🦀 v0.1.0 — Now Available

Chat from the
command line

A full-featured terminal client for OpenClaw Gateway. Streaming responses, SSH tunnel support, and all gateway commands — without leaving your terminal.

Download v0.1.0 View on GitHub

clawchat-cli

🦀 ClawChat CLI

pinchy.home.wrox.us:18789 agent:main:main ● connected

you14:02

Can you explain Go interfaces in one paragraph?

assistant14:02

In Go, an interface is a type that defines a set of method signatures. Any type that implements those methods automatically satisfies the interface — no explicit declaration needed. This is called implicit implementation, and it means you can write flexible, decoupled code where functions accept interfaces rather than concrete types, making testing and composition much easier.

you14:03

/thinking high — let's try something harder

assistant14:03

thinking…

Write a concurrent web scraper

enter: send ctrl+c: quit /help ↑↓: scroll

Features

Everything you'd expect.
Nothing you don't.

Lightweight, fast, and terminal-native. Built with Charm so it feels right at home.

⚡

Streaming Responses

Watch the assistant respond in real time, word by word. No waiting for the full response before it appears. Instant "thinking…" feedback so you always know something's happening.

🔐

SSH Tunnel Support

Connect through a bastion host directly from the app. clawchat-cli opens the tunnel before connecting, so your gateway never needs a public-facing port.

🔄

Cross-Client Sync

Using clawchat-cli and ClawChat at the same time? Messages from other clients appear automatically after the assistant responds. Always in sync.

⌨️

All Gateway Commands

Every slash command supported by the gateway works — /model, /thinking, /stop, /status, and more. Unknown commands are forwarded directly to the gateway.

📜

Message History

Loads the last 50 messages on connect so you pick up right where you left off. Scroll back through your conversation with arrow keys and PgUp/PgDn.

🖥️

Clean TUI

Rounded green borders, header bar showing your gateway host and session, multi-line word-wrapping input — a terminal UI that doesn't feel like an afterthought.

Get Started

Up and running in minutes

Install the binary, drop a config file, and connect.

📦 go install

$ go install github.com/ngmaloney/clawchat-cli/cmd/clawchat-cli@latest

📥 or download a binary

# macOS, Linux, Windows — all on the releases page
$ curl -sL https://github.com/ngmaloney/clawchat-cli/releases/latest

⚙️ ~/.config/clawchat-cli/config.yaml

# Direct connection
gateway_url: ws://your-host:18789
token: your-gateway-token

# Or with SSH tunnel
gateway_url: ws://localhost:18789
token: your-gateway-token
ssh:
  host: your-host
  user: yourusername
  key_path: ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

🚀 run

$ clawchat-cli

Reference

Keyboard shortcuts & commands

Keyboard

Enter	Send message
↑ / ↓	Scroll chat history
PgUp / PgDn	Scroll faster
Ctrl+C	Quit

Local Commands

/help	Show all commands
/clear	Clear the chat display
/quit, /q	Exit the app

Gateway Commands

/model	Show or switch model
/models	List available providers
/thinking	Toggle thinking mode
/thinking low/medium/high	Set thinking level
/stop	Stop current generation
/status	Show session status
/verbose	Toggle verbose output
/compact	Compact session history
/reset	Reset session
/new	Start a new session

Chat from thecommand line

Everything you'd expect.Nothing you don't.