@a5c-ai/babysitter-openclaw

Babysitter orchestration plugin for OpenClaw, the daemon-based AI coding agent.

This package provides full Babysitter integration through OpenClaw's programmatic plugin API:

Programmatic hooks via api.on() for session lifecycle and orchestration control
Skills for process orchestration, diagnostics, and project management
Slash commands forwarding to skills through OpenClaw's extension system
SDK-managed process-library bootstrapping and state management

The SDK (@a5c-ai/babysitter-sdk) remains the single source of truth for orchestration, runs, tasks, replay, and state. This plugin is a thin adapter layer.

Installation

Install the Babysitter CLI once:

npm install -g @a5c-ai/babysitter

Primary: Babysitter Harness Install

Use the SDK helper for scriptable global or workspace installs. This is the canonical path used by the installer tests and resolves to npx --yes @a5c-ai/babysitter-openclaw install ... under the hood:

# Global install
babysitter harness:install-plugin openclaw

# Workspace install
babysitter harness:install-plugin openclaw --workspace /path/to/repo

This installs the @a5c-ai/babysitter-openclaw npm package and registers it with OpenClaw.

Secondary: Published package installer

npx --yes @a5c-ai/babysitter-openclaw install --global
npx --yes @a5c-ai/babysitter-openclaw install --workspace /path/to/repo

Verify Installation

babysitter harness:discover --json

Removal

npx --yes @a5c-ai/babysitter-openclaw uninstall --global

Architecture

Daemon Model vs CLI Model

Most Babysitter harness plugins (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor) integrate with CLI-based agents that follow a stop-hook model: the agent runs, stops, a hook fires synchronously, and the agent resumes. This creates a natural iteration boundary.

OpenClaw is a daemon-based harness. It runs as a persistent process and exposes a programmatic plugin API rather than a filesystem-based hook surface. This changes the orchestration model:

Aspect	CLI Harnesses (Claude Code, Codex)	OpenClaw (Daemon)
Agent lifecycle	Start, run, stop	Persistent daemon
Hook mechanism	Shell scripts via `hooks.json`	Programmatic `api.on()` callbacks
Iteration boundary	`Stop` hook (synchronous)	`agent_end` event (fire-and-forget)
Prompt injection	`UserPromptSubmit` hook	`before_prompt_build` callback
Session management	Implicit via CLI invocations	Explicit `session_start` / `session_end` events

How Orchestration Works

Session starts -- session_start hook fires, initializing Babysitter state via babysitter hook:run --hook-type session-start --harness openclaw.
Each agent turn begins -- before_prompt_build hook injects orchestration context (active run state, pending tasks, iteration instructions) into the prompt.
Each agent turn ends -- agent_end hook fires asynchronously (fire-and-forget via spawn + unref), triggering babysitter hook:run --hook-type stop --harness openclaw to advance the orchestration iteration.
Session ends -- session_end hook finalizes any active Babysitter runs.

The agent_end handler intentionally uses spawn with unref() rather than execFileSync so it does not block the next agent turn. Errors are logged to $BABYSITTER_LOG_D../platform-end-hook.log but never propagate to the agent.

Dual Hook Surface

The plugin ships both:

Programmatic hooks (extensions/hooks/*.ts) -- registered via api.on() in extensions/index.ts. These are the primary integration path for OpenClaw's native plugin API.
Shell hooks (hooks/babysitter-session-start.sh, hooks/babysitter-stop-hook.sh) -- declared in hooks.json for compatibility with harnesses that use the filesystem-based hook surface.

Both surfaces delegate to the same babysitter hook:run CLI commands.

Capabilities

The OpenClaw adapter declares the following harness capabilities:

Capability	Supported	Notes
SessionBinding	Yes	Binds runs to OpenClaw sessions via `session_start` / `session_end`
Mcp	Yes	MCP server integration via `babysitter mcp:serve`
HeadlessPrompt	Yes	Programmatic prompt submission via `api.sendUserMessage()`
StopHook	No	OpenClaw uses `agent_end` + `before_prompt_build` instead of a synchronous stop-hook model

Available Commands

The extension registers 17 slash commands (15 named commands plus /babysit and /babysitter). Each command forwards to its corresponding skill via OpenClaw's /skill:<name> mechanism.

Command	Alias	Description
`/babysit`	`/babysitter`	Load the Babysitter orchestration skill
`/call`	`/babysitter:call`	Start orchestrating a complex workflow
`/plan`	`/babysitter:plan`	Plan a workflow without executing it
`/resume`	`/babysitter:resume`	Resume an existing orchestration run
`/yolo`	`/babysitter:yolo`	Run in non-interactive mode (no breakpoints)
`/forever`	`/babysitter:forever`	Start a never-ending orchestration loop
`/doctor`	`/babysitter:doctor`	Diagnose run health (journal, state, locks)
`/observe`	`/babysitter:observe`	Launch the real-time observer dashboard
`/retrospect`	`/babysitter:retrospect`	Analyze past runs for improvements
`/cleanup`	`/babysitter:cleanup`	Clean up old runs and aggregate insights
`/assimilate`	`/babysitter:assimilate`	Convert external methodologies into processes
`/contrib`	`/babysitter:contrib`	Submit feedback or contributions
`/help`	`/babysitter:help`	Babysitter documentation and usage help
`/blueprints`	`/babysitter:blueprints`	Manage Babysitter blueprints
`/user-install`	`/babysitter:user-install`	Set up Babysitter for your user profile
`/project-install`	`/babysitter:project-install`	Onboard a project for Babysitter orchestration

Every named command also has a babysitter: prefixed alias (e.g., /babysitter:call).

Available Skills

Skills are defined in skills/ and exposed through OpenClaw's skill system:

Skill	Description
babysit	Core orchestration skill -- iterates `.a5c/runs/<runId>/` through the deterministic replay loop
call	Start a new orchestrated run for a complex workflow
plan	Create and refine a process definition without executing it
resume	Resume an incomplete run, auto-discovering candidates if none specified
yolo	Non-interactive orchestration with no breakpoints or user prompts
forever	Infinite-loop process (e.g., periodic task polling with `ctx.sleep`)
doctor	Diagnose run health -- journal integrity, state cache, effects, locks, disk usage
observe	Launch the browser-based observer dashboard for real-time run monitoring
retrospect	Post-run analysis with suggestions for process improvements
cleanup	Aggregate insights from completed/failed runs, then remove old data
assimilate	Convert external methodologies or specifications into Babysitter process definitions
contrib	Submit feedback or contribute to the Babysitter project
help	Documentation and usage guidance for commands, processes, and methodologies
blueprints	List, install, configure, update, or uninstall Babysitter blueprints
user-install	Guided user onboarding -- profile setup, dependency installation, preferences
project-install	Guided project onboarding -- codebase analysis, profile setup, CI/CD configuration

Hook System

OpenClaw hooks are registered programmatically in extensions/index.ts via api.on(). Each hook delegates to the Babysitter SDK CLI.

session_start

File: extensions/hooks/session-start.ts Maps to: babysitter hook:run --hook-type session-start --harness openclaw

Fires when an OpenClaw session begins. Initializes Babysitter state, ensures the CLI is available (falls back to explicit-bin npm exec if not installed globally), and sets up the state directory. Runs synchronously with a 30-second timeout (60 seconds for the npm exec fallback). Errors are logged but do not block the session.

session_end

File: extensions/hooks/session-end.ts Maps to: babysitter hook:run --hook-type stop --harness openclaw

Fires on session teardown. Finalizes any active Babysitter runs. Same synchronous execution model as session_start.

before_prompt_build

File: extensions/hooks/before-prompt-build.ts Maps to: babysitter hook:run --hook-type user-prompt-submit --harness openclaw

Fires before OpenClaw assembles the system/user prompt for each agent turn. This is the primary orchestration injection point -- Babysitter returns JSON context containing iteration instructions, active run state, and pending task information. The return value is merged into the prompt context. Runs synchronously.

agent_end

File: extensions/hooks/agent-end.ts Maps to: babysitter hook:run --hook-type stop --harness openclaw

Fires after each agent turn completes. This is the iteration driver -- it triggers Babysitter to advance the orchestration loop. Unlike other hooks, this runs asynchronously (fire-and-forget via spawn + child.unref()) so it does not block the next agent turn. Stderr is collected for diagnostic logging.

Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
`BABYSITTER_STATE_DIR`	`.a5c` (cwd-relative)	State directory for run storage and session data
`BABYSITTER_LOG_DIR`	`~/.a5c/logs`	Directory for hook execution logs
`BABYSITTER_RUNS_DIR`	`.a5c/runs`	Root directory for run storage
`BABYSITTER_GLOBAL_STATE_DIR`	`~/.a5c`	Global state directory
`OPENCLAW_PLUGIN_ROOT`	Auto-detected	Override the plugin root directory

SDK Version Pinning

The SDK version is pinned in versions.json:

{"sdkVersion": "0.0.184-staging.58c6c09c"}

When the babysitter CLI is not available globally, hooks fall back to npm exec --yes --package @a5c-ai/babysitter-sdk@<pinned-version> -- babysitter.

Config Files

File	Purpose
`plugin.json`	Babysitter plugin manifest (name, version, hooks, commands, skills)
`openclaw.plugin.json`	OpenClaw-native plugin manifest (entrypoint, programmatic hooks, capabilities)
`hooks.json`	Shell-based hook declarations for filesystem hook surface
`versions.json`	Pinned SDK version for reproducible installations

Plugin Layout

artifacts/generated-plugins/openclaw/
|-- package.json              # npm package manifest
|-- plugin.json               # Babysitter plugin manifest
|-- openclaw.plugin.json      # OpenClaw-native plugin manifest
|-- versions.json             # Pinned SDK version
|-- hooks.json                # Shell hook declarations
|-- extensions/
|   |-- index.ts              # Plugin entrypoint (api.on, registerCommand)
|   `-- hooks/
|       |-- session-start.ts  # session_start handler
|       |-- session-end.ts    # session_end handler
|       |-- before-prompt-build.ts  # before_prompt_build handler
|       `-- agent-end.ts      # agent_end handler (async/fire-and-forget)
|-- hooks/
|   |-- babysitter-session-start.sh  # Shell fallback for session start
|   `-- babysitter-stop-hook.sh      # Shell fallback for stop
|-- skills/
|   |-- babysit/SKILL.md
|   |-- call/SKILL.md
|   |-- plan/SKILL.md
|   |-- resume/SKILL.md
|   |-- yolo/SKILL.md
|   |-- forever/SKILL.md
|   |-- doctor/SKILL.md
|   |-- observe/SKILL.md
|   |-- retrospect/SKILL.md
|   |-- cleanup/SKILL.md
|   |-- assimilate/SKILL.md
|   |-- contrib/SKILL.md
|   |-- help/SKILL.md
|   |-- plugins/SKILL.md
|   |-- user-install/SKILL.md
|   `-- project-install/SKILL.md
|-- commands/                 # Mirrored command documentation (markdown)
|-- bin/
|   |-- cli.cjs               # Standalone CLI entrypoint
|   |-- install.cjs           # Global postinstall script
|   `-- uninstall.cjs         # Global preuninstall script
`-- scripts/
    |-- setup.sh              # Setup helper
    `-- sync-command-docs.cjs # Regenerate mirrored command docs

Development

Local Development

Clone the monorepo and work within the plugin directory:

git clone https://github.com/a5c-ai/babysitter.git
cd babysitter
npm install

Running Tests

cd artifacts/generated-plugins/openclaw
npm test
npm run test:integration
npm run test:packaged-install

Syncing Command Docs

Regenerate mirrored command documentation from skill definitions:

npm run sync:commands

Publishing

npm run deploy              # Publish to npm (public)
npm run deploy:staging      # Publish with staging tag

SDK Setup for Development

Read the pinned SDK version from versions.json:

PLUGIN_ROOT="$(pwd)"
SDK_VERSION=$(node -e "try{console.log(JSON.parse(require('fs').readFileSync('${PLUGIN_ROOT}/versions.json','utf8')).sdkVersion||'latest')}catch{console.log('latest')}")
npm i -g @a5c-ai/babysitter-sdk@$SDK_VERSION

if command -v babysitter >/dev/null 2>&1 && babysitter --version >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  CLI="babysitter"
else
  CLI="npm exec --yes --package @a5c-ai/babysitter-sdk@$SDK_VERSION -- babysitter"
fi

If a stale or broken global shim fails with MODULE_NOT_FOUND, repair it with npm rm -g @a5c-ai/babysitter @a5c-ai/babysitter-sdk && npm i -g @a5c-ai/babysitter-sdk@$SDK_VERSION, then re-run babysitter --version.

Troubleshooting

Verify the harness with babysitter harness:discover --json.
If openclaw is not detected, check which openclaw (Unix) or where openclaw (Windows).
If commands do not appear, restart OpenClaw after installation so it reloads plugin metadata.
If hooks fail silently, check log files in $BABYSITTER_LOG_DIR (defaults to ~/.a5c/logs/).
If the wrong SDK version is used, inspect versions.json inside the installed package root.
Regenerate mirrored commands with npm run sync:commands.

License

MIT

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@a5c-ai/babysitter-openclaw

Installation

Primary: Babysitter Harness Install

Secondary: Published package installer

Verify Installation

Removal

Architecture

Daemon Model vs CLI Model

How Orchestration Works

Dual Hook Surface

Capabilities

Available Commands

Available Skills

Hook System

session_start

session_end

before_prompt_build

agent_end

Configuration

Environment Variables

SDK Version Pinning

Config Files

Plugin Layout

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SDK Setup for Development

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.github/workflows		.github/workflows
bin		bin
commands		commands
extensions		extensions
hooks		hooks
scripts		scripts
skills		skills
.gitignore		.gitignore
README.md		README.md
RELEASE.md		RELEASE.md
hooks.json		hooks.json
openclaw.plugin.json		openclaw.plugin.json
package.json		package.json
plugin.json		plugin.json
versions.json		versions.json

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@a5c-ai/babysitter-openclaw

Installation

Primary: Babysitter Harness Install

Secondary: Published package installer

Verify Installation

Removal

Architecture

Daemon Model vs CLI Model

How Orchestration Works

Dual Hook Surface

Capabilities

Available Commands

Available Skills

Hook System

session_start

session_end

before_prompt_build

agent_end

Configuration

Environment Variables

SDK Version Pinning

Config Files

Plugin Layout

Development

Local Development

Running Tests

Syncing Command Docs

Publishing

SDK Setup for Development

Troubleshooting

License

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