Kjell Tore Guttormsen 2491f5c732 feat: initial companion repo for OpenClaw vs Claude Code article

40 files demonstrating every major OpenClaw capability using Claude Code:
- 3 agents (researcher, writer, reviewer)
- 3 skills (daily-briefing, slack-message, web-research)
- 2 security hooks (pre-tool-use blocker, post-tool-use logger)
- 10 self-contained examples with copy-paste prompts
- Complete feature map (20 capabilities, 11 full match, 7 different, 2 gap)
- Security docs including NemoClaw comparison
- Automation, messaging, browser, memory documentation

Zero dependencies. Clone and run.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

2026-03-26 09:47:29 +01:00

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OpenClaw vs Claude Code: Complete Feature Map

Every major OpenClaw capability, mapped to its Claude Code equivalent.

Verdict legend

Icon	Verdict	Meaning
✅	Full match	Claude Code achieves the same outcome
~	Different approach	Achievable but requires more setup or different architecture
❌	Gap	Not possible today without significant workarounds

The map (20 capabilities)

#	Capability	OpenClaw	Claude Code	Verdict
1	Agent Runtime	Long-running daemon, tool exec, streaming	CLI agent loop, tool exec, streaming	✅
2	Shell Execution	`exec` tool, PTY, background, elevated	Bash tool with permission system	✅
3	File I/O	read, write, edit, apply_patch	Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep	✅
4	Web Search	Brave Search, Firecrawl fallback	WebSearch + WebFetch (built-in)	✅
5	Browser	CDP/Playwright, screenshots, act	Playwright MCP (same engine)	✅
6	Memory	Daily logs + vector search	CLAUDE.md hierarchy + auto-memory	~
7	Multi-Agent	Sub-agents, mesh, agent-to-agent	Agent Teams, SendMessage, worktree	✅
8	Messaging	15+ native channels	MCP + Telegram native (v2.1.80)	~
9	Model Providers	20+ providers, failover	Opus/Sonnet/Haiku + overrides	~
10	Cron/Automation	HEARTBEAT.md, cron, webhooks	/loop, CronCreate, /schedule, hooks	✅
11	Plugin System	openclaw.plugin.json, 20+ hooks	plugin.json, hooks, commands, agents	✅
12	Skills	SKILL.md, ClawHub (5,700+)	Skills + marketplace (2,300+)	✅
13	Security	Docker sandbox, DM pairing	Permission modes, hooks, sandbox	~
14	Voice/TTS	Talk Mode, wake word	Via MCP/scripts (not built-in)	~
15	Companion Apps	macOS, iOS, Android native	VS Code, JetBrains, Desktop, Web	~
16	Gateway	WebSocket server, Control UI	No equivalent (Remote Control partial)	❌
17	Configuration	JSON5, hot-reload, profiles	settings.json hierarchy, CLAUDE.md	✅
18	Canvas/A2UI	Agent-driven HTML workspace	HTML generation + Playwright preview	❌
19	Chat Commands	/status, /model, /think, /mesh	Built-in + custom skills	✅
20	CLI	onboard, gateway, tui, doctor	claude CLI with subcommands	✅

Score

Verdict	Count	%
✅ Full match	11	55%
~ Different approach	7	35%
❌ Gap	2	10%

What the gaps mean

Gateway/Control Plane (❌): OpenClaw runs a WebSocket server with a control UI, webchat, and an OpenAI-compatible API. Claude Code has no equivalent. Remote Control (research preview) partially addresses phone access but is not a programmable gateway.

Canvas/A2UI (❌): OpenClaw's canvas is an interactive, agent-driven HTML workspace served by the gateway. Claude Code can generate HTML files and preview them via Playwright, but there is no persistent, interactive canvas surface.

These are real gaps. They matter most for always-on automation and visual agent interfaces. For development and task execution, they are less relevant.

Version requirements

Minimum Claude Code version for full coverage: v2.1.81

Feature	Version	OpenClaw equivalent
Agent Teams	v2.1.32	Multi-agent mesh
Auto-memory	v2.1.32	Vector memory
Channels + Telegram	v2.1.80	Multi-channel messaging
Permission relay	v2.1.81	DM approval
/loop + CronCreate	v2.1.71	HEARTBEAT.md + cron
Worktree isolation	v2.1.50	Agent sandboxing
disallowedTools	v2.1.78	Tool deny lists
Background agents	v2.1.49	Sub-agent spawning
HTTP hooks	v2.1.63	Webhook integrations
Plugin marketplace	v2.1.6	ClawHub
managed-settings.d	v2.1.84	Enterprise policy

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