openclaw/extensions/lobster
Mariano b167df78aa
Lobster: harden embedded runtime integration (#61566)
Merged via squash.

Prepared head SHA: a6f48309fd
Co-authored-by: mbelinky <132747814+mbelinky@users.noreply.github.com>
Reviewed-by: @mbelinky
2026-04-06 03:52:24 +02:00
..
src Lobster: harden embedded runtime integration (#61566) 2026-04-06 03:52:24 +02:00
README.md
SKILL.md
index.ts Lobster: add managed TaskFlow mode (#61555) 2026-04-06 01:37:26 +02:00
openclaw.plugin.json
package.json Lobster: run workflows in process (#61523) 2026-04-06 01:30:47 +02:00
runtime-api.ts refactor(plugin-sdk): formalize runtime contract barrels 2026-03-20 09:30:34 -07:00

README.md

Lobster (plugin)

Adds the lobster agent tool as an optional plugin tool.

What this is

  • Lobster is a standalone workflow shell (typed JSON-first pipelines + approvals/resume).
  • This plugin integrates Lobster with OpenClaw without core changes.

Enable

Because this tool can trigger side effects (via workflows), it is registered with optional: true.

Enable it in an agent allowlist:

{
  "agents": {
    "list": [
      {
        "id": "main",
        "tools": {
          "allow": [
            "lobster" // plugin id (enables all tools from this plugin)
          ]
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Using openclaw.invoke (Lobster → OpenClaw tools)

Some Lobster pipelines may include a openclaw.invoke step to call back into OpenClaw tools/plugins (for example: gog for Google Workspace, gh for GitHub, message.send, etc.).

For this to work, the OpenClaw Gateway must expose the tool bridge endpoint and the target tool must be allowed by policy:

  • OpenClaw provides an HTTP endpoint: POST /tools/invoke.
  • The request is gated by gateway auth (e.g. Authorization: Bearer … when token auth is enabled).
  • The invoked tool is gated by tool policy (global + per-agent + provider + group policy). If the tool is not allowed, OpenClaw returns 404 Tool not available.

To avoid letting workflows call arbitrary tools, set a tight allowlist on the agent that will be used by openclaw.invoke.

Example (allow only a small set of tools):

{
  "agents": {
    "list": [
      {
        "id": "main",
        "tools": {
          "allow": ["lobster", "web_fetch", "web_search", "gog", "gh"],
          "deny": ["gateway"],
        },
      },
    ],
  },
}

Notes:

  • If tools.allow is omitted or empty, it behaves like "allow everything (except denied)". For a real allowlist, set a non-empty allow.
  • Tool names depend on which plugins you have installed/enabled.

Security

  • Runs the lobster executable as a local subprocess.
  • Does not manage OAuth/tokens.
  • Uses timeouts, stdout caps, and strict JSON envelope parsing.
  • Ensure lobster is available on PATH for the gateway process.