Source reading · eight-part route

OpenClaw: from “can chat” to “can stay alive”

The hard part is not one model call. It is how message ingress, session ownership, tool execution, policy, and durable state constrain a run together. All eight chapters are now published, from the end-to-end turn through always-on recovery.

Eight-part OpenClaw source route: main path, Gateway, routing and sessions, context and memory, capability assembly, security, multi-agent, and recovery
01 · Main path

How one message completes an agent turn

Follow a message from ChannelPlugin through sessionKey, queues, the embedded agent, tool events, and ReplyPayload.

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02 · Gateway

Why the Gateway is a control plane

Read the first connect frame, hello-ok, role and scope policy, event fanout, gap refresh, and slow-consumer boundary.

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03 · Routing and sessions

Which history owns a message?

Separate bindings, dmScope, identityLinks, sessionKey/sessionId, and the four temporal semantics: steer, followup, collect, interrupt.

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04 · Context and memory

What does the model actually see?

Separate workspace bootstrap, system prompt, transcript, memory, and runtime view; then distinguish the durability of pruning and compaction.

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05 · Capability assembly

How does an installed capability become callable?

Follow core, channel, plugin, and node tools through skill guidance, plugin ownership, policy filtering, and typed hook checkpoints.

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06 · Security boundaries

What does each of the four gates protect?

Separate tool policy, sandboxing, exec approval, and elevated mode; follow how sender, tool, resource, and command consent intersect.

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07 · Multi-agent

How does delegation inherit and deliver work?

Separate configured Agents, native subagents, and ACP harnesses; trace child identity, context, authority, completion, and thread binding.

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08 · Always-on recovery

How does an Agent keep working across time?

Separate heartbeat, automations, background tasks, and restart recovery; trace durable schedules, task ledgers, idempotent delivery, and bounded replay.

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