Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/nearai/ironclaw/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Overview
IronClaw is a Rust reimplementation inspired by OpenClaw. This document tracks feature parity between the two projects to coordinate development across contributors.
Current Version: IronClaw 0.13.1
Status Legend
- ✅ Implemented: Feature is complete and working
- 🚧 Partial: In progress or incomplete implementation
- ❌ Not Implemented: Feature not yet started
- 🔮 Planned: In scope but not started
- 🚫 Out of Scope: Intentionally skipped
- ➖ N/A: Not applicable to Rust implementation
Key Architectural Differences
IronClaw intentionally differs from OpenClaw in several areas:
1. Rust vs TypeScript
- Native performance: No runtime overhead
- Memory safety: Compile-time guarantees
- Single binary: No dependencies required
2. WASM Sandbox vs Docker
- Lightweight: WASM modules vs full containers
- Faster startup: Milliseconds vs seconds
- Capability-based security: Explicit permission model
3. Database Strategy
- PostgreSQL + libSQL: Dual backend support
- Production-ready: PostgreSQL for production
- Zero-dependency mode: Embedded libSQL for development
4. NEAR AI Focus
- Primary provider: NEAR AI as default LLM backend
- Session-based auth: OAuth flow with refresh tokens
5. No Mobile/Desktop Apps Initially
- Server-first: Focus on core agent functionality
- CLI/TUI: Terminal interface for power users
- Web gateway: Browser-based control UI
6. Novel Features
- WASM channels: Extension mechanism unique to IronClaw
- Tinfoil provider: Private/encrypted inference
- Prompt-based skills: Trust gating and attenuation
Implementation Progress by Category
Core Systems (85% Complete)
| Feature | Status | Priority | Notes |
|---|
| Agent loop & message handling | ✅ | P0 | Complete |
| Session management | ✅ | P0 | Per-sender sessions |
| Context compaction | ✅ | P0 | Auto summarization |
| Multi-provider failover | ✅ | P1 | FailoverProvider with retry logic |
| WASM sandbox | ✅ | P0 | Capability-based permissions |
| Docker sandbox | ✅ | P0 | Orchestrator/worker pattern |
| Hybrid search (BM25 + vector) | ✅ | P0 | RRF algorithm |
| Prompt injection defense | ✅ | P0 | Pattern detection + sanitization |
| Skills system | ✅ | P0 | Prompt-based with trust gating |
| Heartbeat system | ✅ | P0 | Periodic execution |
| Configuration hot-reload | ❌ | P2 | Requires file watching |
| Global sessions | ❌ | - | Optional shared context |
| Multi-agent routing | ❌ | - | Workspace isolation |
Messaging Channels (60% Complete)
| Channel | Status | Priority | Notes |
|---|
| CLI/TUI | ✅ | P0 | Ratatui-based |
| HTTP webhook | ✅ | P0 | Secret validation |
| Web gateway chat | ✅ | P0 | SSE + WebSocket |
| Telegram | ✅ | P1 | WASM channel (MTProto) |
| Slack | ✅ | P1 | WASM tool |
| Signal | ✅ | P2 | signal-cli integration |
| WhatsApp | ❌ | P1 | Baileys integration needed |
| Discord | ❌ | P2 | discord.js equivalent |
| iMessage | ❌ | P3 | BlueBubbles/Linq |
| Matrix | ❌ | P3 | E2EE support |
Channel Features
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|
| DM pairing codes | ✅ | ironclaw pairing list/approve |
| Allowlist/blocklist | 🚧 | allow_from + pairing store |
| Thread isolation | ✅ | Separate sessions per thread |
| Typing indicators | 🚧 | TUI + Telegram basic support |
| Mention-based activation | ✅ | bot_username config |
| Per-group tool policies | ❌ | Allow/deny specific tools |
| Channel health monitor | ❌ | Auto-restart crashed channels |
LLM Provider Support (70% Complete)
| Provider | Status | Priority | Notes |
|---|
| NEAR AI | ✅ | P0 | Primary provider |
| Anthropic (Claude) | 🚧 | P0 | Via NEAR AI proxy |
| OpenAI | 🚧 | P0 | Via NEAR AI proxy |
| OpenRouter | ✅ | P1 | Via OpenAI-compatible adapter |
| Ollama (local) | ✅ | P2 | Full support via rig |
| Tinfoil | ✅ | - | IronClaw-only private inference |
| AWS Bedrock | ❌ | P3 | |
| Google Gemini | ❌ | P3 | |
| Perplexity | ❌ | P3 | Web search optimization |
Provider Features
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|
| Auto-discovery | ❌ | Detect available models |
| Failover chains | ✅ | FailoverProvider with fallback |
| Cooldown management | ✅ | Lock-free per-provider |
| Per-session model override | ✅ | TUI model selector |
Security & Safety (75% Complete)
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|
| Gateway token auth | ✅ | Bearer token |
| DM pairing verification | ✅ | Host-based approval |
| Exec approvals | ✅ | TUI overlay |
| TLS 1.3 minimum | ✅ | rustls |
| SSRF protection | ✅ | WASM allowlist |
| WASM sandbox | ✅ | IronClaw innovation |
| Docker sandbox | ✅ | Orchestrator/worker |
| Tool policies | ✅ | Allow/deny lists |
| Prompt injection defense | ✅ | Multi-layer defense |
| Leak detection | ✅ | Secret exfiltration prevention |
| Session file permissions | ✅ | 0o600 mode |
| Webhook signature verification | ✅ | HMAC validation |
| Sandbox env sanitization | 🚧 | Partial implementation |
| Tailscale identity | ❌ | Network identity |
| Trusted-proxy auth | ❌ | Reverse proxy headers |
| Device pairing | ❌ | Multi-device support |
| SSRF IPv6 bypass block | ❌ | Block IPv4-mapped IPv6 |
Memory & Knowledge (80% Complete)
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|
| Vector memory | ✅ | pgvector |
| Session-based memory | ✅ | Per-sender context |
| Hybrid search (BM25 + vector) | ✅ | RRF algorithm |
| OpenAI embeddings | ✅ | Default provider |
| Atomic reindexing | ✅ | Safe updates |
| Embeddings batching | ✅ | embed_batch trait |
| Flexible path structure | ✅ | Filesystem-like API |
| Identity files | ✅ | AGENTS.md, etc. |
| Daily logs | ✅ | Automatic logging |
| Heartbeat checklist | ✅ | HEARTBEAT.md |
| Memory CLI commands | ✅ | search/read/write/tree/status |
| Temporal decay | ❌ | Time-based scoring |
| MMR re-ranking | ❌ | Result diversity |
| LLM query expansion | ❌ | Expand search queries |
| Local embeddings | ❌ | On-device models |
| Citation support | ❌ | Source attribution |
CLI Commands (75% Complete)
| Command | Status | Priority | Notes |
|---|
run (agent) | ✅ | P0 | Default command |
onboard | ✅ | P0 | Setup wizard |
tui | ✅ | P0 | Ratatui interface |
config | ✅ | P0 | Read/write settings |
status | ✅ | P0 | System status |
memory | ✅ | P0 | Memory operations |
tool | ✅ | P0 | WASM tool management |
skills | ✅ | P0 | Skills management |
pairing | ✅ | P0 | DM pairing approval |
hooks | ✅ | P2 | Lifecycle hooks |
completion | ✅ | P1 | Shell completion |
gateway | ❌ | P2 | Gateway control |
channels | ❌ | P2 | Channel management |
cron | ❌ | P2 | Cron job management |
doctor | ❌ | P2 | Diagnostics |
logs | ❌ | P3 | Log queries |
Automation & Hooks (70% Complete)
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|
| Cron jobs | ✅ | Routines with cron trigger |
| Timezone support | ✅ | Via cron expressions |
| One-shot/recurring jobs | ✅ | Manual + cron triggers |
beforeInbound hook | ✅ | Pre-process messages |
beforeOutbound hook | ✅ | Pre-send messages |
beforeToolCall hook | ✅ | Tool execution guard |
onMessage hook | ✅ | Event trigger routines |
onSessionStart hook | ✅ | Session lifecycle |
onSessionEnd hook | ✅ | Session cleanup |
transformResponse hook | ✅ | Response modification |
| Bundled hooks | ✅ | Audit + declarative rules |
| Plugin hooks | ✅ | WASM capabilities.json |
| Workspace hooks | ✅ | hooks/hooks.json |
| Outbound webhooks | ✅ | Fire-and-forget delivery |
| Heartbeat system | ✅ | Periodic execution |
before_agent_start hook | ❌ | Model override |
before_message_write hook | ❌ | Pre-write interception |
llm_input/llm_output hooks | ❌ | LLM payload inspection |
| Cron stagger controls | ❌ | Job spacing |
Web Interface (65% Complete)
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|
| Control UI Dashboard | ✅ | Web gateway |
| WebChat interface | ✅ | SSE/WebSocket streaming |
| Debug/logs viewer | ✅ | Real-time log streaming |
| Model selection | ✅ | TUI only |
| Gateway status widget | 🚧 | Partial implementation |
| Channel status view | ❌ | Full channel overview |
| Agent management | ❌ | Multi-agent control |
| Config editing | ❌ | Web-based settings |
| Canvas system (A2UI) | ❌ | Agent-driven UI |
| Control UI i18n | ❌ | Multi-language support |
Plugin & Extension System (70% Complete)
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|
| Dynamic loading | ✅ | WASM modules |
| Manifest validation | ✅ | WASM metadata |
| Workspace-relative install | ✅ | ~/.ironclaw/tools/ |
| Channel plugins | ✅ | WASM channels |
| Tool plugins | ✅ | WASM tools |
| Hook plugins | ✅ | Declarative hooks |
| Plugin CLI | ✅ | tool subcommand |
| HTTP path registration | ❌ | Plugin routes |
| Auth plugins | ❌ | Custom auth |
| Memory plugins | ❌ | Custom backends |
| Provider plugins | ❌ | Custom LLM providers |
| ClawHub registry | ❌ | Discovery service |
| Feature | Status | Priority | Notes |
|---|
| Image processing | ❌ | P2 | Resize, format convert |
| Audio transcription | ❌ | P2 | Speech-to-text |
| PDF parsing | ❌ | P2 | Text extraction |
| MIME detection | ❌ | P2 | File type detection |
| Vision model integration | ❌ | P2 | Image understanding |
| Video support | ❌ | P3 | Video processing |
| TTS | ❌ | P3 | Text-to-speech |
| Media caching | ❌ | P3 | Performance optimization |
Mobile & Desktop Apps (Out of Scope)
| Feature | Status | Priority | Notes |
|---|
| iOS app | 🚫 | - | Out of scope initially |
| Android app | 🚫 | - | Out of scope initially |
| macOS app | 🚫 | - | Out of scope initially |
| Apple Watch | 🚫 | - | Out of scope initially |
| SwiftUI interfaces | 🚫 | - | Focus on server-side |
| APNs push notifications | 🚫 | - | Mobile dependency |
Priority Definitions
P0 - Core (Already Done)
Essential features for basic functionality:
- ✅ Agent loop and message handling
- ✅ Session management and context compaction
- ✅ WASM and Docker sandboxes
- ✅ Hybrid search with pgvector
- ✅ Prompt injection defense
- ✅ Skills system with trust gating
- ✅ Core channels (TUI, HTTP, WebChat)
- ✅ Gateway control plane
- ✅ Memory CLI commands
P1 - High Priority
Important features for production use:
- ✅ Multi-provider failover
- ✅ Telegram WASM channel
- ✅ Hooks system (core + bundled/plugin/workspace)
- ❌ WhatsApp channel
- ✅ OpenRouter/OpenAI-compatible provider support
P2 - Medium Priority
Enhanced functionality:
- ❌ Media handling (images, PDFs)
- ✅ Ollama/local model support
- ❌ Configuration hot-reload
- ❌ Channel health monitor
- ❌ Gateway and cron CLI commands
P3 - Lower Priority
Nice-to-have features:
- ❌ Discord, Matrix channels
- ❌ TTS/audio features
- ❌ Video support
- ❌ Streaming (block/tool/Z.AI)
- ❌ Memory advanced features (temporal decay, MMR)
- ❌ Control UI i18n
How to Contribute
1. Claim a Feature
Edit FEATURE_PARITY.md in the source repository and add your name/handle to the “Owner” field for your chosen section.
2. Create Tracking Issue
Open a GitHub issue for the feature area:
Title: Implement [Feature Name]
Description:
- Feature category: [Category]
- Priority: [P0/P1/P2/P3]
- Current status: [❌/🚧]
- Target status: [✅]
Implementation plan:
1. Step one
2. Step two
3. ...
Related files:
- src/...
- tests/...
3. Update Status
As you work:
- Change ❌ to 🚧 when starting
- Update to ✅ when complete
- Add notes for design decisions or deviations
4. Update in PR
Include FEATURE_PARITY.md updates in your pull request:
| Feature | OpenClaw | IronClaw | Notes |
|---------|----------|----------|-------|
- | Hot-reload | ✅ | ❌ | |
+ | Hot-reload | ✅ | ✅ | Uses notify crate for file watching |
Coordination
Section Ownership
- Each major section should have one owner to avoid conflicts
- Owners can delegate sub-features to others
- Update ownership in
FEATURE_PARITY.md
Communication
- GitHub Issues: Track feature implementation
- Pull Requests: Include parity updates
- Discussions: Ask questions and propose designs
- Telegram: @ironclawAI for real-time chat
Review Process
- Reviewers verify parity updates match code changes
- Status changes must be accurate
- Notes should explain any deviations from OpenClaw
- Priorities can be adjusted with justification
Current Status Summary
As of version 0.13.1:
| Category | Completion | Notes |
|---|
| Core Systems | 85% | Context, sessions, failover complete |
| Messaging Channels | 60% | Core channels done, WhatsApp/Discord pending |
| LLM Providers | 70% | NEAR AI, OpenRouter, Ollama supported |
| Security & Safety | 75% | WASM/Docker sandboxes, prompt defense done |
| Memory & Knowledge | 80% | Hybrid search, embeddings, CLI complete |
| CLI Commands | 75% | Core commands done, management tools pending |
| Automation & Hooks | 70% | Cron, core hooks, webhooks working |
| Web Interface | 65% | Gateway, chat, logs complete |
| Plugin System | 70% | WASM loading, tools, channels working |
| Media Handling | 10% | Major gap - images, audio, PDF needed |
| Mobile/Desktop | 0% | Out of scope initially |
Next Major Milestones
Q2 2026
- Complete WhatsApp channel (P1)
- Implement media handling (P2)
- Add configuration hot-reload (P2)
- Enhance channel health monitoring (P2)
Q3 2026
- Discord channel implementation (P2)
- Advanced memory features (temporal decay, MMR) (P3)
- Streaming support (block/tool-level) (P3)
- Control UI internationalization (P3)
Q4 2026
- Matrix and additional messaging channels (P3)
- TTS/audio features (P3)
- Video processing support (P3)
- Plugin registry/ClawHub (P3)
Resources
Questions?
If you’re unsure whether a feature is in scope or how to implement it:
- Check the full
FEATURE_PARITY.md in the source repository
- Search existing GitHub issues
- Open a discussion on GitHub
- Ask in the Telegram group
We’re here to help you contribute successfully!