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OpenClaw is a local-first personal agent and gateway connecting messaging channels, browser, files, and shell to LLMs. It extends through plugins, skills (via ClawHub), and MCP servers, acting as both an MCP client and server. Smithers supports both directions:
  • OpenClaw drives Smithers through the native Smithers plugin and MCP tools.
  • Smithers drives OpenClaw through OpenClawAgent inside workflow tasks.

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Install the native plugin

Fastest path: mcp add --agent openclaw. It installs the native Smithers OpenClaw plugin into ~/.openclaw/extensions/smithers/, enables it in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json, and registers the Smithers MCP server as a baseline tool surface:
The plugin gives OpenClaw tools to run, inspect, approve, and read Smithers workflow outputs, plus smithers_create_workflow, smithers_eval, smithers_optimize, and a bundled smithers-orchestrate skill nudging OpenClaw toward reusable, eval-backed workflows over repeated one-off turns.

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Register MCP by hand

Without the native plugin, OpenClaw stores MCP servers in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json under mcp.servers; add Smithers as a stdio server:
Or manage it from the CLI:
The tools (list_workflows, run_workflow, watch_run, resolve_approval, and the rest) become available to OpenClaw’s agent. Full reference: MCP Server.

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Optional generated skill files

OpenClaw discovers skills from ~/.agents/skills/ (among other locations), exactly where the cross-agent command installs them:
OpenClaw’s own skill registry is ClawHub (openclaw skills install <slug>); the generated Smithers CLI skill files install directly into the skills directory rather than through the hub.

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Smithers runs OpenClaw too

Smithers also spawns OpenClaw as a workflow task’s worker via OpenClawAgent:
bunx smthrs init detects an authenticated OpenClaw runtime and scaffolds it into .smithers/agents.ts, even without Claude Code or Codex. The adapter shells out to openclaw agent --message <prompt> --json; pass session or a per-call resumeSession to route work into a known OpenClaw conversation.

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See also