## Problem `claw config` and `claw diff` are pure-local read-only introspection commands (config merges .claw.json + .claw/settings.json from disk; diff shells out to `git diff --cached` + `git diff`). Neither needs a session context, yet both rejected direct CLI invocation: $ claw config error: `claw config` is a slash command. Use `claw --resume SESSION.jsonl /config` ... $ claw diff error: `claw diff` is a slash command. ... This forced clawing operators to spin up a full session just to inspect static disk state, and broke natural pipelines like `claw config --output-format json | jq`. ## Root cause Sibling of #145: `SlashCommand::Config { section }` and `SlashCommand::Diff` had working renderers (`render_config_report`, `render_config_json`, `render_diff_report`, `render_diff_json_for`) exposed for resume sessions, but the top-level CLI parser in `parse_subcommand()` had no arms for them. Zero-arg `config`/`diff` hit `parse_single_word_command_alias`'s fallback to `bare_slash_command_guidance`, producing the misleading guidance. ## Changes ### rust/crates/rusty-claude-cli/src/main.rs - Added `CliAction::Config { section, output_format }` and `CliAction::Diff { output_format }` variants. - Added `"config"` / `"diff"` arms to the top-level parser in `parse_subcommand()`. `config` accepts an optional section name (env|hooks|model|plugins) matching SlashCommand::Config semantics. `diff` takes no positional args. Both reject extra trailing args with a clear error. - Added `"config" | "diff" => None` to `parse_single_word_command_alias` so bare invocations fall through to the new parser arms instead of the slash-guidance error. - Added dispatch in run() that calls existing renderers: text mode uses `render_config_report` / `render_diff_report`; JSON mode uses `render_config_json` / `render_diff_json_for` with `serde_json::to_string_pretty`. - Added 5 regression assertions in parse_args test covering: parse_args(["config"]), parse_args(["config", "env"]), parse_args(["config", "--output-format", "json"]), parse_args(["diff"]), parse_args(["diff", "--output-format", "json"]). ### ROADMAP.md Added Pinpoint #146 documenting the gap, verification, root cause, fix shape, and acceptance. Explicitly notes which other slash commands (`hooks`, `usage`, `context`, etc.) are NOT candidates because they are session-state-modifying. ## Live verification $ claw config # no config files Config Working directory /private/tmp/cd-146-verify Loaded files 0 Merged keys 0 Discovered files user missing ... project missing ... local missing ... Exit 0. $ claw config --output-format json { "cwd": "...", "files": [...], ... } $ claw diff # no git Diff Result no git repository Detail ... Exit 0. $ claw diff --output-format json # inside claw-code { "kind": "diff", "result": "changes", "staged": "", "unstaged": "diff --git ..." } Exit 0. ## Tests - rusty-claude-cli bin: 177 tests pass (5 new assertions in parse_args) - Full workspace green except pre-existing resume_latest flake (unrelated) ## Not changed `hooks`, `usage`, `context`, `tasks`, `theme`, `voice`, `rename`, `copy`, `color`, `effort`, `branch`, `rewind`, `ide`, `tag`, `output-style`, `add-dir` — all session-mutating or interactive-only; correctly remain slash-only. Closes ROADMAP #146.
🦞 Claw Code — Rust Implementation
A high-performance Rust rewrite of the Claw Code CLI agent harness. Built for speed, safety, and native tool execution.
For a task-oriented guide with copy/paste examples, see ../USAGE.md.
Quick Start
# Inspect available commands
cd rust/
cargo run -p rusty-claude-cli -- --help
# Build the workspace
cargo build --workspace
# Run the interactive REPL
cargo run -p rusty-claude-cli -- --model claude-opus-4-6
# One-shot prompt
cargo run -p rusty-claude-cli -- prompt "explain this codebase"
# JSON output for automation
cargo run -p rusty-claude-cli -- --output-format json prompt "summarize src/main.rs"
Configuration
Set your API credentials:
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."
# Or use a proxy
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://your-proxy.com"
Or provide an OAuth bearer token directly:
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="anthropic-oauth-or-proxy-bearer-token"
Mock parity harness
The workspace now includes a deterministic Anthropic-compatible mock service and a clean-environment CLI harness for end-to-end parity checks.
cd rust/
# Run the scripted clean-environment harness
./scripts/run_mock_parity_harness.sh
# Or start the mock service manually for ad hoc CLI runs
cargo run -p mock-anthropic-service -- --bind 127.0.0.1:0
Harness coverage:
streaming_textread_file_roundtripgrep_chunk_assemblywrite_file_allowedwrite_file_deniedmulti_tool_turn_roundtripbash_stdout_roundtripbash_permission_prompt_approvedbash_permission_prompt_deniedplugin_tool_roundtrip
Primary artifacts:
crates/mock-anthropic-service/— reusable mock Anthropic-compatible servicecrates/rusty-claude-cli/tests/mock_parity_harness.rs— clean-env CLI harnessscripts/run_mock_parity_harness.sh— reproducible wrapperscripts/run_mock_parity_diff.py— scenario checklist + PARITY mapping runnermock_parity_scenarios.json— scenario-to-PARITY manifest
Features
| Feature | Status |
|---|---|
| Anthropic / OpenAI-compatible provider flows + streaming | ✅ |
Direct bearer-token auth via ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN |
✅ |
| Interactive REPL (rustyline) | ✅ |
| Tool system (bash, read, write, edit, grep, glob) | ✅ |
| Web tools (search, fetch) | ✅ |
| Sub-agent / agent surfaces | ✅ |
| Todo tracking | ✅ |
| Notebook editing | ✅ |
| CLAUDE.md / project memory | ✅ |
Config file hierarchy (.claw.json + merged config sections) |
✅ |
| Permission system | ✅ |
| MCP server lifecycle + inspection | ✅ |
| Session persistence + resume | ✅ |
| Cost / usage / stats surfaces | ✅ |
| Git integration | ✅ |
| Markdown terminal rendering (ANSI) | ✅ |
| Model aliases (opus/sonnet/haiku) | ✅ |
Direct CLI subcommands (status, sandbox, agents, mcp, skills, doctor) |
✅ |
Slash commands (including /skills, /agents, /mcp, /doctor, /plugin, /subagent) |
✅ |
Hooks (/hooks, config-backed lifecycle hooks) |
✅ |
| Plugin management surfaces | ✅ |
| Skills inventory / install surfaces | ✅ |
| Machine-readable JSON output across core CLI surfaces | ✅ |
Model Aliases
Short names resolve to the latest model versions:
| Alias | Resolves To |
|---|---|
opus |
claude-opus-4-6 |
sonnet |
claude-sonnet-4-6 |
haiku |
claude-haiku-4-5-20251213 |
CLI Flags and Commands
Representative current surface:
claw [OPTIONS] [COMMAND]
Flags:
--model MODEL
--output-format text|json
--permission-mode MODE
--dangerously-skip-permissions
--allowedTools TOOLS
--resume [SESSION.jsonl|session-id|latest]
--version, -V
Top-level commands:
prompt <text>
help
version
status
sandbox
acp [serve]
dump-manifests
bootstrap-plan
agents
mcp
skills
system-prompt
init
claw acp is a local discoverability surface for editor-first users: it reports the current ACP/Zed status without starting the runtime. As of April 16, 2026, claw-code does not ship an ACP/Zed daemon entrypoint yet, and claw acp serve is only a status alias until the real protocol surface lands.
The command surface is moving quickly. For the canonical live help text, run:
cargo run -p rusty-claude-cli -- --help
Slash Commands (REPL)
Tab completion expands slash commands, model aliases, permission modes, and recent session IDs.
The REPL now exposes a much broader surface than the original minimal shell:
- session / visibility:
/help,/status,/sandbox,/cost,/resume,/session,/version,/usage,/stats - workspace / git:
/compact,/clear,/config,/memory,/init,/diff,/commit,/pr,/issue,/export,/hooks,/files,/release-notes - discovery / debugging:
/mcp,/agents,/skills,/doctor,/tasks,/context,/desktop - automation / analysis:
/review,/advisor,/insights,/security-review,/subagent,/team,/telemetry,/providers,/cron, and more - plugin management:
/plugin(with aliases/plugins,/marketplace)
Notable claw-first surfaces now available directly in slash form:
/skills [list|install <path>|help]/agents [list|help]/mcp [list|show <server>|help]/doctor/plugin [list|install <path>|enable <name>|disable <name>|uninstall <id>|update <id>]/subagent [list|steer <target> <msg>|kill <id>]
See ../USAGE.md for usage examples and run cargo run -p rusty-claude-cli -- --help for the live canonical command list.
Workspace Layout
rust/
├── Cargo.toml # Workspace root
├── Cargo.lock
└── crates/
├── api/ # Provider clients + streaming + request preflight
├── commands/ # Shared slash-command registry + help rendering
├── compat-harness/ # TS manifest extraction harness
├── mock-anthropic-service/ # Deterministic local Anthropic-compatible mock
├── plugins/ # Plugin metadata, manager, install/enable/disable surfaces
├── runtime/ # Session, config, permissions, MCP, prompts, auth/runtime loop
├── rusty-claude-cli/ # Main CLI binary (`claw`)
├── telemetry/ # Session tracing and usage telemetry types
└── tools/ # Built-in tools, skill resolution, tool search, agent runtime surfaces
Crate Responsibilities
- api — provider clients, SSE streaming, request/response types, auth (
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY+ bearer-token support), request-size/context-window preflight - commands — slash command definitions, parsing, help text generation, JSON/text command rendering
- compat-harness — extracts tool/prompt manifests from upstream TS source
- mock-anthropic-service — deterministic
/v1/messagesmock for CLI parity tests and local harness runs - plugins — plugin metadata, install/enable/disable/update flows, plugin tool definitions, hook integration surfaces
- runtime —
ConversationRuntime, config loading, session persistence, permission policy, MCP client lifecycle, system prompt assembly, usage tracking - rusty-claude-cli — REPL, one-shot prompt, direct CLI subcommands, streaming display, tool call rendering, CLI argument parsing
- telemetry — session trace events and supporting telemetry payloads
- tools — tool specs + execution: Bash, ReadFile, WriteFile, EditFile, GlobSearch, GrepSearch, WebSearch, WebFetch, Agent, TodoWrite, NotebookEdit, Skill, ToolSearch, and runtime-facing tool discovery
Stats
- ~20K lines of Rust
- 9 crates in workspace
- Binary name:
claw - Default model:
claude-opus-4-6 - Default permissions:
danger-full-access
License
See repository root.