent safety:** do **not** create/apply/drop `git stash` entries unless explicitly requested (this includes `git pull --rebase --autostash`). Assume other agents may be working; keep unrelated WIP untouched and avoid cross-cutting state changes.
- **Multi-agent safety:** when the user says "push", you may `git pull --rebase` to integrate latest changes (never discard other agents' work). When the user says "commit", scope to your changes only. When the user says "commit all", commit everything in grouped chunks.
- If staged+unstaged diffs are formatting-only, auto-resolve without asking.
- If commit/push already requested, auto-stage and include formatting-only follow-ups in the same commit (or a tiny follow-up commit if needed), no extra confirmation.
- Only ask when changes are semantic (logic/data/behavior).
- Lobster palette: use the shared CLI palette in `src/terminal/palette.ts` (no hardcoded colors); apply palette to onboarding/config prompts and other TTY UI output as needed.
- **Multi-agent safety:** focus reports on your edits; avoid guard-rail disclaimers unless truly blocked; when multiple agents touch the same file, continue if safe; end with a brief “other files present” note only if relevant.
- Tool schema guardrails (google-antigravity): avoid `Type.Union` in tool input schemas; no `anyOf`/`oneOf`/`allOf`. Use `stringEnum`/`optionalStringEnum` (Type.Unsafe enum) for string lists, and `Type.Optional(...)` instead of `... | null`. Keep top-level tool schema as `type: "object"` with `properties`.
- Tool schema guardrails: avoid raw `format` property names in tool schemas; some validators treat `format` as a reserved keyword and reject the schema.
- When asked to open a “session” file, open the Pi session logs under `~/.openclaw/agents/<agentId>/sessions/*.jsonl` (use the `agent=<id>` value in the Runtime line of the system prompt; newest unless a specific ID is given), not the default `sessions.json`. If logs are needed from another machine, SSH via Tailscale and read the same path there.
- Never send streaming/partial replies to external messaging surfaces (WhatsApp, Telegram); only final replies should be delivered there. Streaming/tool events may still go to internal UIs/control channel.
- Command template should stay `openclaw-mac agent --message "${text}" --thinking low`; `VoiceWakeForwarder` already shell-escapes `${text}`. Don’t add extra quotes.
- launchd PATH is minimal; ensure the app’s launch agent PATH includes standard system paths plus your pnpm bin (typically `$HOME/Library/pnpm`) so `pnpm`/`openclaw` binaries resolve when invoked via `openclaw-mac`.
- For manual `openclaw message send` messages that include `!`, use the heredoc pattern noted below to avoid the Bash tool’s escaping.
- Release guardrails: do not change version numbers without operator’s explicit consent; always ask permission before running any npm publish/release step.
- Beta release guardrail: when using a beta Git tag (for example `vYYYY.M.D-beta.N`), publish npm with a matching beta version suffix (for example `YYYY.M.D-beta.N`) rather than a plain version on `--tag beta`; otherwise the plain version name gets consumed/blocked.
- Maintainers: private 1Password item names, tmux rules, plugin publish helpers, and local mac signing/notary setup live in the private [maintainer release docs](https://github.com/openclaw/maintainers/blob/main/release/README.md).
