ZeroClaw 🦀 — Rust based alternative to OpenClaw / PicoClaw / Nanobot / AgentZero

[robi]

ZeroClaw - https://github.com/theonlyhennygod/zeroclaw

Zero overhead. Zero compromise. 100% Rust. 100% Agnostic.
️ Runs on $10 hardware with <5MB RAM: That's 99% less memory than OpenClaw and 98% cheaper than a Mac mini!

Fast, small, and fully autonomous AI assistant infrastructure — deploy anywhere, swap anything.

~3.4MB binary · <10ms startup · 1,017 tests · 22+ providers · 8 traits · Pluggable everything

Features

• ️ Ultra-Lightweight: <5MB Memory footprint — 99% smaller than OpenClaw core.
• Minimal Cost: Efficient enough to run on $10 Hardware — 98% cheaper than a Mac mini.
• Lightning Fast: 400X Faster startup time, boot in <10ms (under 1s even on 0.6GHz cores).
• True Portability: Single self-contained binary across ARM, x86, and RISC-V.

Why teams pick ZeroClaw

• Lean by default: small Rust binary, fast startup, low memory footprint.
• Secure by design: pairing, strict sandboxing, explicit allowlists, workspace scoping.
• Fully swappable: core systems are traits (providers, channels, tools, memory, tunnels).
• No lock-in: OpenAI-compatible provider support + pluggable custom endpoints.

Benchmark Snapshot (ZeroClaw vs OpenClaw)

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

	OpenClaw	NanoBot	PicoClaw	ZeroClaw
Language	TypeScript	Python	Go	Rust
RAM	> 1GB	> 100MB	< 10MB	< 5MB
Startup (0.8GHz core)	> 500s	> 30s	< 1s	< 10ms
Binary Size	~28MB (dist)	N/A (Scripts)	~8MB	3.4 MB
Cost	Mac Mini $599	Linux SBC ~$50	Linux Board $10	Any hardware $10

Notes: ZeroClaw results measured with /usr/bin/time -l on release builds. OpenClaw requires Node.js runtime (~390MB overhead). PicoClaw and ZeroClaw are static binaries.

<p align="center">
<img src="zero-claw.jpeg" alt="ZeroClaw vs OpenClaw Comparison" width="800" />
</p>

Reproduce ZeroClaw numbers locally:

cargo build --release
ls -lh target/release/zeroclaw

/usr/bin/time -l target/release/zeroclaw --help
/usr/bin/time -l target/release/zeroclaw status

Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/theonlyhennygod/zeroclaw.git
cd zeroclaw
cargo build --release
cargo install --path . --force

# Quick setup (no prompts)
zeroclaw onboard --api-key sk-... --provider openrouter

# Or interactive wizard
zeroclaw onboard --interactive

# Or quickly repair channels/allowlists only
zeroclaw onboard --channels-only

# Chat
zeroclaw agent -m "Hello, ZeroClaw!"

# Interactive mode
zeroclaw agent

# Start the gateway (webhook server)
zeroclaw gateway                # default: 127.0.0.1:8080
zeroclaw gateway --port 0       # random port (security hardened)

# Start full autonomous runtime
zeroclaw daemon

# Check status
zeroclaw status

# Run system diagnostics
zeroclaw doctor

# Check channel health
zeroclaw channel doctor

# Get integration setup details
zeroclaw integrations info Telegram

# Manage background service
zeroclaw service install
zeroclaw service status

# Migrate memory from OpenClaw (safe preview first)
zeroclaw migrate openclaw --dry-run
zeroclaw migrate openclaw

Dev fallback (no global install): prefix commands with cargo run --release -- (example: cargo run --release -- status).

Architecture

Every subsystem is a trait — swap implementations with a config change, zero code changes.

<p align="center">
<img src="docs/architecture.svg" alt="ZeroClaw Architecture" width="900" />
</p>

Subsystem	Trait	Ships with	Extend
AI Models	Provider	22+ providers (OpenRouter, Anthropic, OpenAI, Ollama, Venice, Groq, Mistral, xAI, DeepSeek, Together, Fireworks, Perplexity, Cohere, Bedrock, etc.)	custom:https://your-api.com — any OpenAI-compatible API
Channels	Channel	CLI, Telegram, Discord, Slack, iMessage, Matrix, WhatsApp, Webhook	Any messaging API
Memory	Memory	SQLite with hybrid search (FTS5 + vector cosine similarity), Markdown	Any persistence backend
Tools	Tool	shell, file_read, file_write, memory_store, memory_recall, memory_forget, browser_open (Brave + allowlist), composio (optional)	Any capability
Observability	Observer	Noop, Log, Multi	Prometheus, OTel
Runtime	RuntimeAdapter	Native (Mac/Linux/Pi)	Docker, WASM (planned; unsupported kinds fail fast)
Security	SecurityPolicy	Gateway pairing, sandbox, allowlists, rate limits, filesystem scoping, encrypted secrets	—
Identity	IdentityConfig	OpenClaw (markdown), AIEOS v1.1 (JSON)	Any identity format
Tunnel	Tunnel	None, Cloudflare, Tailscale, ngrok, Custom	Any tunnel binary
Heartbeat	Engine	HEARTBEAT.md periodic tasks	—
Skills	Loader	TOML manifests + SKILL.md instructions	Community skill packs
Integrations	Registry	50+ integrations across 9 categories	Plugin system

Runtime support (current)

• Supported today: runtime.kind = "native"
• Planned, not implemented yet: Docker / WASM / edge runtimes

When an unsupported runtime.kind is configured, ZeroClaw now exits with a clear error instead of silently falling back to native.

Memory System (Full-Stack Search Engine)

All custom, zero external dependencies — no Pinecone, no Elasticsearch, no LangChain:

Layer	Implementation
Vector DB	Embeddings stored as BLOB in SQLite, cosine similarity search
Keyword Search	FTS5 virtual tables with BM25 scoring
Hybrid Merge	Custom weighted merge function (vector.rs)
Embeddings	EmbeddingProvider trait — OpenAI, custom URL, or noop
Chunking	Line-based markdown chunker with heading preservation
Caching	SQLite embedding_cache table with LRU eviction
Safe Reindex	Rebuild FTS5 + re-embed missing vectors atomically

The agent automatically recalls, saves, and manages memory via tools.

[memory]
backend = "sqlite"          # "sqlite", "markdown", "none"
auto_save = true
embedding_provider = "openai"
vector_weight = 0.7
keyword_weight = 0.3

Security

ZeroClaw enforces security at every layer — not just the sandbox. It passes all items from the community security checklist.

Security Checklist

#	Item	Status	How
1	Gateway not publicly exposed		Binds 127.0.0.1 by default. Refuses 0.0.0.0 without tunnel or explicit allow_public_bind = true.
2	Pairing required		6-digit one-time code on startup. Exchange via POST /pair for bearer token. All /webhook requests require Authorization: Bearer <token>.
3	Filesystem scoped (no /)		workspace_only = true by default. 14 system dirs + 4 sensitive dotfiles blocked. Null byte injection blocked. Symlink escape detection via canonicalization + resolved-path workspace checks in file read/write tools.
4	Access via tunnel only		Gateway refuses public bind without active tunnel. Supports Tailscale, Cloudflare, ngrok, or any custom tunnel.

Run your own nmap: nmap -p 1-65535 <your-host> — ZeroClaw binds to localhost only, so nothing is exposed unless you explicitly configure a tunnel.

Channel allowlists (Telegram / Discord / Slack)

Inbound sender policy is now consistent:

• Empty allowlist = deny all inbound messages
• "*" = allow all (explicit opt-in)
• Otherwise = exact-match allowlist

This keeps accidental exposure low by default.

Recommended low-friction setup (secure + fast):

• Telegram: allowlist your own @username (without @) and/or your numeric Telegram user ID.
• Discord: allowlist your own Discord user ID.
• Slack: allowlist your own Slack member ID (usually starts with U).
• Use "*" only for temporary open testing.

If you're not sure which identity to use:

1. Start channels and send one message to your bot.
2. Read the warning log to see the exact sender identity.
3. Add that value to the allowlist and rerun channels-only setup.

If you hit authorization warnings in logs (for example: ignoring message from unauthorized user),
rerun channel setup only:

zeroclaw onboard --channels-only

WhatsApp Business Cloud API Setup

WhatsApp uses Meta's Cloud API with webhooks (push-based, not polling):

1. Create a Meta Business App:

   • Go to developers.facebook.com
   • Create a new app → Select "Business" type
   • Add the "WhatsApp" product

2. Get your credentials:

   • Access Token: From WhatsApp → API Setup → Generate token (or create a System User for permanent tokens)
   • Phone Number ID: From WhatsApp → API Setup → Phone number ID
   • Verify Token: You define this (any random string) — Meta will send it back during webhook verification

3. Configure ZeroClaw:

   [channels_config.whatsapp]
   access_token = "EAABx..."
   phone_number_id = "123456789012345"
   verify_token = "my-secret-verify-token"
   allowed_numbers = ["+1234567890"]  # E.164 format, or ["*"] for all
   

4. Start the gateway with a tunnel:

   zeroclaw gateway --port 8080
   

   WhatsApp requires HTTPS, so use a tunnel (ngrok, Cloudflare, Tailscale Funnel).

5. Configure Meta webhook:

   • In Meta Developer Console → WhatsApp → Configuration → Webhook
   • Callback URL: https://your-tunnel-url/whatsapp
   • Verify Token: Same as your verify_token in config
   • Subscribe to messages field

6. Test: Send a message to your WhatsApp Business number — ZeroClaw will respond via the LLM.

Configuration

Config: ~/.zeroclaw/config.toml (created by onboard)

api_key = "sk-..."
default_provider = "openrouter"
default_model = "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-20250514"
default_temperature = 0.7

[memory]
backend = "sqlite"              # "sqlite", "markdown", "none"
auto_save = true
embedding_provider = "openai"   # "openai", "noop"
vector_weight = 0.7
keyword_weight = 0.3

[gateway]
require_pairing = true          # require pairing code on first connect
allow_public_bind = false       # refuse 0.0.0.0 without tunnel

[autonomy]
level = "supervised"            # "readonly", "supervised", "full" (default: supervised)
workspace_only = true           # default: true — scoped to workspace
allowed_commands = ["git", "npm", "cargo", "ls", "cat", "grep"]
forbidden_paths = ["/etc", "/root", "/proc", "/sys", "~/.ssh", "~/.gnupg", "~/.aws"]

[runtime]
kind = "native"                # only supported value right now; unsupported kinds fail fast

[heartbeat]
enabled = false
interval_minutes = 30

[tunnel]
provider = "none"               # "none", "cloudflare", "tailscale", "ngrok", "custom"

[secrets]
encrypt = true                  # API keys encrypted with local key file

[browser]
enabled = false                 # opt-in browser_open tool
allowed_domains = ["docs.rs"]  # required when browser is enabled

[composio]
enabled = false                 # opt-in: 1000+ OAuth apps via composio.dev

[identity]
format = "openclaw"             # "openclaw" (default, markdown files) or "aieos" (JSON)
# aieos_path = "identity.json"  # path to AIEOS JSON file (relative to workspace or absolute)
# aieos_inline = '{"identity":{"names":{"first":"Nova"}}}'  # inline AIEOS JSON

Identity System (AIEOS Support)

ZeroClaw supports identity-agnostic AI personas through two formats:

OpenClaw (Default)

Traditional markdown files in your workspace:

• IDENTITY.md — Who the agent is
• SOUL.md — Core personality and values
• USER.md — Who the agent is helping
• AGENTS.md — Behavior guidelines

AIEOS (AI Entity Object Specification)

AIEOS is a standardization framework for portable AI identity. ZeroClaw supports AIEOS v1.1 JSON payloads, allowing you to:

• Import identities from the AIEOS ecosystem
• Export identities to other AIEOS-compatible systems
• Maintain behavioral integrity across different AI models

Enable AIEOS

[identity]
format = "aieos"
aieos_path = "identity.json"  # relative to workspace or absolute path

Or inline JSON:

[identity]
format = "aieos"
aieos_inline = '''
{
  "identity": {
    "names": { "first": "Nova", "nickname": "N" }
  },
  "psychology": {
    "neural_matrix": { "creativity": 0.9, "logic": 0.8 },
    "traits": { "mbti": "ENTP" },
    "moral_compass": { "alignment": "Chaotic Good" }
  },
  "linguistics": {
    "text_style": { "formality_level": 0.2, "slang_usage": true }
  },
  "motivations": {
    "core_drive": "Push boundaries and explore possibilities"
  }
}
'''

AIEOS Schema Sections

Section	Description
identity	Names, bio, origin, residence
psychology	Neural matrix (cognitive weights), MBTI, OCEAN, moral compass
linguistics	Text style, formality, catchphrases, forbidden words
motivations	Core drive, short/long-term goals, fears
capabilities	Skills and tools the agent can access
physicality	Visual descriptors for image generation
history	Origin story, education, occupation
interests	Hobbies, favorites, lifestyle

See aieos.org for the full schema and live examples.

Gateway API

Endpoint	Method	Auth	Description
/health	GET	None	Health check (always public, no secrets leaked)
/pair	POST	X-Pairing-Code header	Exchange one-time code for bearer token
/webhook	POST	Authorization: Bearer <token>	Send message: {"message": "your prompt"}
/whatsapp	GET	Query params	Meta webhook verification (hub.mode, hub.verify_token, hub.challenge)
/whatsapp	POST	None (Meta signature)	WhatsApp incoming message webhook

Commands

Command	Description
onboard	Quick setup (default)
onboard --interactive	Full interactive 7-step wizard
onboard --channels-only	Reconfigure channels/allowlists only (fast repair flow)
agent -m "..."	Single message mode
agent	Interactive chat mode
gateway	Start webhook server (default: 127.0.0.1:8080)
gateway --port 0	Random port mode
daemon	Start long-running autonomous runtime
service install/start/stop/status/uninstall	Manage user-level background service
doctor	Diagnose daemon/scheduler/channel freshness
status	Show full system status
channel doctor	Run health checks for configured channels
integrations info <name>	Show setup/status details for one integration

License

MIT — see LICENSE

---

ZeroClaw — Zero overhead. Zero compromise. Deploy anywhere. Swap anything.
https://github.com/theonlyhennygod/zeroclaw

[crazybrad]

@robi This looks Crazy Good... definitely something we should check out. Thanks for posting this.

[robi]

@crazybrad you're welcome.

I managed to get it built and installed in LAMP app after 8hrs or so.

Definitely needs more memory during compile times. 1G avoided cargo build failures.