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OpenClaude Agent Masterclass — Full Tutorial

#agents #claudecode #openclaude #aicodingagent

Everything you need to install, configure, and master OpenClaude — GitLawb’s open-source terminal coding agent with 69+ slash commands, multi-provider support, MCP, skills, and permission-gated tools.

Official docs: openclaude.gitlawb.com/docs · Source: github.com/Gitlawb/openclaude · npm: @gitlawb/openclaude

What you’ll have at the end

  • OpenClaude installed (npm install -g @gitlawb/openclaude@latest)
  • A provider profile saved via /provider (or env vars for Ollama/OpenAI)
  • Confidence running tasks, reviewing diffs, and rewinding bad edits
  • /init project instructions, /mcp , /skills , /permissions configured
  • Optional background sessions and per-agent model routing

Introduction — runs anywhere, uses anything

OpenClaude is a terminal-first coding agent harness maintained by GitLawb. One CLI drives cloud APIs and local backends: OpenAI-compatible servers, Gemini, GitHub Models, Codex OAuth, Ollama, Fireworks, OpenRouter, GitLawb Opengateway, OpenCode Zen, and more.

Unlike a chat wrapper, OpenClaude ships a full tool loop : bash, file read/write/edit, grep, glob, subagents, MCP servers, web tools, and 69+ slash commands for sessions, review, memory, and configuration.

The tagline is literal: it runs anywhere (macOS, Linux, Windows, Android install path) and uses anything (swap providers without swapping workflows).

Docs hub: openclaude.gitlawb.com/docs

Part 1 — How OpenClaude is structured

Layers:

  1. REPL  — interactive session with streaming tokens and tool progress
  2. Slash commands  — /provider, /diff, /mcp, /permissions, …
  3. Tools  — permission-gated execution; the first sensitive use asks for approval
  4. Providers  — saved profiles in .openclaude-profile.json or env vars
  5. Extensions  — MCP, plugins, skills, LSP (/lsp), VS Code extension

OpenClaude does not auto-load the project .env files. Prefer /provider for credentials, or openclaude --provider-env-file .env When you need an env-based setup.

Part 2 — Prerequisites

  • Node.js ≥ 22.0.0 (npm install path)
  • ripgrep (rg) — install system-wide; OpenClaude errors if missing
  • A git repository (or empty directory) to work in
  • API key, OAuth path, or local Ollama for inference 
node -v # v22+
rg --version
openclaude --version # after install
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Part 3 — Install 

npm install -g @gitlawb/openclaude@latest
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Arch Linux (community AUR):

paru -S openclaude
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Verify and upgrade:

openclaude --version
npm view @gitlawb/openclaude dist-tags
npm install -g @gitlawb/openclaude@latest
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Part 4 — Wire a provider (/provider)

Start inside your project:

cd your-repo
openclaude
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Run guided setup:

/provider
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This saves provider profiles  — recommended over raw env vars for most users. Profiles persist in .openclaude-profile.json (user-level).

Other onboarding paths:

Provider table (abbreviated) — full list in upstream README:

  • OpenAI-compatible (OpenRouter, DeepSeek, Groq, LM Studio, …)
  • Gemini, Fireworks, ClinePass, NEAR AI, Xiaomi MiMo
  • GitHub Models, Codex OAuth, Codex CLI auth
  • Ollama (native chat API, 32k ctx request)
  • OpenCode Zen / OpenCode Go (shared OPENCODE_API_KEY)

Run OpenClaude completely offline by connecting it to TechLatest’s Ollama + Open WebUI environment with DeepSeek, Llama, Gemma, Qwen, Mistral, and other open-source models.

Prefer an OpenAI-compatible local endpoint? Deploy LocalAI with TechLatest and use it as a drop-in provider for OpenClaude.

Techlatest.net - LocalAI: Self-Hosted Alternative to OpenAI & Anthropic

Part 5 — First task (quickstart)

Brief the agent like a teammate:

> add retry with exponential backoff to the fetch client, then run the tests
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OpenClaude streams its plan, tool calls, and edits live. Nothing commits automatically  — you review first.

Non-interactive one-shot:

openclaude -p "explain this repo's auth flow"
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Part 6 — Slash commands map

OpenClaude ships 69+ built-in slash commands. Type / for autocomplete. Full reference: slash commands docs.

Essential groups:

Plugins and skills can register additional slash commands.

Part 7 — Project instructions (/init)

Initialize harness instructions for the repo:

/init
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Creates project documentation the agent reads on demand — same harness primitive as OpenCode’s AGENTS.md and our Harness Engineering guide. Commit the generated file to git.

Also useful: /wiki init for an OpenClaude project wiki, /memory for persistent user-level memory, /dream For session consolidation.

Part 8 — Permissions and safety

Tool use is permission-gated. First use of sensitive operations prompts approval; persist rules with:

/permissions
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This separates model intent from runtime allowance  — core harness engineering. Tune allow/deny rules per project.

Part 9 — MCP servers

Attach external tools via Model Context Protocol:

/mcp
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Enable/disable servers by name. Same MCP standard as our MCP Visual Guide and MiniCPM-V MCP Server.

Combine with /lsp for language-server code intelligence in the loop.

Part 10 — Skills and custom agents

Skills  — packaged workflows with front-matter; list with /skills. Example: examples/skill.example.md.

---
name: repo-smoke-test
description: Run lint and tests before claiming a task is done
maxSteps: 12
---

When finishing a coding task, always run the project's test and lint commands.
Report stdout. Do not declare success until both pass.
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Agents  — configure subagents with /agents. Custom agents support maxSteps to cap tool loops:

---
name: bounded-researcher
maxSteps: 8
---
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Built-in routable agents include Explore , Plan , and verification (read-only auditor before completion).

Want to orchestrate multiple specialized AI agents? Explore TechLatest’s CrewAI Studio for collaborative software engineering workflows and production-ready multi-agent systems

Techlatest.net - AI Agents using CrewAI Studio & Jupyter with GPU support

Part 11 — Review workflow

Before committing:

/diff # uncommitted + per-turn diffs
/rewind # restore code and/or conversation
/cost # session spend
/security-review # branch security pass
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Enable /auto-fix To run lint/test after AI edits. Use /plan for plan mode (similar in spirit to OpenCode's Plan agent).

Part 12 — Background sessions

Long tasks without blocking your terminal:

openclaude --bg "fix failing tests"
openclaude --bg --name auth-refactor "refactor auth middleware"
openclaude ps
openclaude logs auth-refactor -f
openclaude kill auth-refactor
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Background jobs are local child processes  — not network daemons. Logs live under ~/.openclaude/bg-sessions/ (or OPENCLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR).

Part 13 — Resume and fork conversations 

openclaude --continue
openclaude --resume <session-id>
openclaude --continue --fork-session
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Fork branches' conversation history to a new session ID — it does not create a git worktree or filesystem copy.

Inside a session: /branch , /resume , /export.

Part 14 — Agent model routing

Route different agents to different models via ~/.openclaude.json:

{
  "agentModels": { "mini": { "model": "gpt-5-mini" } },
  "agentRouting": {
    "Explore": "mini",
    "verification": "mini",
    "default": "glm-default"
  }
}
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Full example: examples/agent-routing.example.json.

{
  "agentModels": {
    "mini": { "model": "gpt-5-mini" },
    "glm-default": {
      "model": "glm-5.2",
      "base_url": "https://api.z.ai/api/coding/paas/v4",
      "api_key": "sk-your-key"
    }
  },
  "agentRouting": {
    "Explore": "mini",
    "Plan": "glm-default",
    "verification": "mini",
    "default": "glm-default"
  }
}
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Note: /provider Sets the global session provider. agentModels + agentRouting Override the subagent without changing the parent session.

Part 15 — VS Code extension

OpenClaude bundles a VS Code extension (vscode-extension/openclaude-vscode) for launch integration and theme support. Use /ide inside a session to manage IDE integrations.

Terminal remains the power surface ; the extension bridges editor ↔ agent.

Part 16 — OpenClaude vs OpenCode vs Claude Code

See OpenCode masterclass for the Anomaly stack. Many teams pick OpenClaude when they need maximum provider flexibility in one terminal workflow.

Part 17 — Hands-on checklist 

npm install -g @gitlawb/openclaude@latest
cd your-repo && openclaude
/provider
/init && git add -A && git commit -m "Add OpenClaude project instructions"
> implement feature X and run tests
/diff
/permissions # tune rules
/mcp # optional servers
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Summary

OpenClaude is GitLawb’s provider-agnostic coding harness : one terminal, saved provider profiles, permission-gated tools, 69+ slash commands, MCP/skills/agents, and review primitives (/diff, /rewind) that keep you in control.

Install once, run/provider, brief it like a teammate, review with/diff, and route subagents to cheaper models when you scale up.

The model changes. The harness — permissions, commands, profiles, review — is what makes it shippable.

Thank you so much for reading

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