clawjr/decisions/2026-06-10-replace-openclaw.md

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