# Replace OpenClaw with Hybrid Bedrock Approach

**Date:** 2026-06-10
**Status:** Accepted
**Author:** Sam

## Context

OpenClaw has become unreliable for daily use:
- OAuth token refresh failures (openai-codex provider)
- Plugin system fragility (codex-supervisor disabled randomly)
- Model fallback chain breaks when any provider auth expires
- Requires constant supervision and config debugging
- Complex TypeScript codebase makes troubleshooting opaque

## Decision

Replace OpenClaw with a hybrid approach:
- **Intelligence:** AWS Bedrock (Claude Haiku 4.5) — IAM auth, no OAuth
- **Orchestration:** Cron + bash scripts + Ansible
- **Chat interface:** Custom Telegram bot (minimal Python or bash + curl)
- **Hosting:** racknerd3 (existing VPS) calling Bedrock API
- **Knowledge base:** Local (ChromaDB or SQLite FTS)

## Consequences

**Positive:**
- $2–15/month vs $200/month (ChatGPT Pro subscription)
- No plugin system to break
- No OAuth refresh loops
- Every component is inspectable bash/curl
- Agents defined by prompt files, not framework config

**Negative:**
- No pre-built skill marketplace
- Must build Telegram bot manually
- No self-improving loop (unless we build one)
- Initial setup effort

## Migration Plan

1. Build Scribe agent first (note enhancement workflow)
2. Validate Bedrock connectivity from racknerd3
3. Wire Telegram bot for conversational access
4. Port cron jobs (inbox-triage, nightwatch) to bash + Bedrock
5. Decommission OpenClaw once all workflows migrated