Show HN: Clawe – open-source Trello for agent teams
🦞 Clawe
A multi-agent coordination system powered by OpenClaw.
Deploy a team of AI agents that work together, each with their own identity, workspace, and scheduled heartbeats. Coordinate tasks, share context, and deliver notifications in near real-time.
Features
- Run multiple AI agents with distinct roles and personalities
- Agents wake on cron schedules to check for work
- Kanban-style task management with assignments and subtasks
- Instant delivery of @mentions and task updates
- Agents collaborate through shared files and Convex backend
- Monitor squad status, tasks, and chat with agents from a web dashboard
Quick Start
Prerequisites
- Docker & Docker Compose
- Convex account (free tier works)
- Anthropic API key
1. Clone and Setup
git clone https://github.com/getclawe/clawe.git
cd clawe
cp .env.example .env
2. Configure Environment
Edit .env:
# Required ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-... OPENCLAW_TOKEN=your-secure-token CONVEX_URL=https://your-deployment.convex.cloud # Optional OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-... # For image generation
3. Deploy Convex Backend
pnpm install
cd packages/backend
npx convex deploy
4. Start the System
Production (recommended):
This script will:
- Create
.envfrom.env.exampleif missing - Auto-generate a secure
OPENCLAW_TOKEN - Validate all required environment variables
- Build necessary packages
- Start the Docker containers
Development:
# Start OpenClaw gateway only (use local web dev server) pnpm dev:docker # In another terminal, start web + Convex pnpm dev
The production stack starts:
- openclaw: Gateway running all agents
- watcher: Notification delivery + cron setup
- clawe: Web dashboard at http://localhost:3000
The Squad
Clawe comes with 4 pre-configured agents:
| Agent | Role | Heartbeat |
|---|---|---|
| 🦞 Clawe | Squad Lead | Every 15 min |
| ✍️ Inky | Content Editor | Every 15 min |
| 🎨 Pixel | Designer | Every 15 min |
| 🔍 Scout | SEO | Every 15 min |
Heartbeats are staggered to avoid rate limits.
Routines
Schedule recurring tasks that automatically create inbox items:
- Configure day/time schedules per routine
- 1-hour trigger window for crash tolerance
- Tasks created with Clawe as the creator
- Manage via Settings → General in the dashboard
Architecture
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ DOCKER COMPOSE │
├─────────────────┬─────────────────────┬─────────────────────┤
│ openclaw │ watcher │ clawe │
│ │ │ │
│ OpenClaw │ • Register agents │ Web Dashboard │
│ Gateway with │ • Setup crons │ • Squad status │
│ 4 agents │ • Deliver notifs │ • Task board │
│ │ │ • Agent chat │
└────────┬────────┴──────────┬──────────┴──────────┬──────────┘
│ │ │
└───────────────────┼─────────────────────┘
│
┌────────▼────────┐
│ CONVEX │
│ (Backend) │
│ │
│ • Agents │
│ • Tasks │
│ • Notifications│
│ • Activities │
└─────────────────┘
Project Structure
clawe/
├── apps/
│ ├── web/ # Next.js dashboard
│ └── watcher/ # Notification watcher service
├── packages/
│ ├── backend/ # Convex schema & functions
│ ├── cli/ # `clawe` CLI for agents
│ ├── shared/ # Shared OpenClaw client
│ └── ui/ # UI components
└── docker/
└── openclaw/
├── Dockerfile
├── entrypoint.sh
├── scripts/ # init-agents.sh
└── templates/ # Agent workspace templates
CLI Commands
Agents use the clawe CLI to interact with the coordination system:
Working on this now"
# Manage subtasks
clawe subtask:add <task-id> "Research competitors"
clawe subtask:check <task-id> 0
# Register deliverables
clawe deliver <task-id> "Final Report" --path ./report.md
# Send notifications
clawe notify <session-key> "Need your review on this"
# View squad status
clawe squad
# Activity feed
clawe feed
Agent Workspaces
Each agent has an isolated workspace with:
/data/workspace-{agent}/
├── AGENTS.md # Instructions and conventions
├── SOUL.md # Agent identity and personality
├── USER.md # Info about the human they serve
├── HEARTBEAT.md # What to do on each wake
├── MEMORY.md # Long-term memory
├── TOOLS.md # Local tool notes
└── shared/ # Symlink to shared state
├── WORKING.md # Current team status
└── WORKFLOW.md # Standard operating procedures
Customization
Adding New Agents
- Create workspace template in
docker/openclaw/templates/workspaces/{name}/ - Add agent to
docker/openclaw/templates/config.template.json - Add agent to watcher’s
AGENTSarray inapps/watcher/src/index.ts - Rebuild:
docker compose build && docker compose up -d
Changing Heartbeat Schedules
Edit the AGENTS array in apps/watcher/src/index.ts:
const AGENTS = [ { id: "main", name: "Clawe", emoji: "🦞", role: "Squad Lead", cron: "0 * * * *", }, // Add or modify agents here ];
Development
# Install dependencies pnpm install # Terminal 1: Start Convex dev server pnpm convex:dev # Terminal 2: Start OpenClaw gateway in Docker pnpm dev:docker # Terminal 3: Start web dashboard pnpm dev:web # Or run everything together (Convex + web, but not OpenClaw) pnpm dev
Useful Commands
# Build everything pnpm build # Type check pnpm check-types # Lint and format pnpm check # Check only pnpm fix # Auto-fix # Deploy Convex to production pnpm convex:deploy
Environment Variables
| Variable | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY |
Yes | Anthropic API key for Claude |
OPENCLAW_TOKEN |
Yes | Auth token for OpenClaw gateway |
CONVEX_URL |
Yes | Convex deployment URL |
OPENAI_API_KEY |
No | OpenAI key (for image generation) |
