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npx skills add https://github.com/steipete/clawdis --skill coding-agentWorks with Paperclip
How Coding Agent fits into a Paperclip company.
Coding Agent drops into any Paperclip agent that handles this kind of work. Assign it to a specialist inside a pre-configured PaperclipOrg company and the skill becomes available on every heartbeat — no prompt engineering, no tool wiring.
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---name: coding-agentdescription: 'Delegate coding tasks to Codex, Claude Code, or Pi agents via background process. Use when: (1) building/creating new features or apps, (2) reviewing PRs (spawn in temp dir), (3) refactoring large codebases, (4) iterative coding that needs file exploration. NOT for: simple one-liner fixes (just edit), reading code (use read tool), thread-bound ACP harness requests in chat (for example spawn/run Codex or Claude Code in a Discord thread; use sessions_spawn with runtime:"acp"), or any work in ~/clawd workspace (never spawn agents here). Claude Code: use --print --permission-mode bypassPermissions (no PTY). Codex/Pi/OpenCode: pty:true required.'metadata: { "openclaw": { "emoji": "🧩", "requires": { "anyBins": ["claude", "codex", "opencode", "pi"] }, "install": [ { "id": "node-claude", "kind": "node", "package": "@anthropic-ai/claude-code", "bins": ["claude"], "label": "Install Claude Code CLI (npm)", }, { "id": "node-codex", "kind": "node", "package": "@openai/codex", "bins": ["codex"], "label": "Install Codex CLI (npm)", }, ], }, }--- # Coding Agent (bash-first) Use **bash** (with optional background mode) for all coding agent work. Simple and effective. ## ⚠️ PTY Mode: Codex/Pi/OpenCode yes, Claude Code no For **Codex, Pi, and OpenCode**, PTY is still required (interactive terminal apps): ```bash# ✅ Correct for Codex/Pi/OpenCodebash pty:true command:"codex exec 'Your prompt'"``` For **Claude Code** (`claude` CLI), use `--print --permission-mode bypassPermissions` instead.`--dangerously-skip-permissions` with PTY can exit after the confirmation dialog.`--print` mode keeps full tool access and avoids interactive confirmation: ```bash# ✅ Correct for Claude Code (no PTY needed)cd /path/to/project && claude --permission-mode bypassPermissions --print 'Your task' # For background execution: use background:true on the exec tool # ❌ Wrong for Claude Codebash pty:true command:"claude --dangerously-skip-permissions 'task'"``` ### Bash Tool Parameters | Parameter | Type | Description || ------------ | ------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- || `command` | string | The shell command to run || `pty` | boolean | **Use for coding agents!** Allocates a pseudo-terminal for interactive CLIs || `workdir` | string | Working directory (agent sees only this folder's context) || `background` | boolean | Run in background, returns sessionId for monitoring || `timeout` | number | Timeout in seconds (kills process on expiry) || `elevated` | boolean | Run on host instead of sandbox (if allowed) | ### Process Tool Actions (for background sessions) | Action | Description || ----------- | ---------------------------------------------------- || `list` | List all running/recent sessions || `poll` | Check if session is still running || `log` | Get session output (with optional offset/limit) || `write` | Send raw data to stdin || `submit` | Send data + newline (like typing and pressing Enter) || `send-keys` | Send key tokens or hex bytes || `paste` | Paste text (with optional bracketed mode) || `kill` | Terminate the session | --- ## Quick Start: One-Shot Tasks For quick prompts/chats, create a temp git repo and run: ```bash# Quick chat (Codex needs a git repo!)SCRATCH=$(mktemp -d) && cd $SCRATCH && git init && codex exec "Your prompt here" # Or in a real project - with PTY!bash pty:true workdir:~/Projects/myproject command:"codex exec 'Add error handling to the API calls'"``` **Why git init?** Codex refuses to run outside a trusted git directory. Creating a temp repo solves this for scratch work. --- ## The Pattern: workdir + background + pty For longer tasks, use background mode with PTY: ```bash# Start agent in target directory (with PTY!)bash pty:true workdir:~/project background:true command:"codex exec --full-auto 'Build a snake game'"# Returns sessionId for tracking # Monitor progressprocess action:log sessionId:XXX # Check if doneprocess action:poll sessionId:XXX # Send input (if agent asks a question)process action:write sessionId:XXX data:"y" # Submit with Enter (like typing "yes" and pressing Enter)process action:submit sessionId:XXX data:"yes" # Kill if neededprocess action:kill sessionId:XXX``` **Why workdir matters:** Agent wakes up in a focused directory, doesn't wander off reading unrelated files (like your soul.md 😅). --- ## Codex CLI **Model:** `gpt-5.2-codex` is the default (set in ~/.codex/config.toml) ### Flags | Flag | Effect || --------------- | -------------------------------------------------- || `exec "prompt"` | One-shot execution, exits when done || `--full-auto` | Sandboxed but auto-approves in workspace || `--yolo` | NO sandbox, NO approvals (fastest, most dangerous) | ### Building/Creating ```bash# Quick one-shot (auto-approves) - remember PTY!bash pty:true workdir:~/project command:"codex exec --full-auto 'Build a dark mode toggle'" # Background for longer workbash pty:true workdir:~/project background:true command:"codex --yolo 'Refactor the auth module'"``` ### Reviewing PRs **⚠️ CRITICAL: Never review PRs in OpenClaw's own project folder!**Clone to temp folder or use git worktree. ```bash# Clone to temp for safe reviewREVIEW_DIR=$(mktemp -d)git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git $REVIEW_DIRcd $REVIEW_DIR && gh pr checkout 130bash pty:true workdir:$REVIEW_DIR command:"codex review --base origin/main"# Clean up after: trash $REVIEW_DIR # Or use git worktree (keeps main intact)git worktree add /tmp/pr-130-review pr-130-branchbash pty:true workdir:/tmp/pr-130-review command:"codex review --base main"``` ### Batch PR Reviews (parallel army!) ```bash# Fetch all PR refs firstgit fetch origin '+refs/pull/*/head:refs/remotes/origin/pr/*' # Deploy the army - one Codex per PR (all with PTY!)bash pty:true workdir:~/project background:true command:"codex exec 'Review PR #86. git diff origin/main...origin/pr/86'"bash pty:true workdir:~/project background:true command:"codex exec 'Review PR #87. git diff origin/main...origin/pr/87'" # Monitor allprocess action:list # Post results to GitHubgh pr comment <PR#> --body "<review content>"``` --- ## Claude Code ```bash# Foregroundbash workdir:~/project command:"claude --permission-mode bypassPermissions --print 'Your task'" # Backgroundbash workdir:~/project background:true command:"claude --permission-mode bypassPermissions --print 'Your task'"``` --- ## OpenCode ```bashbash pty:true workdir:~/project command:"opencode run 'Your task'"``` --- ## Pi Coding Agent ```bash# Install: npm install -g @mariozechner/pi-coding-agentbash pty:true workdir:~/project command:"pi 'Your task'" # Non-interactive mode (PTY still recommended)bash pty:true command:"pi -p 'Summarize src/'" # Different provider/modelbash pty:true command:"pi --provider openai --model gpt-4o-mini -p 'Your task'"``` **Note:** Pi now has Anthropic prompt caching enabled (PR #584, merged Jan 2026)! --- ## Parallel Issue Fixing with git worktrees For fixing multiple issues in parallel, use git worktrees: ```bash# 1. Create worktrees for each issuegit worktree add -b fix/issue-78 /tmp/issue-78 maingit worktree add -b fix/issue-99 /tmp/issue-99 main # 2. Launch Codex in each (background + PTY!)bash pty:true workdir:/tmp/issue-78 background:true command:"pnpm install && codex --yolo 'Fix issue #78: <description>. Commit and push.'"bash pty:true workdir:/tmp/issue-99 background:true command:"pnpm install && codex --yolo 'Fix issue #99 from the approved ticket summary. Implement only the in-scope edits and commit after review.'" # 3. Monitor progressprocess action:listprocess action:log sessionId:XXX # 4. Create PRs after fixescd /tmp/issue-78 && git push -u origin fix/issue-78gh pr create --repo user/repo --head fix/issue-78 --title "fix: ..." --body "..." # 5. Cleanupgit worktree remove /tmp/issue-78git worktree remove /tmp/issue-99``` --- ## ⚠️ Rules 1. **Use the right execution mode per agent**: - Codex/Pi/OpenCode: `pty:true` - Claude Code: `--print --permission-mode bypassPermissions` (no PTY required)2. **Respect tool choice** - if user asks for Codex, use Codex. - Orchestrator mode: do NOT hand-code patches yourself. - If an agent fails/hangs, respawn it or ask the user for direction, but don't silently take over.3. **Be patient** - don't kill sessions because they're "slow"4. **Monitor with process:log** - check progress without interfering5. **--full-auto for building** - auto-approves changes6. **vanilla for reviewing** - no special flags needed7. **Parallel is OK** - run many Codex processes at once for batch work8. **NEVER start Codex inside your OpenClaw state directory** (`$OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR`, default `~/.openclaw`) - it'll read your soul docs and get weird ideas about the org chart!9. **NEVER checkout branches in ~/Projects/openclaw/** - that's the LIVE OpenClaw instance! --- ## Progress Updates (Critical) When you spawn coding agents in the background, keep the user in the loop. - Send 1 short message when you start (what's running + where).- Then only update again when something changes: - a milestone completes (build finished, tests passed) - the agent asks a question / needs input - you hit an error or need user action - the agent finishes (include what changed + where)- If you kill a session, immediately say you killed it and why. This prevents the user from seeing only "Agent failed before reply" and having no idea what happened. --- ## Auto-Notify on Completion For long-running background tasks, append a wake trigger to your prompt so OpenClaw gets notified immediately when the agent finishes (instead of waiting for the next heartbeat): ```... your task here. When completely finished, run this command to notify me:openclaw system event --text "Done: [brief summary of what was built]" --mode now``` **Example:** ```bashbash pty:true workdir:~/project background:true command:"codex --yolo exec 'Build a REST API for todos. When completely finished, run: openclaw system event --text \"Done: Built todos REST API with CRUD endpoints\" --mode now'"``` This triggers an immediate wake event — Skippy gets pinged in seconds, not 10 minutes. --- ## Learnings (Jan 2026) - **PTY is essential:** Coding agents are interactive terminal apps. Without `pty:true`, output breaks or agent hangs.- **Git repo required:** Codex won't run outside a git directory. Use `mktemp -d && git init` for scratch work.- **exec is your friend:** `codex exec "prompt"` runs and exits cleanly - perfect for one-shots.- **submit vs write:** Use `submit` to send input + Enter, `write` for raw data without newline.- **Sass works:** Codex responds well to playful prompts. Asked it to write a haiku about being second fiddle to a space lobster, got: _"Second chair, I code / Space lobster sets the tempo / Keys glow, I follow"_ 🦞