OpenClaw Plugin

The OpenBox plugin for OpenClaw governs your agent through two paths: tool governance for agent tool calls and LLM guardrails for model inference requests. Both paths evaluate actions against your OpenBox Core policies in real time before execution.

Key Features

Tool-level governance — every tool call passes through before_tool_call / after_tool_call hooks
LLM guardrails — a local gateway intercepts LLM requests for PII detection, content filtering, toxicity, and ban words
OTel span capture — HTTP requests and filesystem operations are captured and attached to governance events
Fail-open design — if OpenBox Core is unreachable, tools and LLM calls execute normally
Dashboard integration — session timelines, policy audit trails, and usage analytics

Installation

See Getting Started with OpenClaw for a step-by-step setup guide.

How Governance Works

Tool governance

Every tool call passes through the plugin's before_tool_call hook:

Agent decides to call a tool (e.g. Bash)
         │
         ▼
before_tool_call hook fires
         │
         ▼
Plugin sends tool name + parameters to OpenBox Core
         │
         ▼
Core evaluates against your policies
         │
         ├── allow  → tool executes normally
         └── block  → tool is prevented, agent sees the block reason

When a tool is blocked, the agent receives a message like "Blocked by governance policy: <reason>" as the tool result.

LLM guardrails

When you route your LLM provider through the OpenBox gateway, every LLM request is evaluated:

Agent sends LLM request
         │
         ▼
Request hits local gateway (http://127.0.0.1:18919/v1)
         │
         ▼
Gateway sends request content to OpenBox Core
         │
         ▼
Core runs guardrails checks
         │
         ├── pass (no issues)           → request forwarded to LLM provider as-is
         ├── pass (with redaction)       → sensitive content redacted, then forwarded
         └── fail (validation failed)    → request blocked, agent receives block message

Governance Verdicts

Verdict	Effect
`allow`	Tool executes normally. Default when no policy matches or Core is unreachable (fail-open).
`block`	Current tool call is prevented. The agent receives the block reason and can try other actions.

Guide Contents

Guide	Description
How It Works	Tool governance flow, LLM guardrails, session lifecycle, OTel spans, fail-open design
Configuration	Plugin config, environment variables, LLM gateway setup
Verifying Your Setup	Step-by-step verification checklist
OpenBox Dashboard	Session timelines, policy config, guardrails, usage analytics
Examples	Policy, guardrail, and behavioral rule examples
Troubleshooting	Common issues, verification checklist, and log message reference

Key Features​

Installation​

How Governance Works​

Tool governance​

LLM guardrails​

Governance Verdicts​

Guide Contents​