docs: rewrite tools landing page with Tools/Skills/Plugins explainer using Steps
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Vincent Koc
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@ -9,31 +9,71 @@ title: "Tools and Plugins"
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# Tools and Plugins
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OpenClaw gives the agent a set of **tools** it can call during a conversation.
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Everything the agent does beyond generating text happens through **tools**.
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Tools are how the agent reads files, runs commands, browses the web, sends
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messages, and interacts with devices. Everything the agent does beyond generating
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text happens through tools.
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messages, and interacts with devices.
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## How it all fits together
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## Tools, skills, and plugins
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<CardGroup cols={2}>
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<Card title="Built-in tools" icon="wrench" href="/tools/exec">
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Core tools shipped with OpenClaw: exec, browser, web search, file I/O,
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messaging, cron, canvas, and nodes.
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</Card>
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<Card title="Skills" icon="book-open" href="/tools/skills">
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Markdown instructions that teach the agent how and when to use tools.
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Skills ship inside plugins or live in your workspace.
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</Card>
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<Card title="Plugins" icon="puzzle-piece" href="/tools/plugin">
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Packages that add new capabilities: channels, model providers, tools,
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skills, or any combination. Published on npm and installed with the CLI.
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</Card>
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<Card title="Automation" icon="clock" href="/automation/hooks">
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Hooks, cron jobs, heartbeats, webhooks, and scheduled tasks that run
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without manual messages.
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</Card>
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</CardGroup>
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OpenClaw has three layers that work together:
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<Steps>
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<Step title="Tools are what the agent calls">
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A tool is a typed function the agent can invoke (e.g. `exec`, `browser`,
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`web_search`, `message`). OpenClaw ships a set of **built-in tools** and
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plugins can register additional ones.
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The agent sees tools as structured function definitions sent to the model API.
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</Step>
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<Step title="Skills teach the agent when and how">
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A skill is a markdown file (`SKILL.md`) injected into the system prompt.
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Skills give the agent context, constraints, and step-by-step guidance for
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using tools effectively. Skills live in your workspace, in shared folders,
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or ship inside plugins.
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[Skills reference](/tools/skills) | [Creating skills](/tools/creating-skills)
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</Step>
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<Step title="Plugins package everything together">
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A plugin is a package that can register any combination of capabilities:
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channels, model providers, tools, skills, speech, image generation, and more.
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Some plugins are **core** (shipped with OpenClaw), others are **external**
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(published on npm by the community).
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[Install and configure plugins](/tools/plugin) | [Build your own](/plugins/building-plugins)
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</Step>
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</Steps>
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## Built-in tools
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These tools ship with OpenClaw and are available without installing any plugins:
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| Tool | What it does | Page |
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| ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
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| `exec` / `process` | Run shell commands, manage background processes | [Exec](/tools/exec) |
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| `browser` | Control a Chromium browser (navigate, click, screenshot) | [Browser](/tools/browser) |
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| `web_search` / `web_fetch` | Search the web, fetch page content | [Web](/tools/web) |
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| `read` / `write` / `edit` | File I/O in the workspace | |
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| `apply_patch` | Multi-hunk file patches | [Apply Patch](/tools/apply-patch) |
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| `message` | Send messages across all channels | [Agent Send](/tools/agent-send) |
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| `canvas` | Drive node Canvas (present, eval, snapshot) | |
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| `nodes` | Discover and target paired devices | |
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| `cron` / `gateway` | Manage scheduled jobs, restart gateway | |
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| `image` / `image_generate` | Analyze or generate images | |
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| `sessions_*` / `agents_list` | Session management, sub-agents | [Sub-agents](/tools/subagents) |
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### Plugin-provided tools
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Plugins can register additional tools. Some examples:
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- [Lobster](/tools/lobster) — typed workflow runtime with resumable approvals
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- [LLM Task](/tools/llm-task) — JSON-only LLM step for structured output
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- [Diffs](/tools/diffs) — diff viewer and renderer
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- [OpenProse](/prose) — markdown-first workflow orchestration
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## Tool configuration
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@ -95,44 +135,3 @@ changing global defaults:
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},
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}
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```
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## Built-in tool reference
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For the full tool-by-tool reference (parameters, actions, notes), see the
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individual tool pages in the sidebar. Key tools:
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| Tool | What it does | Page |
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| ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
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| `exec` / `process` | Run shell commands, manage background processes | [Exec](/tools/exec) |
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| `browser` | Control a Chromium browser (navigate, click, screenshot) | [Browser](/tools/browser) |
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| `web_search` / `web_fetch` | Search the web, fetch page content | [Web](/tools/web) |
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| `read` / `write` / `edit` | File I/O in the workspace | |
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| `apply_patch` | Multi-hunk file patches | [Apply Patch](/tools/apply-patch) |
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| `message` | Send messages across all channels | [Agent Send](/tools/agent-send) |
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| `canvas` | Drive node Canvas (present, eval, snapshot) | |
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| `nodes` | Discover and target paired devices | |
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| `cron` / `gateway` | Manage scheduled jobs, restart gateway | |
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| `image` / `image_generate` | Analyze or generate images | |
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| `sessions_*` / `agents_list` | Session management, sub-agents | [Sub-agents](/tools/subagents) |
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## Plugins add more
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Plugins can register **additional tools** beyond the built-in set. Some examples:
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- [Lobster](/tools/lobster) — typed workflow runtime with resumable approvals
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- [LLM Task](/tools/llm-task) — JSON-only LLM step for structured output
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- [Diffs](/tools/diffs) — diff viewer and renderer
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- [OpenProse](/prose) — markdown-first workflow orchestration
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Plugins can also ship **skills** alongside tools, so the agent gets both the
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tool definition and the instructions for using it. See
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[Building Plugins](/plugins/building-plugins) to create your own.
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## How tools reach the agent
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Tools are exposed in two parallel channels:
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1. **System prompt text** — a human-readable list with guidance (from skills)
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2. **Tool schemas** — structured function definitions sent to the model API
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If a tool doesn't appear in either, the model cannot call it.
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