claw-code README

The project's README from github.com/ultraworkers/claw-code. As one markdown file: README.md.

Claw Code

LazyCodex banner Gajae-Code banner

LazyCodex GitHub card Gajae-Code GitHub card

start with the real crab-powered harnesses

github.com/code-yeongyu/lazycodex
github.com/Yeachan-Heo/gajae-code

Open LazyCodex on GitHub Open Gajae-Code on GitHub

Join the harness lab on Discord Join the crab tank on Discord

Join the Discords: ultraworkers discord · gajae-code discord

[!IMPORTANT] Claw Code is not the serious production project here. This repository is closer to a museum exhibit than a product pitch, a crustacean-run artifact kept alive by clawed gajaes, swept and labeled by agents, and automatically maintained according to the harnesses above.

As already described in the project philosophy, this is not meant to be hand-operated like a normal product repo. It is an agent-managed exhibit: the harnesses plan, execute, verify, label, and preserve the artifact while the crabs keep the tank running.

If you want to actually run work, start with LazyCodex or Gajae-Code. If you want to inspect the strange little fossil of the Claw Code moment, continue below.

For the longer public explanation behind this philosophy, see here.

ultraworkers/claw-code · Usage · Rust workspace · Parity · Roadmap · Contributing · Security · UltraWorkers Discord

Star history for ultraworkers/claw-code

Claw Code

Claw Code is the public Rust implementation of the claw CLI agent harness. The canonical implementation lives in rust/, and the current source of truth for this repository is ultraworkers/claw-code.

[!IMPORTANT] Start with USAGE.md for build, auth, CLI, session, and parity-harness workflows. For file submission/navigation questions, see Navigation and file context. For local OpenAI-compatible models and offline skill installs, see Local OpenAI-compatible providers and skills setup. Windows users can jump to the PowerShell-first Windows install and release quickstart. Make claw doctor your first health check after building, use rust/README.md for crate-level details, read PARITY.md for the current Rust-port checkpoint, and see docs/container.md for the container-first workflow.

ACP / Zed status: claw-code does not ship an ACP/Zed daemon or JSON-RPC entrypoint yet. Run claw acp (or claw --acp) for the current status instead of guessing from source layout; claw acp serve is currently a discoverability alias only, returns status with exit code 0, and real ACP support remains tracked separately in ROADMAP.md. For the public JSON contract, see docs/g011-acp-json-rpc-status-contract.md.

Current repository shape

Quick start

[!NOTE] [!WARNING] cargo install claw-code installs the wrong thing. The claw-code crate on crates.io is a deprecated stub that places claw-code-deprecated.exe — not claw. Running it only prints "claw-code has been renamed to agent-code". Do not use cargo install claw-code. Either build from source (this repo) or install the upstream binary:

cargo install agent-code   # upstream binary — installs 'agent.exe' (Windows) / 'agent' (Unix), NOT 'agent-code'

This repo (ultraworkers/claw-code) is build-from-source only — follow the steps below.

# 1. Clone and build
git clone https://github.com/ultraworkers/claw-code
cd claw-code/rust
cargo build --workspace

# 2. Set your API key (Anthropic API key — not a Claude subscription)
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."

# 3. Verify everything is wired correctly
./target/debug/claw doctor

# 4. Run a prompt
./target/debug/claw prompt "say hello"

# 5. Start an interactive session
./target/debug/claw

[!NOTE] Windows (PowerShell): the binary is claw.exe, not claw. Use .\target\debug\claw.exe or run cargo run -- prompt "say hello" to skip the path lookup.

Windows setup

PowerShell is a supported Windows path. Use whichever shell works for you. The common onboarding issues on Windows are:

  1. Install Rust first — download from https://rustup.rs/ and run the installer. Close and reopen your terminal when it finishes.
  2. Verify Rust is on PATH:
    cargo --version
    If this fails, reopen your terminal or run the PATH setup from the Rust installer output, then retry.
  3. Clone and build (works in PowerShell, Git Bash, or WSL):
    git clone https://github.com/ultraworkers/claw-code
cd claw-code/rust
cargo build --workspace
  4. Run (PowerShell — note .exe and backslash):
    $env:ANTHROPIC_API_KEY = "sk-ant-..."
.\target\debug\claw.exe prompt "say hello"

For release ZIPs, PATH setup, provider switching, and notification smoke checks, see docs/windows-install-release.md.

Git Bash / WSL are optional alternatives, not requirements. If you prefer bash-style paths (/c/Users/you/... instead of C:\Users\you\...), Git Bash (ships with Git for Windows) works well. In Git Bash, the MINGW64 prompt is expected and normal — not a broken install.

Post-build: locate the binary and verify

After running cargo build --workspace, the claw binary is built but not automatically installed to your system. Here's where to find it and how to verify the build succeeded.

Binary location

After cargo build --workspace in claw-code/rust/:

Debug build (default, faster compile):

Release build (optimized, slower compile):

If you ran cargo build without --release, the binary is in the debug/ folder.

Verify the build succeeded

Test the binary directly using its path:

# macOS/Linux (debug build)
./rust/target/debug/claw --help
./rust/target/debug/claw doctor

# Windows PowerShell (debug build)
.\rust\target\debug\claw.exe --help
.\rust\target\debug\claw.exe doctor

PowerShell smoke commands that do not require live credentials:

$env:CLAW_CONFIG_HOME = Join-Path $env:TEMP "claw config home"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $env:CLAW_CONFIG_HOME | Out-Null
Remove-Item Env:\ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, Env:\ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN, Env:\OPENAI_API_KEY -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
.\rust\target\debug\claw.exe help
.\rust\target\debug\claw.exe status
.\rust\target\debug\claw.exe config env
.\rust\target\debug\claw.exe doctor

If these commands succeed, the build is working. claw doctor is your first health check — it validates your API key, model access, and tool configuration.

Optional: Add to PATH

If you want to run claw from any directory without the full path, choose one of these approaches:

Option 1: Symlink (macOS/Linux)

ln -s $(pwd)/rust/target/debug/claw /usr/local/bin/claw

Then reload your shell and test:

claw --help

Option 2: Use cargo install (all platforms)

Build and install to Cargo's default location (~/.cargo/bin/, which is usually on PATH):

# From the claw-code/rust/ directory
cargo install --path . --force

# Then from anywhere
claw --help

Option 3: Update shell profile (bash/zsh)

Add this line to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:

export PATH="$(pwd)/rust/target/debug:$PATH"

Reload your shell:

source ~/.bashrc  # or source ~/.zshrc
claw --help

Troubleshooting

[!NOTE] Auth: claw requires an API key (ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, OPENAI_API_KEY, etc.) — Claude subscription login is not a supported auth path.

Run the workspace test suite after verifying the binary works:

cd rust
cargo test --workspace

Documentation map

Ecosystem

Claw Code is built in the open alongside the broader UltraWorkers toolchain:

Ownership / affiliation disclaimer

claw-code (ultraworkers/claw-code)

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194.9K ·GitHub
Claw-code
What is this?Claw Code is the public Rust implementation of 'claw', a CLI coding-agent harness. By its own README it is less a production tool and more an 'agent-managed museum exhibit' maintained entirely by AI agents/harnesses with no human intervention, in the spirit of (but unaffiliated with) Claude Code.
Is this meant to be a real production coding tool?No — the README itself says this is not the serious production project and tells users to start with LazyCodex or Gajae-Code if they actually want to get work done; this repo is kept as a labeled, maintained artifact instead.
How do I install and run claw?Build from source only: install Rust first, then build the rust/ workspace to produce the claw (or claw.exe on Windows) binary. Do not run 'cargo install claw-code' — that pulls a deprecated stub, not the real CLI.
Do I need an API key to use it?Yes — claw requires an API key such as ANTHROPIC_API_KEY or OPENAI_API_KEY; logging in with a Claude subscription is explicitly not supported.
Does it support the ACP/Zed integration yet?Not yet. claw-code doesn't ship an ACP/Zed daemon or JSON-RPC entrypoint; running 'claw acp' currently returns a placeholder status while real support stays on the roadmap.
Is this project maintained by humans?No — per the README the harnesses (LazyCodex/Gajae-Code) plan, execute, verify, label, and preserve the repo on their own, with no human operating it like a normal product.
Does it work on Windows?Yes — there's a dedicated PowerShell-first install and release quickstart for Windows, and the compiled binary there is claw.exe.
Can I use a local model instead of a cloud API?Yes — the docs cover setting up local OpenAI-compatible providers like Ollama, llama.cpp, and vLLM, plus offline skill installs.
What are LazyCodex and Gajae-Code?They are the actively used harnesses in the broader UltraWorkers toolchain that actually run coding-agent work; the README points users there instead of this exhibit repo.
What does 'claw doctor' do?It's the recommended first health-check command to run right after building the binary, to confirm the install is working before using the CLI.
What else is part of the UltraWorkers ecosystem?Related projects built alongside claw-code include clawhip, oh-my-openagent, oh-my-claudecode, oh-my-codex, and gajae-code.
What are similar projects?ruflo, ordewell, qwen-code, openrig, trae-agent, Proteus, headroom, OpenAgentCore
Which topics is it in?llamacpp, agent-harness, vllm, harness, agent-framework, coding-agents, github-actions, ci, openai-compatible, ollama, anthropic, coding-agent
Creator
ultraworkers
Size
26.2 MB
Stars
194.9K
Updated
CommitOct 13Releasev0.1.6Oct 13
Age
6mo
Commits · 90 Days