IDENTITY.md is now user-editable (no longer a system file). Managed skill filter updated from dench to crm/browser. Bootstrap seed toggle hidden from create-workspace dialog.
Remove ~200 lines of duplicated CRM seed objects, DuckDB seeding, and identity generation from the init route by importing from @repo/cli/workspace-seed.
BREAKING CHANGE: Convert repository to IronClaw-only package with strict
external dependency on globally installed `openclaw` runtime.
### Changes
- Remove entire OpenClaw core source from repository (src/agents/*, src/acp/*,
src/commands/*, and related modules)
- Implement CLI delegation: non-bootstrap commands now delegate to global
`openclaw` binary via external contract
- Remove local OpenClaw path resolution from web app; always spawn global
`openclaw` binary instead of local scripts
- Rename package.json scripts: `pnpm openclaw` → `pnpm ironclaw`,
`openclaw:rpc` → `ironclaw:rpc`
- Update bootstrap flow to verify and install global OpenClaw when missing
- Migrate web workspace/profile logic to align with OpenClaw state paths
- Add migration contract tests for stream-json, session subscribe, and profile
resolution behaviors
- Update build/release pipeline for IronClaw-only artifacts
- Update documentation for new peer + global installation model
### Architecture
IronClaw is now strictly a frontend/UI/bootstrap layer:
- `npx ironclaw` bootstraps OpenClaw (if missing), runs guided onboarding
- IronClaw UI serves on localhost:3100
- OpenClaw Gateway runs on standard port 18789
- Communication via stable CLI contracts and Gateway WebSocket protocol only
### Migration
Users must have `openclaw` installed globally:
npm install -g openclaw
Existing IronClaw profiles and sessions remain compatible through gateway
protocol stability.
Refs: bootstrap_dev_testing, ironclaw_frontend_split, strict-external-openclaw
Bug 1: Subagent events from gateway broadcasts were processed as parent
events because the sessionKey filter was accidentally removed during the
subagent decoupling refactor. Re-add the filter in wireChildProcess.
Bug 2: Creating workspaces at custom paths failed because:
- mkdir API rejected absolute paths outside workspace root
- Directory picker started at workspace root, not home
- Error responses from mkdir were silently swallowed
Add absolute path support to mkdir, handle errors in picker UI,
start picker at home dir, and normalize init route paths.
Restore backend/logic features that were incorrectly auto-merged from the
design branch:
- Spreadsheet viewer (xlsx, csv, ods, etc.) and xlsx dependency
- HTML iframe viewer with source toggle
- Directory picker modal for workspace creation
- Workspace registry for custom-path workspaces
- Session auto-discovery for orphaned sessions
- Workspace init seeding (CRM objects, DuckDB, templates, bootstrap files)
- Symlink resolution and showHidden in tree/browse routes
- Upload to workspace assets/ instead of hidden ~/.ironclaw/uploads/
- Webpack dev watcher config (next.config.ts)
- router.push for back-button navigation history
- Cards are draggable between columns via @dnd-kit with optimistic updates
- Clicking a card opens the EntryDetailModal (parity with table view)
- Double-click column headers to rename enum values inline
- New API endpoint for renaming enum values with cascading entry updates
Syntax highlighting & code viewer:
- Add shiki for syntax-highlighted fenced code blocks in chat messages
- New SyntaxBlock component (lazy shiki, dual light/dark theme)
- New CodeViewer for workspace file panel (routes code files via isCodeFile())
- API routes (browse-file, virtual-file) now return "code" type for known extensions
Diff rendering:
- New DiffCard component for rendering unified diffs with add/remove colors
- diff-blocks.ts parser to extract fenced blocks from markdown
- Chain-of-thought tool steps show inline diffs for edit/write tools
(synthetic from old_string/new_string or direct from tool output)
- Agent runner passes through diff/firstChangedLine from edit tool results
- Document view handles diff blocks alongside report blocks
Rich chat editor (Tiptap):
- Replace plain textarea with Tiptap-based ChatEditor
- File mention extension (@-mention files with autocomplete dropdown)
- File mention list with keyboard navigation and search via suggest-files API
- New suggest-files API endpoint for fuzzy file search
File search & navigation:
- FileSearch component in workspace sidebar (debounced search, keyboard nav)
- Search results navigate sidebar to file location and open in panel
- File picker modal for browsing/selecting workspace files
Drag & drop:
- File tree nodes support native HTML5 drag (application/x-file-mention)
for cross-component drops (e.g. dragging files into chat editor)
Chat attachments reworked:
- Switch from browser File objects to path-based references (name + path)
- Simplified attachment strip (no media previews, shows shortened paths)
Also adds software-engineering skill and related CSS for code blocks/shiki.
- Introduced a new RelationSelect component for managing relations in forms.
- Updated EntryDetailModal and ObjectTable components to utilize RelationSelect for relation fields, allowing for inline editing and improved user experience.
- Enhanced API route for fetching relation options based on user input.
- Refactored EditableCell to support relation editing with dropdowns, improving data entry efficiency.
- Added new API endpoint for fetching lightweight options for relation dropdowns.
This update streamlines the handling of relational data within the workspace, enhancing the overall functionality and user interface.
Overhaul the Dench web app with a comprehensive visual redesign and several
major feature additions across the chat interface, workspace, and agent
runtime layer.
Theme & Design System
- Replace the dark-only palette with a full light/dark theme system that
respects system preference via localStorage + inline script (no FOUC).
- Introduce new design tokens: glassmorphism surfaces, semantic colors
(success/warning/error/info), object-type chip palettes, and a tiered
shadow scale (sm/md/lg/xl).
- Add Instrument Serif + Inter via Google Fonts for a refined typographic
hierarchy; headings use the serif face, body uses Inter.
- Rebrand UI from "Ironclaw" to "Dench" across the landing page and
metadata.
Chat & Chain-of-Thought
- Rewrite the chain-of-thought component with inline media detection and
rendering — images, video, audio, and PDFs referenced in agent output
are now displayed directly in the conversation thread.
- Add status indicator parts (e.g. "Preparing response...",
"Optimizing session context...") that render as subtle activity badges
instead of verbose reasoning blocks.
- Integrate react-markdown with remark-gfm for proper markdown rendering
in assistant messages (tables, strikethrough, autolinks, etc.).
- Improve report-block splitting and lazy-loaded ReportCard rendering.
Workspace
- Introduce @tanstack/react-table for the object table, replacing the
hand-rolled table with full column sorting, fuzzy filtering via
match-sorter-utils, row selection, and bulk actions.
- Add a new media viewer component for in-workspace image/video/PDF
preview.
- New API routes: bulk-delete entries, field management (CRUD + reorder),
raw-file serving endpoint for media assets.
- Redesign workspace sidebar, empty state, and entry detail modal with
the new theme tokens and improved layout.
Agent Runtime
- Switch web agent execution from --local to gateway-routed mode so
concurrent chat threads share the gateway's lane-based concurrency
system, eliminating cross-process file-lock contention.
- Advertise "tool-events" capability during WebSocket handshake so the
gateway streams tool start/update/result events to the UI.
- Add new agent callback hooks: onLifecycleStart, onCompactionStart/End,
and onToolUpdate for richer real-time feedback.
- Forward media URLs emitted by agent events into the chat stream.
Dependencies
- Add @tanstack/match-sorter-utils and @tanstack/react-table to the web
app.
Published as ironclaw@2026.2.10-1.
Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>
