ZeroClaw 🦀
Zero overhead. Zero compromise. 100% Rust. 100% Agnostic.
⚡️ Runs on any hardware with <5MB RAM: That's 99% less memory than OpenClaw and 98% cheaper than a Mac mini!
Built by students and members of the Harvard, MIT, and Sundai.Club communities.
🌐 Languages: English · 简体中文 · 日本語 · Русский · Français · Tiếng Việt · Ελληνικά
Getting Started | One-Click Setup | Docs Hub | Docs TOC
Quick Routes: Reference · Operations · Troubleshoot · Security · Hardware · Contribute
Fast, small, and fully autonomous Operating System
Deploy anywhere. Swap anything.
ZeroClaw is the runtime operating system for agentic workflows — infrastructure that abstracts models, tools, memory, and execution so agents can be built once and run anywhere.
Trait-driven architecture · secure-by-default runtime · provider/channel/tool swappable · pluggable everything
📢 Announcements
Use this board for important notices (breaking changes, security advisories, maintenance windows, and release blockers).
| Date (UTC) | Level | Notice | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-19 | Critical | We are not affiliated with openagen/zeroclaw, zeroclaw.org or zeroclaw.net. The zeroclaw.org and zeroclaw.net domains currently points to the openagen/zeroclaw fork, and that domain/repository are impersonating our official website/project. | Do not trust information, binaries, fundraising, or announcements from those sources. Use only this repository and our verified social accounts. |
| 2026-02-21 | Important | Our official website is now live: zeroclawlabs.ai. Thanks for your patience while we prepared the launch. We are still seeing impersonation attempts, so do not join any investment or fundraising activity claiming the ZeroClaw name unless it is published through our official channels. | Use this repository as the single source of truth. Follow X (@zeroclawlabs), Telegram (@zeroclawlabs), Facebook (Group), Reddit (r/zeroclawlabs), and Xiaohongshu for official updates. |
| 2026-02-19 | Important | Anthropic updated the Authentication and Credential Use terms on 2026-02-19. Claude Code OAuth tokens (Free, Pro, Max) are intended exclusively for Claude Code and Claude.ai; using OAuth tokens from Claude Free/Pro/Max in any other product, tool, or service (including Agent SDK) is not permitted and may violate the Consumer Terms of Service. | Please temporarily avoid Claude Code OAuth integrations to prevent potential loss. Original clause: Authentication and Credential Use. |
✨ Features
- 🏎️ Lean Runtime by Default: Common CLI and status workflows run in a few-megabyte memory envelope on release builds.
- 💰 Cost-Efficient Deployment: Designed for low-cost boards and small cloud instances without heavyweight runtime dependencies.
- ⚡ Fast Cold Starts: Single-binary Rust runtime keeps command and daemon startup near-instant for daily operations.
- 🌍 Portable Architecture: One binary-first workflow across ARM, x86, and RISC-V with swappable providers/channels/tools.
- 🔍 Research Phase: Proactive information gathering through tools before response generation — reduces hallucinations by fact-checking first.
Why teams pick ZeroClaw
- Lean by default: small Rust binary, fast startup, low memory footprint.
- Secure by design: pairing, strict sandboxing, explicit allowlists, workspace scoping.
- Fully swappable: core systems are traits (providers, channels, tools, memory, tunnels).
- No lock-in: OpenAI-compatible provider support + pluggable custom endpoints.
Quick Start
Option 1: Homebrew (macOS/Linuxbrew)
brew install zeroclaw
Option 2: Clone + Bootstrap
git clone https://github.com/zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw.git
cd zeroclaw
./bootstrap.sh
Note: Source builds require ~2GB RAM and ~6GB disk. For resource-constrained systems, use
./bootstrap.sh --prefer-prebuiltto download a pre-built binary instead.
Option 3: Cargo Install
cargo install zeroclaw
First Run
# Start the gateway daemon
zeroclaw gateway start
# Open the web UI
zeroclaw dashboard
# Or chat directly
zeroclaw chat "Hello!"
For detailed setup options, see docs/one-click-bootstrap.md.
Benchmark Snapshot (ZeroClaw vs OpenClaw, Reproducible)
Local machine quick benchmark (macOS arm64, Feb 2026) normalized for 0.8GHz edge hardware.
| OpenClaw | NanoBot | PicoClaw | ZeroClaw 🦀 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Language | TypeScript | Python | Go | Rust |
| RAM | > 1GB | > 100MB | < 10MB | < 5MB |
| Startup (0.8GHz core) | > 500s | > 30s | < 1s | < 10ms |
| Binary Size | ~28MB (dist) | N/A (Scripts) | ~8MB | ~8.8 MB |
| Cost | Mac Mini $599 | Linux SBC ~$50 | Linux Board $10 | Any hardware |
Notes: ZeroClaw results are measured on release builds using
/usr/bin/time -l. OpenClaw requires Node.js runtime (typically ~390MB additional memory overhead), while NanoBot requires Python runtime. PicoClaw and ZeroClaw are static binaries. The RAM figures above are runtime memory; build-time compilation requirements are higher.
For full documentation, see docs/README.md | docs/SUMMARY.md
⚠️ Official Repository & Impersonation Warning
This is the only official ZeroClaw repository:
Any other repository, organization, domain, or package claiming to be "ZeroClaw" or implying affiliation with ZeroClaw Labs is unauthorized and not affiliated with this project. Known unauthorized forks will be listed in TRADEMARK.md.
If you encounter impersonation or trademark misuse, please open an issue.
License
ZeroClaw is dual-licensed for maximum openness and contributor protection:
| License | Use case |
|---|---|
| MIT | Open-source, research, academic, personal use |
| Apache 2.0 | Patent protection, institutional, commercial deployment |
You may choose either license. Contributors automatically grant rights under both — see CLA.md for the full contributor agreement.
Contributing
See CONTRIBUTING.md and CLA.md. Implement a trait, submit a PR.
ZeroClaw — Zero overhead. Zero compromise. Deploy anywhere. Swap anything. 🦀
Star History
Fast, small, and fully autonomous AI assistant infrastructure — deploy anywhere, swap anything 🦀