Rescueclaw

What This Skill Does

RescueClaw is an essential safety-net utility designed for OpenClaw agents that frequently perform high-stakes operations. By implementing a transactional-style checkpointing system, it allows your agent to stage risky modifications—such as updating gateway configurations, modifying core system files, or installing new dependencies—with the confidence that it can revert to a stable state if something goes wrong. RescueClaw monitors the agent's health during a specified "rollback window"; if the agent crashes or becomes unresponsive due to the changes, the daemon automatically triggers a system restoration to the last known good state.

Installation

To install RescueClaw, use the OpenClaw hub CLI from your terminal: clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/harman314/rescueclaw

The installer will automatically bundle the binary for linux/arm64 architectures into ~/.local/bin/rescueclaw. For users on non-supported platforms, you can manually download the latest binary from the GitHub Releases page. Ensure the directory is in your PATH. Data snapshots are stored locally at ~/.openclaw/rescueclaw/, requiring no elevated sudo privileges, which enhances security by keeping operations within the user scope.

Use Cases

• Configuration Hot-Swapping: Use RescueClaw when editing openclaw.json to prevent bricking the agent during syntax errors.
• Dependency Management: Create a checkpoint before running npm install or system updates to revert if an update breaks compatibility.
• Gateway Maintenance: Safe restarting of system services where a failed restart might leave the agent in a zombie state.

Example Prompts

1. "Create a RescueClaw checkpoint for 60 seconds and then attempt to update the gateway configuration settings."
2. "Check the current status of the RescueClaw daemon to ensure my backup system is healthy before I start these system updates."
3. "If the new skill installation fails within the next 5 minutes, please make sure RescueClaw triggers an automatic rollback."

Tips & Limitations

Always define a reasonable rollbackWindowSec based on how long your operation typically takes to finalize. If the window is too short, you risk the system reverting a successful update; if it is too long, you might leave the system in a broken state for longer than necessary. RescueClaw is designed for state-based recovery; it does not replace the need for off-site backups or version control systems like Git. Always clear your checkpoint immediately upon a successful operation to prevent unnecessary disk space usage and to signify a return to normal operational stability.