OpenClawDocs
View as MarkdownView this page as plain textOpen in ChatGPTAsk questions about this pageOpen in ClaudeAsk questions about this page

Agent coordination

Agent send

openclaw agent runs a single agent turn from the command line without an inbound chat message. Use it for scripted workflows, testing, and programmatic delivery. Full flag and behavior reference: Agent CLI reference.

Quick start

  • Run a simple agent turn

    bash
    openclaw agent --agent main --message "What is the weather today?"

    Sends the message through the Gateway and prints the reply.

  • Send a multiline prompt from a file

    bash
    openclaw agent --agent ops --message-file ./task.md

    Reads a valid UTF-8 file as the agent message body.

  • Target a specific agent or session

    bash
    # Target a specific agentopenclaw agent --agent ops --message "Summarize logs" # Target a phone number (derives session key)openclaw agent --to +15555550123 --message "Status update" # Reuse an existing sessionopenclaw agent --session-id abc123 --message "Continue the task" # Target an exact session keyopenclaw agent --session-key agent:ops:incident-42 --message "Summarize status"

  • Deliver the reply to a channel

    bash
    # Deliver to WhatsApp (default channel)openclaw agent --to +15555550123 --message "Report ready" --deliver # Deliver to Slackopenclaw agent --agent ops --message "Generate report" \  --deliver --reply-channel slack --reply-to "#reports"

    • Flags

    Flag Description
    --message <text> Inline message to send
    --message-file <path> Read the message from a valid UTF-8 file
    --to <dest> Derive session key from a target (phone, chat id)
    --session-key <key> Use an explicit session key
    --agent <id> Target a configured agent (uses its main session)
    --session-id <id> Reuse an existing session by id
    --model <id> Model override for this run (provider/model or model id)
    --local Force local embedded runtime (skip Gateway)
    --deliver Send the reply to a chat channel
    --channel <name> Delivery channel; with --agent + --to, also applies DM scope
    --reply-to <target> Delivery target override
    --reply-channel <name> Delivery channel override
    --reply-account <id> Delivery account id override
    --thinking <level> Set thinking level for the selected model profile
    --verbose <on|full|off> Persist verbose level for the session (full also logs tool output)
    --timeout <seconds> Override agent timeout (default 600, or config value)
    --json Output structured JSON

    Behavior

    • By default, the CLI goes through the Gateway. Add --local to force the embedded runtime on the current machine.
    • Pass exactly one of --message or --message-file. File messages preserve multiline content after removing an optional UTF-8 BOM.
    • If the Gateway request fails, the CLI falls back to the local embedded run; a Gateway timeout falls back with a fresh session instead of racing the original transcript.
    • Session selection: --to derives the session key (group/channel targets preserve isolation; direct chats collapse to main). With --agent, --channel, and --to together, routing follows the channel's canonical recipient and session.dmScope. Stable outbound-only identities use a provider-owned session isolated from the agent's main session.
    • --session-key selects an explicit key. Agent-prefixed keys must use agent:<agent-id>:<session-key>, and --agent must match that agent id when both are supplied. Bare non-sentinel keys are scoped to --agent when supplied; for example, --agent ops --session-key incident-42 routes to agent:ops:incident-42. Without --agent, bare non-sentinel keys are scoped to the configured default agent. Literal global and unknown remain unscoped only when no --agent is supplied; the embedded fallback path resolves those sentinel sessions to the configured default agent.
    • --reply-channel and --reply-account affect delivery only.
    • Thinking and verbose flags persist into the session store.
    • Output: plain text by default, or --json for structured payload + metadata.
    • With --json --deliver, the JSON includes delivery status for sent, suppressed, partial, and failed sends. See JSON delivery status.

    Examples

    bash
    # Simple turn with JSON outputopenclaw agent --to +15555550123 --message "Trace logs" --verbose on --json # Turn with a model overrideopenclaw agent --agent ops --model openai/gpt-5.4 --message "Summarize logs" # Turn with thinking levelopenclaw agent --session-id 1234 --message "Summarize inbox" --thinking medium # Multiline prompt from a fileopenclaw agent --agent ops --message-file ./task.md # Exact session keyopenclaw agent --session-key agent:ops:incident-42 --message "Summarize status" # Legacy key scoped to an agentopenclaw agent --agent ops --session-key incident-42 --message "Summarize status" # Deliver to a different channel than the sessionopenclaw agent --agent ops --message "Alert" --deliver --reply-channel telegram --reply-to "@admin"
    Agent CLI reference

    Full openclaw agent flag and option reference.
    Sub-agents

    Background sub-agent spawning.
    Sessions

    How session keys work and how --to, --agent, and --session-id resolve them.
    Slash commands

    Native command catalog used inside agent sessions.
    Was this useful?
    On this page

    On this page