# DevClaw

An [OpenClaw](https://openclaw.ai) plugin that turns a single orchestrator agent into a development team lead managing multiple projects simultaneously.

## The idea

You have one AI agent — the orchestrator. It lives in a Telegram group per project. Each project has its own GitLab repo, its own task backlog, and its own pair of sub-agent workers: a **DEV** that writes code and a **QA** that reviews it. The orchestrator decides what to work on, spawns the right worker with the right model, and moves tasks through the pipeline — across all projects at once.

DevClaw gives the orchestrator four tools that replace hundreds of lines of manual orchestration logic. Instead of the agent following a 10-step checklist (fetch issue, check labels, pick model, check for existing session, transition label, update state, log audit event...), it calls `task_pickup` and the plugin handles everything atomically.

## How it works

```mermaid
graph TB
    subgraph "Orchestrator Agent"
        O[Orchestrator]
    end

    subgraph "Project A — Telegram Group"
        direction TB
        A_GL[GitLab Issues]
        A_DEV[DEV sub-agent]
        A_QA[QA sub-agent]
    end

    subgraph "Project B — Telegram Group"
        direction TB
        B_GL[GitLab Issues]
        B_DEV[DEV sub-agent]
        B_QA[QA sub-agent]
    end

    subgraph "Project C — Telegram Group"
        direction TB
        C_GL[GitLab Issues]
        C_DEV[DEV sub-agent]
        C_QA[QA sub-agent]
    end

    O -->|task_pickup / task_complete| A_GL
    O -->|task_pickup / task_complete| B_GL
    O -->|task_pickup / task_complete| C_GL
    O -->|sessions_spawn / sessions_send| A_DEV
    O -->|sessions_spawn / sessions_send| A_QA
    O -->|sessions_spawn / sessions_send| B_DEV
    O -->|sessions_spawn / sessions_send| B_QA
    O -->|sessions_spawn / sessions_send| C_DEV
    O -->|sessions_spawn / sessions_send| C_QA
```

Each project is identified by its **Telegram group ID** — the orchestrator receives messages from project groups and knows which project context it's operating in.

## Task lifecycle

Every task (GitLab issue) moves through a fixed pipeline of label states. DevClaw tools handle every transition atomically — label change, state update, audit log, and session management in a single call.

```mermaid
stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> Planning
    Planning --> ToDo: Ready for development

    ToDo --> Doing: task_pickup (DEV)
    Doing --> ToTest: task_complete (DEV done)

    ToTest --> Testing: task_pickup (QA)
    Testing --> Done: task_complete (QA pass)
    Testing --> ToImprove: task_complete (QA fail)
    Testing --> Refining: task_complete (QA refine)

    ToImprove --> Doing: task_pickup (DEV fix)
    Refining --> ToDo: Human decision

    Done --> [*]
```

## Session reuse

Sub-agent sessions are expensive to start — each new spawn requires the agent to read the full codebase (~50K tokens). DevClaw preserves session IDs across task completions. When a DEV finishes task A and picks up task B on the same project, the plugin detects the existing session and returns `"sessionAction": "send"` instead of `"spawn"` — the orchestrator sends the new task to the running session instead of creating a new one.

```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
    participant O as Orchestrator
    participant DC as DevClaw Plugin
    participant GL as GitLab
    participant S as Sub-agent Session

    O->>DC: task_pickup({ issueId: 42, role: "dev" })
    DC->>GL: Fetch issue, verify label
    DC->>DC: Select model (haiku/sonnet/opus)
    DC->>DC: Check existing session
    DC->>GL: Transition label (To Do → Doing)
    DC->>DC: Update projects.json, write audit log
    DC-->>O: { sessionAction: "send", sessionId: "...", model: "sonnet" }
    O->>S: sessions_send (task description)
```

## Model selection

The plugin selects the cheapest model that can handle each task:

| Complexity | Model | When |
|------------|-------|------|
| Simple | Haiku | Typos, CSS, renames, copy changes |
| Standard | Sonnet | Features, bug fixes, multi-file changes |
| Complex | Opus | Architecture, migrations, security, system-wide refactoring |
| QA | Grok | All QA tasks (code review, test validation) |

Selection is based on issue title/description keywords. The orchestrator can override with `modelOverride` on any `task_pickup` call.

## State management

All project state lives in a single `memory/projects.json` file in the orchestrator's workspace, keyed by Telegram group ID:

```json
{
  "projects": {
    "-5044836116": {
      "name": "trainerswap",
      "repo": "~/git/trainerswap",
      "groupName": "Henk - Trainerswap",
      "baseBranch": "development",
      "dev": {
        "active": false,
        "sessionId": "agent:henk-dev:subagent:a9e4d078-...",
        "issueId": null,
        "model": "haiku"
      },
      "qa": {
        "active": false,
        "sessionId": "agent:henk-dev:subagent:18707821-...",
        "issueId": null,
        "model": "grok"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Key design decision: when a worker completes a task, `sessionId` and `model` are **preserved** (only `active` and `issueId` are cleared). This enables session reuse on the next pickup.

All writes go through atomic temp-file-then-rename to prevent corruption.

## Tools

### `task_pickup`

Pick up a task from the GitLab queue for a DEV or QA worker.

**Parameters:**
- `issueId` (number, required) — GitLab issue ID
- `role` ("dev" | "qa", required) — Worker role
- `projectGroupId` (string, required) — Telegram group ID
- `modelOverride` (string, optional) — Force a specific model

**What it does atomically:**
1. Resolves project from `projects.json`
2. Validates no active worker for this role
3. Fetches issue from GitLab, verifies correct label state
4. Selects model based on task complexity
5. Detects session reuse opportunity
6. Transitions GitLab label (e.g. `To Do` → `Doing`)
7. Updates `projects.json` state
8. Writes audit log entry
9. Returns structured instructions for the orchestrator

### `task_complete`

Complete a task with one of four results.

**Parameters:**
- `role` ("dev" | "qa", required)
- `result` ("done" | "pass" | "fail" | "refine", required)
- `projectGroupId` (string, required)
- `summary` (string, optional) — For the Telegram announcement

**Results:**
- **DEV "done"** — Pulls latest code, moves label `Doing` → `To Test`, deactivates worker
- **QA "pass"** — Moves label `Testing` → `Done`, closes issue, deactivates worker
- **QA "fail"** — Moves label `Testing` → `To Improve`, reopens issue, prepares DEV fix cycle with model selection
- **QA "refine"** — Moves label `Testing` → `Refining`, awaits human decision

### `queue_status`

Returns task queue counts and worker status across all projects (or a specific one).

**Parameters:**
- `projectGroupId` (string, optional) — Omit for all projects

### `session_health`

Detects and optionally fixes state inconsistencies.

**Parameters:**
- `autoFix` (boolean, optional) — Auto-fix zombies and stale state
- `activeSessions` (string[], optional) — Live session IDs from `sessions_list`

**Checks:**
- Active worker with no session ID (critical)
- Active worker whose session is dead — zombie (critical)
- Worker active for >2 hours (warning)
- Inactive worker with lingering issue ID (warning)

## Audit logging

Every tool call automatically appends an NDJSON entry to `memory/audit.log`. No manual logging required from the orchestrator agent.

```jsonl
{"ts":"2026-02-08T10:30:00Z","event":"task_pickup","project":"trainerswap","issue":42,"role":"dev","model":"sonnet","sessionAction":"send"}
{"ts":"2026-02-08T10:30:01Z","event":"model_selection","issue":42,"role":"dev","selected":"sonnet","reason":"Standard dev task"}
{"ts":"2026-02-08T10:45:00Z","event":"task_complete","project":"trainerswap","issue":42,"role":"dev","result":"done"}
```

## Installation

```bash
# Local (place in extensions directory — auto-discovered)
cp -r devclaw ~/.openclaw/extensions/

# From npm (future)
openclaw plugins install @openclaw/devclaw
```

## Configuration

Optional config in `openclaw.json`:

```json
{
  "plugins": {
    "entries": {
      "devclaw": {
        "config": {
          "glabPath": "/usr/local/bin/glab"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Restrict tools to your orchestrator agent only:

```json
{
  "agents": {
    "list": [{
      "id": "my-orchestrator",
      "tools": {
        "allow": ["task_pickup", "task_complete", "queue_status", "session_health"]
      }
    }]
  }
}
```

## Requirements

- [OpenClaw](https://openclaw.ai)
- Node.js >= 20
- [`glab`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cli) CLI installed and authenticated
- A `memory/projects.json` in the orchestrator agent's workspace

## License

MIT