Pattern 3: OpenClaw

OpenClaw is an open-source framework for building conversational AI agents through a slot-based plugin system. The slot that decides what context goes into the system prompt is called contextEngine. Installing @sonzai-labs/openclaw-context registers the Sonzai context engine under the name "sonzai" — assign it to the slot in openclaw.json and every conversation flows through the Mind Layer with zero additional code.

When to use this

• You're already building on OpenClaw, or your team has standardised on it.
• You want OpenClaw's existing chat loop, telemetry, and tool plugins to keep working — Sonzai only swaps the memory/personality layer.
• You want a <sonzai-context> block injected into the system prompt on every turn, automatically priority-ordered and budget-trimmed.

When to switch

• Not on OpenClaw — switch to Pattern 1: Managed Runtime (we run the chat) or Pattern 4: Standalone Realtime (you run the chat).
• No real-time chat at all — switch to Pattern 5: Standalone Batch.

Architecture

OpenClaw Runtime              SonzaiContextEngine            Sonzai Mind Layer
    |                                |                            |
    |-- bootstrap(sessionId) ------->|                            |
    |                                |-- resolve agent + session->|
    |                                |<-- session state ----------|
    |                                |                            |
    |-- assemble(messages, budget) ->|                            |
    |                                |-- fetch memory, mood,      |
    |                                |   personality, goals ----->|
    |                                |<-- ranked context blocks --|
    |<-- systemPromptAddition -------|   priority-ordered,        |
    |                                |   token-budget-trimmed     |
    |                                |                            |
    |  [LLM call w/ enriched prompt] |                            |
    |                                |                            |
    |-- afterTurn(sessionId) ------->|                            |
    |                                |-- send transcript -------->|
    |                                |   Mind Layer extracts      |
    |                                |   facts, updates mood,     |
    |                                |   evolves personality      |
    |                                |                            |
    |-- compact(sessionId) --------->|                            |
    |                                |-- merge short → long term->|

End-to-end snippet

The OpenClaw plugin is JavaScript-only (OpenClaw itself is JS). The Python and Go branches show the equivalent B2B provisioning flow: deterministically derive an agent UUID and write the OpenClaw config — the runtime that consumes it stays JS.

// 1. Install:
//    openclaw plugins install @sonzai-labs/openclaw-context
//    # or: npm install @sonzai-labs/openclaw-context
//
// 2. Run the setup wizard (interactive — asks for API key, agent name):
//    npx @sonzai-labs/openclaw-context setup
//
// 3. The wizard writes openclaw.json:
//    {
//      "plugins": {
//        "slots": { "contextEngine": "sonzai" },
//        "entries": {
//          "sonzai": {
//            "enabled": true,
//            "apiKey": "sk_your_api_key",
//            "agentId": "a1b2c3d4-..."
//          }
//        }
//      }
//    }
//
// 4. Start chatting — Sonzai is now the contextEngine:
//    openclaw chat
//
// For programmatic / B2B provisioning use the exported setup() helper:
import { setup } from "@sonzai-labs/openclaw-context";

const result = await setup({
apiKey:     "sk_your_api_key",
agentName:  "customer-support-bot",
configPath: "/path/to/openclaw.json",
});

console.log(result.agentId);  // deterministic UUID — safe to re-run
console.log(result.written);  // true — config file updated

Where to next