openclaw agent

Run one agent turn through the Gateway. The explicit --local flag and agent exec are the embedded execution paths.

Pass at least one session selector: --to, --session-key, --session-id, or --agent. Explicitly blank or whitespace-only selector values are rejected before local or Gateway dispatch, even when another selector supplies a valid target. Omit an unused selector instead of passing an empty value.

A completed turn exits 0. Error, timeout, and cancellation outcomes exit 1, after any text or JSON result is written. A received SIGINT or SIGTERM instead preserves the signal-specific exit status described below.

Related: Agent send tool

agent exec

openclaw agent exec runs one embedded agent turn without connecting to a Gateway. It is the recommended headless entry point for CI and coding automation because it owns setup, cleanup, output projection, and process status.

openclaw agent exec "Run the focused tests and fix failures"openclaw agent exec --message-file task.md --cwd ./repocat task.md | openclaw agent exec --message-file - --json

By default, the command creates a temporary state directory and removes it after confirmed cleanup. It runs against your ordinary OpenClaw config, so configured providers, credentials, and agentRuntime harness selection apply exactly as they do elsewhere. --cwd defaults to the process working directory and is passed as both the agent workspace and tool working directory.

Config is layered in three parts, entirely in memory: exec composes the run config and publishes it as this process's runtime config rather than writing a copy to disk. Exec defaults apply only where your config leaves a setting unset: workspace bootstrap files are skipped, the agent sandbox is off, the coding tool profile is selected, filesystem tools are restricted to --cwd, and exec runs under the full execution policy a headless turn needs. Anything your config sets wins over those defaults, so a configured sandbox, shell env, or tool profile is never downgraded, and exec host routing stays with the sandbox when your config enables one. The invocation itself always wins last: the run is scoped to --cwd and never bootstraps.

When your tool policy enables browser, local browser control works without a Gateway. Explicit Gateway or node routing and sandbox restrictions still apply; see Node browser proxy.

Use --state-dir <dir> to retain sessions and other run state. The directory must already exist and is never created or deleted by the command. A retained state directory requires exclusive ownership: exec refuses to start while a Gateway or another embedded writer owns it, then holds the state lock for the complete run. Omit --state-dir for isolated temporary state, or stop the Gateway first with openclaw gateway stop.

When exec uses the ambient or a pinned config, installed plugins continue to resolve from the operator's ordinary plugin roots while sessions and other run state use the ephemeral directory. In those modes, --state-dir controls run state only; it is not required for configured providers, channels, or harnesses supplied by installed plugins.

For reproducible runs, pin the config instead of inheriting it. --config <path> runs against exactly that config file, read through the normal loader so JSON5 syntax and $include resolve relative to it; a missing or invalid file fails the run rather than falling back to defaults, as does an ambient config that exists but cannot be parsed. --isolated ignores the ambient config entirely and uses only the exec defaults above. Both are the right choice for CI, where inheriting operator state would make runs machine-dependent.

Stored credentials are used by default, so a folder-scoped run reaches the same logins as the rest of the CLI. Pass --auth-env-only to restrict the run to provider keys already present in the process environment. That mode loads no config at all, and pairing it with --config is rejected rather than silently ignored, because a config supplies provider credentials through several surfaces at once: inline keys and secret headers, an env block, and login-shell import. It also skips OpenClaw auth profiles and external Codex, Claude, or other CLI credential stores. Provider auth variables remain available to model authentication but are omitted from agent-launched host commands.

On a clean installation without the Codex plugin, OpenAI API-key runs use the built-in OpenClaw runtime. The implicit Codex preference does not require installing a native harness before --auth-env-only can run. An explicitly configured Codex runtime or an existing Codex session pin still requires that harness.

Select a primary and ordered fallback chain with repeatable flags:

openclaw agent exec "Implement the change" \  --model openai/gpt-5.6-sol \  --fallback anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6 \  --fallback google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview

For this command only, explicit --fallback values remain active with explicit --model. Other agent entry points keep their existing rule that a user-selected model disables configured fallbacks.

Select the one-shot tool surface explicitly when comparing local or smaller models:

openclaw agent exec "Inspect this repository" \  --model ollama/qwen3.5:9b \  --code-mode code \  --local-model-lean \  --json

--code-mode direct disables Code Mode, auto uses model capability metadata, and code forces the generic Code Mode surface for tool-capable runs. --local-model-lean removes high-latency and channel-dependent tools and enables the bounded Tool Search defaults for the isolated run.

The timeout defaults to 600 seconds for agent exec; this does not change the existing embedded agent --local default. A successful run exits 0, any model or result error exits 1, and a timeout exits 2. Failure includes meta.error, aborted runs, exhausted model fallbacks, an error stop reason, and any error payload.

If cleanup fails after a run error or timeout, the original result and exit code are preserved and the cleanup failure is reported on stderr. A cleanup failure after a successful run exits 1.

Uncertain runtime cleanup preserves temporary state for inspection and keeps any acquired state lock until this process exits. Inspect the reported cleanup failure before retrying a run against retained state.

Plain output writes only the final assistant text to stdout. Diagnostics use stderr. --json reserves stdout for this stable envelope:

{  "ok": true,  "status": "ok",  "final": "The focused tests pass.",  "payloads": [{ "text": "The focused tests pass." }],  "usage": { "input": 120, "output": 8, "total": 128 },  "costUsd": 0.0021,  "codeModeEngaged": false,  "assistantTurns": 2,  "bridgeCalls": { "search": 1, "describe": 0, "call": 3 },  "toolSummary": { "calls": 2, "tools": ["read", "write"], "totalToolTimeMs": 48 },  "model": "gpt-5.6-sol",  "provider": "openai",  "sessionId": "019..."}

status is ok, error, or timeout. usage is omitted when unavailable. Failed envelopes add error: { message, kind }; model and provider are null when failure happens before model selection.

Run-stat fields are additive and may be absent:

• costUsd: sum of recorded per-call USD costs, preserving request pricing tiers and retry-model prices, including cache reads/writes. When per-call costs are incomplete, only flat-price estimates are available; tiered estimates are omitted rather than pricing combined usage as one request. Omitted when cost is unavailable.
• codeModeEngaged: true only when code mode actually owned the model tool surface for the run. tools.codeMode.enabled=true alone does not guarantee engagement, and harnesses that own their native tool surface always read false because OpenClaw code mode never owns their tools.
• assistantTurns: completed assistant/provider round trips in the run; omitted when none completed.
• bridgeCalls: inner tool-search/code-mode bridge call counts (search/describe/call). These are invisible to the provider; outer tool calls stay in meta.toolSummary.calls of the full run metadata.
• toolSummary: outer model-visible tool-call count, tool names, failures, and total tool time from the embedded run.

The agent run-stat fields appear on meta.agentMeta in the openclaw agent --json response; the outer tool summary remains at meta.toolSummary.

Code Mode model matrix

From a source checkout, run the bounded evaluation matrix against any explicit model reference:

pnpm qa:code-mode-models -- --model ollama/qwen3.5:9b

Repeat --model to compare models, or use --mode, --task, and --repetitions to narrow the default direct/automatic/forced Code Mode matrix. Each cell runs an isolated agent exec task and records model/provider identity, timing, result status, failure class, outer tool calls, Code Mode bridge calls, and verified output/effects.

The default remains two tasks (read and dependent-read-write), three modes, and three repetitions: 18 cells per model. Extended tasks are opt-in, so the default model-call budget does not grow:

All extended tasks require an exact final answer and matching result.txt. Inputs are deterministic and identical across models/modes for a given repetition. The prompts request file tools and readback, but the oracle verifies outcomes and aggregate tool execution, not a full call trace: it cannot prove pagination strategy, actual concurrency, dependency ordering, or readback. Those require separate runtime/trajectory proof.

Preview a six-cell direct/Code Mode comparison without building or calling any model:

pnpm qa:code-mode-models -- --model ollama/qwen3.5:9b \  --mode direct --mode code --repetitions 1 \  --task large-result-reduction --task parallel-independent-reads \  --task dependent-chain --dry-run

Remove --dry-run only for an explicitly intended model run; provider charges may apply. A dry run writes the plan and empty canonical evidence, not passing task results. Offline harness coverage runs with pnpm test extensions/qa-lab/src/code-mode-model-matrix.test.ts and uses a synthetic CLI with no provider calls; it is not live Code Mode performance evidence.

The output directory contains canonical QA Lab qa-evidence.json. summary.json and results.jsonl are supporting aggregate and per-cell artifacts; manifest.json records the requested matrix and source identity.

Each summary group retains pass rate, first-pass/eventual success, failure categories, and p50WallMs. Its additive metrics object summarizes assistant turns, outer tool calls, bridge search/describe/tool calls, and reported USD cost as { samples, total, p50 }. Only present envelope values count as samples; missing telemetry is not zero (total and p50 are null with no samples). Observed zeros remain zeros. Medians use the upper middle sample for even counts, matching the existing wall-time summary. All repetitions, including failed ones with telemetry, contribute.

For cells that return an agent envelope, elapsedMs measures the agent process and effect verification after fixture preparation. Harness-error cells instead time the attempted cell, including any setup before the exception. Neither includes the matrix build, and neither is guest-only execution time. The harness does not report unobservable phase timings, overlap, reduction ratios, or inferred speedups. Compare correctness before timing/counts, inspect missing-sample counts, and retain raw per-cell usage/costUsd/bridgeCalls when supplied.

This is evaluation-only evidence, not a CI or release gate. Results do not change model capabilities, runtime routing, fallback, or repair policy.

agent exec options

• [message]: positional prompt text
• --message-file <path>: read a UTF-8 prompt from a file; - reads stdin
• --cwd <dir>: set both the agent workspace and tool working directory
• --state-dir <dir>: use an existing state directory without deleting it
• --config <path>: run against this config file instead of the ambient config (JSON5 and $include supported)
• --isolated: ignore the ambient config and use only exec defaults
• --model <provider/model>: explicit primary model
• --code-mode <mode>: select direct, auto, or forced code tool mode
• --local-model-lean: use the reduced local-model tool surface
• --thinking <level>: one-run thinking level
• --fallback <provider/model>: ordered fallback model; repeatable and requires --model
• --auth-env-only: use only environment provider keys; skips stored credentials, external CLI credentials, and config entirely
• --no-auth-env-only: allow stored and external CLI credentials (default)
• --timeout <seconds>: deadline in seconds (default 600; 0 disables it)
• --json: emit the stable JSON envelope

Options

• -m, --message <text>: message body
• --message-file <path>: read the message body from a UTF-8 file
• -t, --to <dest>: recipient used to derive the session key
• --session-key <key>: explicit session key to use for routing
• --session-id <id>: explicit session id
• --agent <id>: agent id; overrides routing bindings
• --model <id>: model override for this run (provider/model or model id)
• --thinking <level>: agent thinking level (off, minimal, low, medium, high, plus provider-supported custom levels such as xhigh, adaptive, or max)
• --verbose <on|off>: persist verbose level for the session
• --channel <channel>: delivery channel; omit to use the main session channel
• --reply-to <target>: delivery target override
• --reply-channel <channel>: delivery channel override
• --reply-account <id>: delivery account override
• --local: run the embedded agent directly (after plugin registry preload)
• --deliver: send the reply back to the selected channel/target
• --timeout <seconds>: override this command's agent-turn deadline (default 600, or agents.defaults.timeoutSeconds); 0 disables the overall deadline. The 600-second fallback belongs to this CLI command, not ordinary Gateway turns, whose default is 48 hours.
• --json: output JSON

Gateway commands using OpenClaw's managed agent loop return their completed reply before optional memory flushing and compaction. That work has its own session owner and uses the command's remaining time. A new turn in the same session cancels and settles it before starting inference. One-shot --local commands skip optional post-turn work; required checkpointing and compaction still happen before inference in that loop. Generic CLI backends retain their existing host compaction before the command returns; native backends retain their own compaction policy. Cancellation, restart, and session ownership changes continue to fence active writers.

Examples

openclaw agent --to +15555550123 --message "status update" --deliveropenclaw agent --agent ops --message "Summarize logs"openclaw agent --agent ops --message-file ./task.mdopenclaw agent --agent ops --model openai/gpt-5.4 --message "Summarize logs"openclaw agent --session-key agent:ops:incident-42 --message "Summarize status"openclaw agent --agent ops --session-key incident-42 --message "Summarize status"openclaw agent --session-id 1234 --message "Summarize inbox" --thinking mediumopenclaw agent --to +15555550123 --message "Trace logs" --verbose on --jsonopenclaw agent --agent ops --message "Generate report" --deliver --reply-channel slack --reply-to "#reports"openclaw agent --agent ops --message "Run locally" --local

Notes

• Pass exactly one of --message or --message-file. --message-file strips a leading UTF-8 BOM and preserves multiline content; it rejects files that are not valid UTF-8. Files larger than 4 MiB are rejected before dispatch.
• --message does not run the channel slash-command dispatcher. Recognized $skill-name references and leading /skill-name [input] are the scoped exception: OpenClaw expands them into model instructions to read the skill before acting. Other slash-prefixed messages keep normal agent-turn behavior; /compact is rejected with a pointer to openclaw sessions compact <key>.
• --local runs are one-shot: bundled MCP loopback resources and warm Claude stdio sessions opened for the run are retired after the reply, so scripted invocations do not leave local child processes running. Gateway-backed runs keep Gateway-owned MCP loopback resources under the running Gateway process instead.
• --local requires exclusive ownership of the configured state directory. It refuses to start while a Gateway or another agent --local run owns that directory, then holds the same state lock for the full embedded turn. Run without --local to use the active Gateway, or stop it first with openclaw gateway stop.
• Standalone embedded execution with --local refuses to reuse an existing main session while restart recovery is pending. Run the turn through a healthy Gateway, or reset it there with /new or /reset; an independent embedded process cannot safely coordinate that recovery owner with the Gateway scanner.
• With --agent, --channel and --to together, session routing follows the channel's canonical recipient and session.dmScope. Channels with a stable outbound-only recipient identity use a provider-owned session isolated from the agent's main session. --reply-channel and --reply-account affect delivery only.
• --session-key selects an explicit session key. Agent-prefixed keys must use agent:<agent-id>:<session-key>, and --agent must match the key's agent id when both are given. Bare non-sentinel keys scope to --agent when supplied, or to the configured default agent otherwise; for example --agent ops --session-key incident-42 routes to agent:ops:incident-42. The literal keys global and unknown stay unscoped only when no --agent is supplied.
• --json reserves stdout for the JSON response; Gateway, plugin, and --local diagnostics go to stderr so scripts can parse stdout directly.
• After transient handshake retries are exhausted, a Gateway timeout or closed connection fails the command; the CLI never silently reruns the turn embedded. Transport loss is ambiguous — the Gateway may have accepted and may still finish the turn — so the stderr hint says to check openclaw gateway status and the session transcript before retrying or rerunning with --local, to avoid executing the turn twice. When the Gateway accepted the run before the transport error, the hint names the accepted run ID, and --json failures keep the canonical ok: false envelope with runId and origin: "gateway" fields alongside error.type/error.message.
• SIGTERM/SIGINT interrupt a waiting Gateway-backed request; if the Gateway already accepted the run, the CLI also sends chat.abort for that run id before exiting. --local runs receive the same signal but do not send chat.abort. On Unix, startup wrappers preserve the runtime child's actual termination signal, including SIGKILL after shutdown escalation; shells report SIGINT and SIGTERM as statuses 130 and 143. Explicit numeric returns stay numeric, including a handled shutdown returning 0. Windows retains its numeric termination behavior. If the internal run-dedup key already has an active run for this session, the response reports status: "in_flight" and the non-JSON CLI prints a stderr diagnostic instead of an empty reply. For external cron/systemd wrappers, keep a hard-kill backstop such as timeout -k 60 600 openclaw agent ... so the supervisor can reap the process if shutdown cannot drain.
• When this command triggers models.json regeneration, SecretRef-managed provider credentials are persisted as non-secret markers (for example env var names, secretref-env:ENV_VAR_NAME, or secretref-managed), never resolved secret plaintext. Marker writes come from the active source config snapshot, not from resolved runtime secret values.

JSON failures

Failures keep the CLI error envelope: ok: false and error.type: "cli_error". When the Gateway returned a run ID, the envelope also includes top-level runId and origin: "gateway". This includes cached final errors without a fresh acceptance response, and a timeout or lost connection after acceptance.

origin identifies the run's Gateway ownership; it does not prove the run failed or stopped. After transport loss, check the session transcript before retrying. Omitted provenance means the CLI observed no Gateway run identity, not that no run happened. Local errors and rejections without a Gateway run ID omit these fields. A locally generated idempotency key alone is not Gateway provenance.

JSON delivery status

With --json --deliver, the CLI JSON response includes top-level deliveryStatus so scripts can distinguish delivered, suppressed, partial, and failed sends:

{  "payloads": [{ "text": "Report ready", "mediaUrl": null }],  "meta": { "durationMs": 1200 },  "deliveryStatus": {    "requested": true,    "attempted": true,    "status": "sent",    "succeeded": true,    "resultCount": 1  }}

Gateway-backed CLI responses also preserve the raw Gateway result shape at result.deliveryStatus.

deliveryStatus.status is one of:

Common fields:

• requested: always true when the object is present.
• attempted: true once the durable send path ran; false for preflight failures or no visible payloads.
• succeeded: true, false, or "partial"; "partial" pairs with status: "partial_failed".
• reason: lowercase snake-case reason from durable delivery or preflight validation. Known values include cancelled_by_message_sending_hook, no_visible_payload, no_visible_result, channel_resolved_to_internal, unknown_channel, invalid_delivery_target, and no_delivery_target; failed durable sends may also report the failed stage. Treat unknown values as opaque since the set can expand.
• resultCount: number of channel send results, when available.
• sentBeforeError: true when a partial failure sent at least one payload before erroring.
• error: true for failed or partial-failed sends.
• errorMessage: present only when an underlying delivery error message was captured. Preflight failures carry error/reason but no errorMessage.
• payloadOutcomes: optional per-payload results with index, status, reason, resultCount, error, stage, sentBeforeError, or hook metadata when available.

Related

• CLI reference
• Agent runtime