NullClaw 0⃣ — Zig based alternative to OpenClaw / PicoClaw / ZeroClaw / AgentZero / Nanobot

[robi]

Official website: nullclaw.io

NullClaw

Null overhead. Null compromise. 100% Zig. 100% Agnostic.
678 KB binary. ~1 MB RAM. Boots in <2 ms. Runs on anything with a CPU.

The smallest fully autonomous AI assistant infrastructure — a static Zig binary that fits on any $5 board, boots in milliseconds, and requires nothing but libc.

Docs: English · 中文 · Contributing

678 KB binary · <2 ms startup · 5,300+ tests · 50+ providers · 19 channels · Pluggable everything

Features

• Impossibly Small: 678 KB static binary — no runtime, no VM, no framework overhead.
• Near-Zero Memory: ~1 MB peak RSS. Runs comfortably on the cheapest ARM SBCs and microcontrollers.
• Instant Startup: <2 ms on Apple Silicon, <8 ms on a 0.8 GHz edge core.
• True Portability: Single self-contained binary across ARM, x86, and RISC-V. Drop it anywhere, it just runs.
• Feature-Complete: 50+ providers, 19 channels, 35+ tools, 10 memory engines, multi-layer sandbox, tunnels, hardware peripherals, MCP, subagents, streaming, voice — the full stack.

Why nullclaw

• Lean by default: Zig compiles to a tiny static binary. No allocator overhead, no garbage collector, no runtime.
• Secure by design: pairing, strict sandboxing (landlock, firejail, bubblewrap, docker), explicit allowlists, workspace scoping, encrypted secrets.
• Fully swappable: core systems are vtable interfaces (providers, channels, tools, memory, tunnels, peripherals, observers, runtimes).
• No lock-in: OpenAI-compatible provider support + pluggable custom endpoints.

Benchmark Snapshot

Local machine benchmark (macOS arm64, Feb 2026), normalized for 0.8 GHz edge hardware.

	OpenClaw	NanoBot	PicoClaw	ZeroClaw	🦞 NullClaw
Language	TypeScript	Python	Go	Rust	Zig
RAM	\> 1 GB	\> 100 MB	< 10 MB	< 5 MB	~1 MB
Startup (0.8 GHz)	\> 500 s	\> 30 s	< 1 s	< 10 ms	< 8 ms
Binary Size	~28 MB (dist)	N/A (Scripts)	~8 MB	3.4 MB	678 KB
Tests	—	—	—	1,017	5,300+
Source Files	~400+	—	—	~120	~230
Cost	Mac Mini $599	Linux SBC ~$50	Linux Board $10	Any $10 hardware	Any $5 hardware

Measured with /usr/bin/time -l on ReleaseSmall builds. nullclaw is a static binary with zero runtime dependencies.

Reproduce locally:

zig build -Doptimize=ReleaseSmall
ls -lh zig-out/bin/nullclaw

/usr/bin/time -l zig-out/bin/nullclaw --help
/usr/bin/time -l zig-out/bin/nullclaw status

Documentation

Start here if you want the shortest path to install, configure, operate, or extend nullclaw.

Localized documentation lives under docs/en/ and docs/zh/. Use the links below to jump straight to the page you need.

Need	English	中文
Start here	docs/en/README.md	docs/zh/README.md
Install	docs/en/installation.md	docs/zh/installation.md
Configure	docs/en/configuration.md	docs/zh/configuration.md
Commands	docs/en/commands.md	docs/zh/commands.md
Development	docs/en/development.md	docs/zh/development.md
Operations	docs/en/usage.md	docs/zh/usage.md
Architecture	docs/en/architecture.md	docs/zh/architecture.md
Security	docs/en/security.md	docs/zh/security.md
Gateway API	docs/en/gateway-api.md	docs/zh/gateway-api.md

• Specialized guides: CONTRIBUTING.md, SECURITY.md, SIGNAL.md