--- name: picoclaw-b03720138ca7 description: >- Set up, configure, and manage PicoClaw — an ultra-lightweight personal AI assistant built in Go. Use when the user mentions "picoclaw," "pico claw," "lightweight AI assistant," or wants to deploy a personal AI agent on low-resource hardware (Raspberry Pi, RISC-V boards). Covers installation, LLM provider configuration, messaging gateway setup (Telegram, Discord, Slack, LINE, DingTalk), scheduled tasks, heartbeat, workspace layout, security sandbox, and Docker deployment. license: Apache-2.0 compatibility: "Prebuilt binary for Linux, macOS, Windows or Android; building from source needs Go 1.25+. Docker optional." metadata: author: terminal-skills version: "1.1.0" category: automation tags: "picoclaw, ai-assistant, chatbot, telegram-bot, iot" repository: "https://github.com/sipeed/picoclaw" --- # PicoClaw ## Overview PicoClaw is an open-source (MIT) personal AI assistant from Sipeed, written in Go. It ships as a single binary that runs on small boards (Raspberry Pi, RISC-V, MIPS, even Android) with roughly 10-20 MB of RAM. It talks to 30+ LLM providers through a `model_list` in `~/.picoclaw/config.json`, and bridges chats from Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Matrix, LINE and other channels through a gateway. It also supports MCP servers, installable skills, cron jobs and a heartbeat file. Current release at the time of writing: v0.3.1 (July 2026). The project is pre-1.0 and its config format has changed several times, so check `picoclaw version` and the docs at docs.picoclaw.io when something here does not match. ## Instructions ### 1. Install PicoClaw **Prebuilt binary (simplest).** Download `picoclaw_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz` (or the arm64, riscv64, macOS or Windows archive) from the [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/sipeed/picoclaw/releases) page together with `picoclaw__checksums.txt`, and verify before extracting: ```bash grep Linux_x86_64 picoclaw_0.3.1_checksums.txt | sha256sum -c tar xzf picoclaw_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz # gives picoclaw and picoclaw-launcher ``` The archive contains `picoclaw` (CLI and gateway) and `picoclaw-launcher` (browser UI). The official download page is picoclaw.io; other `picoclaw` domains are not affiliated. **From source** (Go 1.25+, Node 22+ and pnpm only needed for the web launcher): ```bash git clone https://github.com/sipeed/picoclaw.git cd picoclaw make deps make build # core binary in build/ make install # installs to ~/.local/bin ``` **Docker Compose** (the compose file lives in `docker/`, data in `docker/data/`): ```bash git clone https://github.com/sipeed/picoclaw.git && cd picoclaw docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml --profile launcher up # first run writes docker/data/config.json, then exits docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml --profile gateway up -d # long-running bot docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml run --rm picoclaw-agent -m "Hello" ``` Profiles: `launcher` (web console on port 18800), `gateway` (bot only), `agent` (one-shot). ### 2. Initial setup ```bash picoclaw onboard # creates ~/.picoclaw/config.json, ~/.picoclaw/.security.yml and the workspace picoclaw status # shows config path, active model and which providers have keys ``` Alternatively run `picoclaw-launcher` and open http://localhost:18800 (add `-public` to listen on all interfaces). On first visit it asks you to create a dashboard password. ### 3. Configure an LLM provider Models are declared in `model_list`; `agents.defaults.model_name` picks the default by its `model_name`. The older `providers` block was removed in the v2 config format (old files are migrated automatically). ```json { "agents": { "defaults": { "model_name": "claude-sonnet-4.6", "max_tool_iterations": 20 } }, "model_list": [ { "model_name": "claude-sonnet-4.6", "provider": "anthropic", "model": "claude-sonnet-4-6", "api_base": "https://api.anthropic.com/v1" } ] } ``` Keep secrets out of `config.json`: `onboard` creates `~/.picoclaw/.security.yml`, whose entries are mapped onto the config by name and override it. Keys must be arrays. Run `chmod 600` on it and never commit it. ```yaml model_list: claude-sonnet-4.6:0: # model_name plus ":0" for the first entry with that name api_keys: - "sk-ant-api03-REPLACE-WITH-YOUR-KEY" ``` Providers use the `protocol/model` form in the README (`openai/`, `anthropic/`, `gemini/`, `openrouter/`, `deepseek/`, `groq/`, `zhipu/`, `ollama/`, `vllm/`, `bedrock/`, `azure/`, ...). For a local model: `{ "model_name": "local-llama", "model": "ollama/llama3.1:8b", "api_base": "http://localhost:11434/v1" }` (no key). Switch the default later with `picoclaw model`. ### 4. Chat with the agent ```bash picoclaw agent -m "Summarize the Go 1.25 release notes" # single query picoclaw agent # interactive mode ``` ### 5. Set up a messaging gateway Channels live under `channel_list`. Each has `enabled`, `type` and an `allow_from` list of user IDs (an empty list lets everyone in). Put the bot token in `.security.yml`: ```json { "channel_list": { "telegram": { "enabled": true, "type": "telegram", "allow_from": ["198234567"] } } } ``` ```yaml channel_list: telegram: settings: token: "7654321:AAF-REPLACE-WITH-BOTFATHER-TOKEN" ``` Create the Telegram bot with `@BotFather` and read your user ID from `@userinfobot`. Discord needs a bot from discord.com/developers/applications with MESSAGE CONTENT INTENT enabled; Slack uses Socket Mode with `bot_token` (`xoxb-`) and `app_token` (`xapp-`). Per-channel guides are in `docs/channels//README.md`. Start the gateway: ```bash picoclaw gateway ``` The gateway listens on `127.0.0.1:18790` by default (`PICOCLAW_GATEWAY_HOST=0.0.0.0` inside Docker). In chat, `/list skills`, `/list mcp` and `/use ` work as slash commands. ### 6. Web search `tools.web` is enabled by default and Sogou search is on out of the box. Others: `duckduckgo`, `brave`, `tavily`, `kagi`, `perplexity`, `searxng`, `gemini`, `glm_search`, `baidu_search`. Enable one and put its key in `.security.yml` under `web..api_keys`: ```json { "tools": { "web": { "brave": { "enabled": true, "max_results": 5 }, "duckduckgo": { "enabled": true, "max_results": 5 } } } } ``` ### 7. Skills and MCP servers ```bash picoclaw skills search "web scraping" picoclaw skills install web-scraper picoclaw skills list picoclaw mcp add filesystem -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /home/pi/notes picoclaw mcp list picoclaw mcp test filesystem ``` `picoclaw mcp` only edits `tools.mcp.servers` in the config; it does not run the server. Set `"tools": { "mcp": { "enabled": true } }`. Skills load from `~/.picoclaw/workspace/skills`, `~/.picoclaw/skills` and the built-in set. ### 8. Scheduled tasks and heartbeat **Heartbeat** reads `~/.picoclaw/workspace/HEARTBEAT.md` every `interval` minutes (default 30, minimum 5) and runs the tasks in it: ```json { "heartbeat": { "enabled": true, "interval": 60 } } ``` ```markdown ## Quick Tasks - Report current system uptime ## Long Tasks (use spawn for async) - Search the web for security advisories and summarize ``` **Cron jobs** from the CLI are recurring only (`--every ` or `--cron ""`); one-time reminders are created by asking the agent ("remind me in 10 minutes"): ```bash picoclaw cron add --name "Daily summary" --message "Summarize today's logs" --cron "0 18 * * *" picoclaw cron add --name "Ping" --message "heartbeat" --every 300 picoclaw cron list picoclaw cron disable a5c92bf87ec3b086 picoclaw cron remove a5c92bf87ec3b086 ``` ### 9. Workspace and security The workspace (`~/.picoclaw/workspace/`) holds `sessions/`, `memory/` (MEMORY.md), `state/`, `cron/`, `skills/` and the markdown files `AGENT.md`, `SOUL.md`, `USER.md`, `IDENTITY.md`, `HEARTBEAT.md`. Edits to `AGENT.md`, `SOUL.md`, `USER.md` and `MEMORY.md` are picked up without a restart. `PICOCLAW_HOME` moves the whole data directory and `PICOCLAW_CONFIG` points at another config file. `agents.defaults.restrict_to_workspace` is `true` by default: file tools and `exec` stay inside the workspace, and subagents and heartbeat tasks inherit this. Even with it off, `exec` blocks patterns such as `rm -rf`, `mkfs`, `dd if=`, `shutdown` and fork bombs (`tools.exec.enable_deny_patterns`). Extra read or write paths go in `tools.allow_read_paths` / `tools.allow_write_paths`. ## Examples ### Example 1: Deploy PicoClaw as a Telegram bot on a Raspberry Pi **User request:** "Set up PicoClaw on my Raspberry Pi as a Telegram bot using Claude" 1. On the Pi (64-bit OS), download and verify the release, then initialise: ```bash cd ~ && mkdir picoclaw-bin && cd picoclaw-bin curl -LO https://github.com/sipeed/picoclaw/releases/download/v0.3.1/picoclaw_Linux_arm64.tar.gz curl -LO https://github.com/sipeed/picoclaw/releases/download/v0.3.1/picoclaw_0.3.1_checksums.txt grep Linux_arm64 picoclaw_0.3.1_checksums.txt | sha256sum -c tar xzf picoclaw_Linux_arm64.tar.gz && ./picoclaw onboard ``` 2. In `~/.picoclaw/config.json` set `agents.defaults.model_name` to `claude-sonnet-4.6`, make sure that entry is in `model_list`, and enable Telegram with `"allow_from": ["198234567"]` under `channel_list.telegram`. 3. In `~/.picoclaw/.security.yml` add the Anthropic key under `model_list.claude-sonnet-4.6:0.api_keys` and the BotFather token under `channel_list.telegram.settings.token`, then `chmod 600 ~/.picoclaw/.security.yml`. 4. Check and start: ```bash ./picoclaw status # Model: claude-sonnet-4.6, Anthropic API: ✓ ./picoclaw gateway ``` Result: the bot answers messages from user 198234567 in Telegram; other users are ignored. ### Example 2: Run PicoClaw with Docker Compose and Discord **User request:** "Run PicoClaw in Docker with Discord and send me a summary every evening" ```bash git clone https://github.com/sipeed/picoclaw.git && cd picoclaw docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml --profile launcher up # generates docker/data/config.json ``` Edit `docker/data/config.json` (enable `channel_list.discord` with `"allow_from": ["987654321012345678"]`, add a model), put the keys in `docker/data/.security.yml`, then: ```bash docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml --profile gateway up -d docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml logs -f picoclaw-gateway ``` Then, in a Discord direct message from the allowed user, ask: "Every day at 18:00 summarize today's activity and send it to me". The agent creates the job with its `cron` tool; check it in the launcher or with `picoclaw cron list` against the same data directory. Result: the gateway restarts with the container and the job is stored in the workspace under `cron/`. ## Guidelines - Always set `allow_from` to specific user IDs; an empty list lets anyone who finds the bot talk to an agent that can run commands. - Only one gateway can use a bot token at a time; a second one causes Telegram "terminated by other getUpdates request" conflicts. - PicoClaw is pre-1.0 and the project itself warns against production use with sensitive data. Recent builds can use 10-20 MB of RAM, not the 10 MB in older claims. - Do not copy config snippets from older blog posts: `providers`, top-level `channels` and `model` fields written as `anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5-...` belong to older formats. Use the files `picoclaw onboard` generates as the reference, and `picoclaw update` to upgrade the binary (`picoclaw migrate` imports data from OpenClaw-style projects). - Command cron jobs can run shell commands. Leave `tools.cron.command_allowed_remotes` empty so chat users cannot schedule them, and never set it to `"*"`. - Groq-configured Whisper transcription turns voice messages from channels into text automatically. - Environment variables override config values with the `PICOCLAW_
_` pattern, for example `PICOCLAW_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL=60` or `PICOCLAW_LOG_LEVEL=info`. - Disabling `restrict_to_workspace` gives the agent access to your whole filesystem; do that only in a throwaway container. --- Source attribution: terminal-skills Original project: https://github.com/TerminalSkills/skills/blob/8a9852d489f274538be9bf1c9121aeb403750b1c/skills/picoclaw/SKILL.md License: Apache-2.0 License information: https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 Original upstream instructions; downloaded from Mega AI Hub. ## Upstream license notice Apache License Version 2.0, January 2004 http://www.apache.org/licenses/ TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR USE, REPRODUCTION, AND DISTRIBUTION 1. Definitions. "License" shall mean the terms and conditions for use, reproduction, and distribution as defined by Sections 1 through 9 of this document. "Licensor" shall mean the copyright owner or entity authorized by the copyright owner that is granting the License. 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See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License. # Mega AI Hub resource metadata Creator / publisher: terminal-skills Original project: https://github.com/TerminalSkills/skills/blob/8a9852d489f274538be9bf1c9121aeb403750b1c/skills/picoclaw/SKILL.md Attribution basis: Source repository record Fields of work: Development & Engineering, Product Management Roles: ML / AI Engineer, DevOps / SRE, Backend Developer, Product Manager, Technical Product Manager Specialties: API, Backend Tools: Docker, Telegram, Discord, Slack, OpenAI API, Anthropic API, Groq Country applicability: Country not specified Classification basis: Source category, role and specialization labels Instruction SHA-256: 49f3f7128985be4cfe03cd0cf8515945db466d6a637e3bf70a4f69535ac1d104