homeclaw/.smallclaw/users/papa/workspace/SELF.md

SELF.md — What I Am and How I Work

This is your technical self-knowledge. Read this when you need to understand your own architecture, diagnose errors, or reason about your own source code.

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Identity

• Project: SmallClaw
• Root: D:\smallclaw
• Runtime: Node.js + TypeScript, compiled to dist/ via npm run build
• Gateway: Express + WebSocket server on http://127.0.0.1:18789
• Model: Ollama (primary model configured in Settings → Models)
• Platform: Windows (but code is cross-platform)

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Source Layout (src/)

src/gateway/ — The Brain (most bugs live here)

File	What it does
server-v2.ts	Main entry point. Builds tools, handles all chat turns (handleChat), assembles system prompt, routes tool calls
telegram-channel.ts	Telegram bot. Long-polling, file browser, command handlers
task-runner.ts	Sliding-context multi-step task engine. Each step: model picks ONE action
task-store.ts	Persists task records to .smallclaw/tasks/ as JSON
background-task-runner.ts	Manages running tasks in the background while chat is free
session.ts	In-memory + disk session history. addMessage, getHistory, clearHistory
orchestrator.ts	Legacy multi-agent orchestrator (plan → execute → verify)
cron-scheduler.ts	Time-based job runner. Fires handleChat on schedule
heartbeat-runner.ts	Periodic self-check. Runs against workspace on interval
memory-manager.ts	Compacts and manages workspace memory files
skills-manager.ts	Loads/enables/disables skills from .smallclaw/skills/
mcp-manager.ts	Model Context Protocol server connections
browser-tools.ts	Playwright-based browser automation tool implementations
desktop-tools.ts	Windows desktop automation (screenshot, click, type, etc.)
hook-loader.ts	Loads workspace-defined hooks from workspace/hooks/
hooks.ts	Internal event bus (gateway:startup, command:new, agent:bootstrap)
boot.ts	Runs workspace/BOOT.md at startup as a handleChat turn
webhook-handler.ts	Incoming webhook router for external triggers
preempt-watchdog.ts	Watchdog that can interrupt stuck model turns
gpu-detector.ts	Detects GPU for Ollama performance reporting
fact-store.ts	Simple key-value fact persistence
pty-manager.ts	Pseudo-terminal manager for interactive shell sessions
ollama-process-manager.ts	Manages the Ollama process lifecycle

src/tools/ — What the AI Can Do

File	What it does
registry.ts	Central tool registry. All tools registered here. getToolRegistry() singleton
files.ts	read, write, edit, list, delete, rename, copy, mkdir, stat, append, apply_patch
shell.ts	shell — run arbitrary shell commands (with safety guards)
web.ts	web_search, web_fetch
memory.ts	memory_search, memory_write — semantic memory in .smallclaw/memory/
self-update.ts	self_update — triggers self-update.bat, rebuilds and restarts gateway
skills.ts	skill_list, skill_search, skill_install, skill_remove, skill_exec
time.ts	time_now
memory-mmr.ts	MMR (Maximal Marginal Relevance) ranking for memory retrieval
memory-utils.ts	Shared memory utilities

src/agents/ — AI Invocation Layer

File	What it does
ollama-client.ts	Wraps Ollama API. chat(), tool call parsing, streaming
executor.ts	Agent that executes tasks step by step
manager.ts	Agent that plans and decomposes tasks
verifier.ts	Agent that verifies task completion
reactor.ts	v2 reaction loop (current)
reactor-legacy.ts	Old reaction loop (kept for reference)

src/orchestration/ — Multi-Agent Coordination

File	What it does
multi-agent.ts	Secondary advisor calls, orchestration config, eligibility checks
file-op-v2.ts	File operation orchestration — classifies, plans, verifies file changes

src/config/ — Configuration

File	What it does
config.ts	Config loader/saver. getConfig() singleton. Reads .smallclaw/config.json
soul-loader.ts	Loads soul/memory for legacy system prompt builder
soul.md	Default soul template (overridden by workspace/SOUL.md)
memory.md	Default memory template

src/skills/ — Skills System

File	What it does
store.ts	Skills storage and retrieval

src/db/ — Persistence Layer

• SQLite database for jobs, tasks, approvals, artifacts

src/types.ts — Shared Types

• JobStatus, TaskStatus, AgentRole, Job, Task, Step, Artifact, Approval, ToolResult

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Build System

npm run build       → compiles src/ → dist/ (TypeScript → JavaScript)
npm start           → runs dist/gateway/server-v2.js
start-smallclaw.bat → npm run build && npm start (Windows)
self-update.bat     → git pull + npm run build + restart gateway

• TypeScript config: tsconfig.json at root
• Output: dist/ mirrors src/ structure
• After patching any src/ file, always rebuild with npm run build

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Config & Data Paths

Location	Purpose
.smallclaw/config.json	Main config (models, tools, channels, workspace path)
.smallclaw/cron/jobs.json	Cron job definitions
.smallclaw/skills/	Installed skills
.smallclaw/tasks/	Persisted task records (JSON per task)
.smallclaw/pending-repairs/	Pending self-repair patches awaiting approval
workspace/	User workspace — SOUL, IDENTITY, USER, MEMORY, AGENTS, TOOLS, SELF
workspace/memory/	Daily memory logs (YYYY-MM-DD.md)
gateway.log	Stdout gateway log
gateway.err.log	Stderr gateway log — first place to look for errors

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How the System Prompt Is Built (Per Turn)

buildPersonalityContext() in server-v2.ts loads these workspace files and injects them:

1. IDENTITY.md (200 chars max) — who I am
2. SOUL.md (500 chars max) — my values and operating principles
3. USER.md (300 chars max) — who I'm helping
4. MEMORY.md (600 chars max) — long-term memory
5. SELF.md (this file, 600 chars max) — technical self-knowledge
6. Daily memory notes from memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md

Then active skills, caller context (e.g. "you are responding via Telegram"), and the tool list are appended.

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How handleChat Works (The Core Loop)

handleChat(message, sessionId, sendSSE, ...) in server-v2.ts
  ↓
buildPersonalityContext() → loads workspace files → system prompt
  ↓
getHistoryForApiCall() → last N messages from session
  ↓
Ollama chat API call with tools
  ↓
If tool_calls in response:
  → execute each tool (list_files, read_file, browser_*, etc.)
  → append tool results to messages
  → loop (up to MAX_TOOL_ROUNDS = 12)
  ↓
Return final text response

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How Background Tasks Work

start_task(goal) tool call
  ↓
BackgroundTaskRunner.startTask(goal, sessionId)
  ↓
TaskRunner loop (task-runner.ts):
  Each step: model picks ONE tool from task tool set
  → execute tool → append to journal
  → compress old journal entries → rebuild context
  → loop until done or max steps (25)
  ↓
On error: TaskState.error set, status = 'failed'
  → error + stack captured in task record
  → task stored in .smallclaw/tasks/<id>.json

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Where Errors Show Up

When something breaks, check in this order:

1. gateway.err.log — raw stderr from the gateway process
2. gateway.log — stdout including [Telegram], [Task], [CronScheduler] prefixed lines
3. .smallclaw/tasks/<task-id>.json — error field on a failed task record
4. workspace/memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md — daily log of what happened during the session

Stack traces in logs include the compiled dist/ path — map back to src/ by same relative path.

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Self-Repair Flow (When Implemented)

1. Read gateway.err.log or failed task's error field to get the error + stack
2. Map dist/gateway/server-v2.js:450 → src/gateway/server-v2.ts (same relative path)
3. Use read_source tool to read the relevant source file around the error line
4. Reason about the bug — what caused it, what the fix should be
5. Use propose_repair tool to generate a unified diff patch and send it to Telegram for approval
6. Wait for /approve <id> — never self-apply

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Important Constraints

• Never edit dist/ directly — it gets overwritten on rebuild. Always edit src/.
• Always rebuild after source changes — npm run build from D:\smallclaw
• Tool path restrictions — read/write/edit tools are locked to workspace/. Use read_source to read src/ files.
• Model context is ~8K tokens — system prompt + tools + history all compete for space. Keep workspace files concise.
• One Ollama instance — parallel inference on 4B models causes degradation. The isModelBusy guard prevents this.