ClawWall Documentation

Install & Quick Start

Requires Node.js 20+.

ClawWall is a policy firewall for AI agents. Install it globally with npm install -g clawwall, then run clawwall start. The daemon starts on port 7654 by default and opens the dashboard automatically. Set CLAWWALL_ENABLED=true on your agent to activate the before-tool-call hook.

How It Works

OpenClaw → before-tool-call hook → POST /policy/check → ClawWall daemon
                                                                    ↓
                                        allow (instant) ← Rule Engine → deny (instant)
                                                                    ↓
                                                                  ask → Dashboard [Allow/Deny]

1. 1. Agent calls a tool (exec, read, write, browser, etc.)
2. 2. OpenClaw's before-tool-call hook fires, POSTing to /policy/check
3. 3. ClawWall evaluates built-in and custom rules against tool name + args
4. 4. ALLOW/DENY returns instantly. ASK suspends the call, pushes to dashboard
5. 5. Dashboard shows [Allow] / [Deny] buttons; your click resolves the call

What It Protects

Web Dashboard

The dashboard lives at http://localhost:7654 and auto-opens when you run clawwall start.

You can also use the hosted control panel at clawwall.dev/dashboard — it connects to your local daemon directly from the browser.

CLI Reference

Custom Rules

Custom rules are regex patterns matched against tool arguments. Command rules match against any string arg; path rules match against path-like args. Rules are stored in ~/.clawwall/rules.json by default (override with CLAWWALL_RULES_FILE).

Patterns are standard JavaScript regex strings. They are tested with new RegExp(pattern). Rules file location: ~/.clawwall/rules.json

Built-in Rules

Configuration

All configuration is via environment variables. No config file required.

HTTP API

Base URL: http://localhost:7654

curl -X POST http://localhost:7654/policy/check \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "agent_id": "my-agent",
    "tool": { "name": "exec", "args": { "command": "rm -rf /tmp/test" } },
    "context": { "cwd": "/home/user/project" }
  }'

# Response:
# { "decision": "deny", "reason": "dangerous_command" }

Agent Integration

Set CLAWWALL_ENABLED=true before launching your OpenClaw agent. ClawWall auto-registers the hook via the OpenClaw config.

{
  "hooks": {
    "before-tool-call": [
      {
        "name": "clawwall",
        "enabled": true,
        "url": "http://localhost:7654/policy/check",
        "timeout_ms": 5000
      }
    ]
  }
}

Audit Log

Every policy decision is written to ~/.clawwall/logs/YYYY-MM-DD.jsonl as newline-delimited JSON.

{
  "id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "ts": "2025-01-15T10:23:45.123Z",
  "agent_id": "my-agent",
  "tool": "exec",
  "args": { "command": "rm -rf /tmp" },
  "decision": "deny",
  "reason": "dangerous_command",
  "cwd": "/home/user/project"
}

Tail the live log with: clawwall logs  |  Override location: CLAWWALL_AUDIT_DIR

Auto-Start on Login

On macOS, ClawWall can install a launchd plist so the daemon starts automatically when you log in.

Phone Notifications

ClawWall can push approval requests to your phone via ntfy — a free, open-source notification service. No account required.

Scope & Limitations