# Problem Addressed > ZeroClaw is a fully autonomous AI assistant infrastructure written in Rust, designed for minimal resource consumption and maximum portability. - Skill: `tools-only/problem-addressed-20` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tools-only/problem-addressed-20` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tools-only/problem-addressed-20/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector CAUTION) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: tools-only (https://skillmd.com/u/tools-only) - Updated: 2026-09-29 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tools-only/problem-addressed-20 --- # ZeroClaw | Field | Value | | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Research Date | 2026-02-19 | | Primary URL | | | GitHub | | | Version | v0.1.0 (released 2026-02-19) | | License | Other (MIT per README badge; NOASSERTION per GitHub API) | | X/Twitter | | | Telegram | | | Reddit | | --- ## Overview ZeroClaw is a fully autonomous AI assistant infrastructure written in Rust, designed for minimal resource consumption and maximum portability. It runs on $10 hardware with less than 5MB peak RAM at startup, providing a single-binary deployment that supports 28+ AI providers, 15+ messaging channels, pluggable memory backends, and a trait-driven architecture where every subsystem — providers, channels, tools, memory, tunnels — can be swapped via config changes with no code modifications. --- ## Problem Addressed | Problem | Solution | | -------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | AI agents require expensive hardware | Sub-5MB RAM footprint; runs on $10 ARM/RISC-V boards | | Runtime startup latency exceeds user tolerance | Near-instant cold starts (`<10ms` on edge hardware) | | AI infrastructure creates vendor lock-in | Trait-based architecture; every subsystem is swappable via config | | Deploying agents to messaging platforms is complex | 15+ built-in channels (Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Matrix, Signal) | | Security defaults are permissive | Deny-by-default allowlists, `127.0.0.1` binding, filesystem scoping | | Memory systems require external dependencies | Self-contained SQLite hybrid search (FTS5 + vector cosine) with no Pinecone | | Multi-provider AI support requires rewrites | 28+ built-in providers + custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints | --- ## Key Statistics | Metric | Value | Date Gathered | | ---------------- | ---------------------- | ------------- | | GitHub Stars | 14,966 | 2026-02-19 | | GitHub Forks | 1,568 | 2026-02-19 | | Open Issues | 71 | 2026-02-19 | | Contributors | ~84 (from Link header) | 2026-02-19 | | Primary Language | Rust | 2026-02-19 | | Repository Age | Since 2026-02-13 | 2026-02-19 | | Latest Release | v0.1.0 (2026-02-19) | 2026-02-19 | --- ## Key Features ### Runtime and Performance - **Sub-5MB RAM**: Release build peak at `~4.1MB` for `zeroclaw status`; `~3.9MB` for `--help` - **Near-instant starts**: `<10ms` real time on release builds for CLI commands - **Single binary**: `~8.8MB` release binary; no Node.js, Python, or JVM dependency - **Cross-platform**: ARM, x86, RISC-V; Homebrew available for macOS/Linuxbrew - **Docker runtime**: Optional sandboxed execution via `runtime.kind = "docker"` ### Trait-Driven Architecture Every subsystem is a Rust trait — swap implementations with a config change: - **AI Models** (`Provider` trait): 28+ built-ins including OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter, plus custom OpenAI-compatible and Anthropic-compatible endpoints - **Channels** (`Channel` trait): CLI, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Mattermost, iMessage, Matrix, Signal, WhatsApp, Email, IRC, Lark, DingTalk, QQ, Webhook - **Memory** (`Memory` trait): SQLite hybrid search, PostgreSQL, Lucid bridge, Markdown files, explicit no-op backend - **Tools** (`Tool` trait): shell/file/memory, cron/schedule, git, browser, http_request, screenshot, composio (opt-in), delegate, hardware tools - **Tunnels** (`Tunnel` trait): None, Cloudflare, Tailscale, ngrok, Custom ### Memory System Custom full-stack search with zero external dependencies: - Vector embeddings stored as BLOB in SQLite with cosine similarity search - FTS5 virtual tables with BM25 keyword scoring - Custom weighted merge of vector + keyword results (`vector_weight = 0.7`, `keyword_weight = 0.3`) - `EmbeddingProvider` trait: OpenAI, custom URL, or noop - Optional PostgreSQL backend via `storage.provider.config` - LRU eviction cache for embedding reuse ### Security - Gateway binds `127.0.0.1` by default; refuses `0.0.0.0` without tunnel or explicit opt-in - 6-digit one-time pairing code on startup; bearer token for all webhook requests - Filesystem scoping: `workspace_only = true` by default; 14 system dirs + 4 sensitive dotfiles blocked - Null byte injection blocking; symlink escape detection via canonicalization - Channel allowlists are deny-by-default (empty list = deny all; `"*"` = explicit open) - Docker sandbox for tool execution isolation ### Subscription Auth Multi-account encrypted auth profiles at rest: - OpenAI Codex OAuth (ChatGPT subscription) via device-code or browser callback flow - Anthropic/Claude Code auth via `setup-token` (Authorization header mode) - Profile ID format: `:` (e.g., `openai-codex:work`) - Encrypted profile store: `~/.zeroclaw/auth-profiles.json` ### Integrations and Skills - 70+ integrations across 9 categories - TOML manifest + `SKILL.md` instruction system (similar to Claude Code skills) - `HEARTBEAT.md` periodic task engine - OpenClaw (markdown) and AIEOS v1.1 (JSON) identity format support - Migration command: `zeroclaw migrate openclaw` --- ## Technical Architecture ### Stack Components | Component | Technology | | --------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | | Core Language | Rust (stable toolchain, `codegen-units=1` for edge compat) | | Config | TOML (`~/.zeroclaw/config.toml`) | | Memory DB | SQLite (FTS5 + BLOB vectors), optional PostgreSQL | | Gateway | HTTP webhook server (default `127.0.0.1:3000`) | | Runtime | Native or Docker sandboxed | | Daemon | Background service with `zeroclaw service install` | | Build | Cargo workspace (`crates/` subdirectories) | ### Subsystem Trait Hierarchy ```text Runtime (Native / Docker) | Daemon / Gateway | Agent Loop | Provider (AI Model) — Channel (Messaging) — Tool (Capabilities) | Memory (SQLite / Postgres / Lucid / Markdown / None) | Tunnel (Cloudflare / Tailscale / ngrok / None) ``` ### Data Flow (Agent Message Handling) 1. Inbound message received via channel (Telegram webhook, CLI, etc.) 2. Allowlist check — deny if sender not in allowlist 3. Memory recall: hybrid FTS5 + cosine vector search against SQLite 4. Provider API call with context + recalled memories 5. Tool execution if agent requests tools (sandboxed if Docker runtime) 6. Response dispatched back to channel 7. Memory save if `auto_save = true` 8. Observability hook (Noop / Log / Multi observer) --- ## Installation and Usage ### Homebrew ```bash brew install zeroclaw ``` ### Build from Source ```bash git clone https://github.com/zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw.git cd zeroclaw cargo build --release --locked cargo install --path . --force --locked export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH" ``` ### One-click Bootstrap ```bash ./bootstrap.sh --install-system-deps --install-rust --onboard --api-key "sk-..." --provider openrouter ``` ### Core CLI Commands ```bash # Onboarding zeroclaw onboard --api-key sk-... --provider openrouter zeroclaw onboard --interactive # Agent interaction zeroclaw agent -m "Hello, ZeroClaw!" zeroclaw agent # interactive mode # Daemon and gateway zeroclaw daemon # autonomous runtime zeroclaw gateway # webhook server (127.0.0.1:3000) zeroclaw service install # background service # Auth (Claude Code / Anthropic) zeroclaw auth setup-token --provider anthropic --profile default # Auth (OpenAI Codex / ChatGPT) zeroclaw auth login --provider openai-codex --device-code # Diagnostics zeroclaw status zeroclaw doctor zeroclaw channel doctor ``` ### Configuration (`~/.zeroclaw/config.toml`) ```toml api_key = "sk-..." default_provider = "openrouter" default_model = "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6" default_temperature = 0.7 [memory] backend = "sqlite" auto_save = true embedding_provider = "none" vector_weight = 0.7 keyword_weight = 0.3 [gateway] port = 3000 host = "127.0.0.1" ``` --- ## Relevance to Claude Code Development ### Direct Applications 1. **Claude Code Auth Integration**: ZeroClaw explicitly supports `zeroclaw auth setup-token --provider anthropic` for Claude Code subscription auth. The README includes a critical notice that Anthropic updated Authentication and Credential Use terms on 2026-02-19 — OAuth tokens from Claude Free/Pro/Max are exclusively for Claude.ai and Claude Code; using them in other products may violate Consumer Terms of Service. 2. **Skill Architecture Parallel**: ZeroClaw's `SKILL.md` + TOML manifest system is structurally analogous to the claude_skills repository. Reference for alternative skill loading patterns. 3. **HEARTBEAT.md Pattern**: ZeroClaw's `HEARTBEAT.md` periodic task engine is a named-file-based task scheduling pattern directly comparable to Claude Code's memory system. 4. **Agent Infrastructure Reference**: ZeroClaw's trait-based swappable architecture (`Provider`, `Channel`, `Memory`, `Tool`) documents design patterns for building agent infrastructure that avoids vendor lock-in. 5. **Edge Deployment**: The sub-5MB RAM, single-binary model demonstrates deployment requirements for Claude Code skills on resource-constrained environments. ### Patterns Worth Examining 1. **Deny-by-default channel allowlists**: Empty allowlist = deny all is a clean security default pattern for multi-channel AI systems. 2. **Observability trait**: Noop → Log → Multi observer hierarchy is a minimal, extensible observability pattern for agents. 3. **Hybrid memory without external deps**: FTS5 + SQLite vector search with weighted merge shows how to build hybrid search without Pinecone or Elasticsearch. 4. **Explicit no-op backends**: `backend = "none"` for memory provides a named, explicit off-switch rather than implicit null behavior. ### Caution: Very Early Stage ZeroClaw was created on 2026-02-13 and reached v0.1.0 on 2026-02-19 — it is six days old at time of research. The 14,966 stars likely reflect viral social media attention rather than production validation. The project is also actively dealing with impersonation forks (`openagen/zeroclaw`, `zeroclaw.org`). Treat architectural patterns as reference material; do not treat the project as production-stable. --- ## References | Source | URL | Accessed | | ----------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | | GitHub Repository | | 2026-02-19 | | GitHub README | | 2026-02-19 | | GitHub API (repo meta) | `gh api repos/zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw` | 2026-02-19 | | GitHub API (release) | `gh api repos/zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw/releases/latest` | 2026-02-19 | | GitHub API (contrib) | `gh api repos/zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw/contributors?per_page=1&anon=true` | 2026-02-19 | | Anthropic Auth Notice | | 2026-02-19 | **Research Method**: Information gathered from GitHub API (stars, forks, issues, releases, contributors via Link header pagination), and README decoded from base64 GitHub contents API response. No external web search required — all data sourced from primary GitHub repository. --- ## Freshness Tracking | Field | Value | | ------------------ | ----------------------------------- | | Version Documented | v0.1.0 | | Release Date | 2026-02-19 | | GitHub Stars | 14,966 (as of 2026-02-19) | | GitHub Forks | 1,568 (as of 2026-02-19) | | Next Review Date | 2026-05-19 | **Review Triggers**: - Any stable release milestone (v0.2.0+, v1.0.0) - Stars exceed 25K (indicates sustained community traction vs. viral spike) - Production deployments documented in community - Changes to Anthropic auth terms affecting zeroclaw integration - New memory backend or channel additions - Security advisories (project is six days old; surface area likely growing rapidly)