---
title: "Soloclaw"
description: "A single-instance, openclaw-compatible terminal AI agent with layered tool approval, built in Rust."
canonical_url: "https://2389.ai/products/soloclaw/"
last_updated: "2026-03-17T11:10:28-05:00"
doc_version: "1.0"
date: 2026-02-21
product_type: "Tool"
status: "Alpha"
tags: ["agents", "terminal", "tui", "rust", "mcp", "tool-use", "openclaw", "cli"]
---

# Soloclaw

> A single-instance, openclaw-compatible terminal AI agent with layered tool approval, built in Rust.


Soloclaw is a single-instance, openclaw-compatible AI agent for your terminal. One user, one agent, one session — no gateway, no shared infrastructure. It faithfully ports openclaw's three-layer approval engine, context file pattern, and skill system into a standalone Rust binary with a full-screen streaming TUI. Five LLM providers, real security controls, and every tool call gated before anything touches your system.

## Install

```bash
git clone https://github.com/2389-research/soloclaw.git
cd soloclaw
cargo install --path .

# Interactive setup — writes config, API keys, approval rules
claw setup
```

## What it does

**Multi-provider LLM support.** Switch between Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, OpenRouter, and Ollama from config or CLI flags. All providers use the same conversation interface. Custom base URLs work for proxies and self-hosted endpoints.

**Streaming TUI.** Full-screen terminal interface built on ratatui. Tokens stream in real time. Chat history scrolls with keyboard or mouse. Tool calls and their output render inline.

**Openclaw-compatible approval engine.** Soloclaw implements openclaw's three-layer security model: SecurityLevel (deny, allowlist, full) × AskMode (off, on-miss, always) × persistent allowlist. When a tool call doesn't match the allowlist, soloclaw prompts you inline: Allow Once, Always Allow, or Deny. "Always Allow" persists the pattern to `approvals.json` so you're not approving `grep` every time. Shell commands get parsed and matched against a built-in safe list of read-only binaries (ls, cat, grep, head, etc.) for auto-approval.

**MCP extension.** Drop a `.mcp.json` in your project root or home directory, same format as Claude Desktop. MCP server tools appear alongside built-in tools and go through the same approval flow.

**Openclaw context files.** Drop `SOUL.md`, `AGENTS.md`, or `TOOLS.md` in your project to shape how the agent behaves — the same context file pattern used by openclaw. `.soloclaw.md` works as a project-specific config. All files are optional and loaded into the system prompt at startup.

**Skill injection.** `SKILL.md` files from four configurable roots (XDG config, workspace, `~/.agents`, `~/.codex`) get injected into the system prompt, with limits to prevent prompt bloat (24 files max, 32k characters total).

## How it works

Where openclaw is a full multi-agent, multi-channel platform with a gateway control plane, soloclaw strips that down to a single-instance agent. One process, one terminal, one conversation. No gateway, no WebSocket routing, no multi-tenant sessions. The tradeoff is simplicity: you get openclaw's approval engine, context layering, and skill system without running infrastructure.

Soloclaw runs a think-act loop: the LLM generates a response, tool calls get routed through the approval engine, approved calls execute, results feed back into the conversation. The TUI renders everything — messages, tool calls, approval prompts — in a single full-screen layout.

Config lives under `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/soloclaw/`. API keys go in `secrets.env` (chmod 600). The `claw setup` wizard handles first-run configuration.

## Requirements

- Rust toolchain (cargo)
- [mux-rs](https://github.com/2389-research/mux-rs) — the LLM abstraction and tool registry layer
- At least one LLM API key (Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, OpenRouter) or a running Ollama instance


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