RescueClaw

Provides automatic checkpoint creation and rollback to safely recover from failures during risky operations like config changes or updates.

Security Scan

RescueClaw's files and instructions are internally consistent with a user-local checkpoint/rollback helper, but the installer and examples have a few implementation and trust pitfalls you should review before installing.

Purpose & Capability

The skill's name/description (checkpoint + rollback for risky operations) matches the provided code and runtime instructions: rescueclaw-checkpoint.js creates/clears a checkpoint file and queries a user-local daemon; install.js installs a user-local daemon binary. No unrelated credentials, services, or capabilities are requested.

Instruction Scope

SKILL.md and the API expose exactly the checkpoint operations. However, example usage includes privileged operations (e.g., restarting a system service via systemctl) and uses a literal '~' in fs.writeFileSync (Node.js does not expand ~ automatically), which is a bug/ambiguous guidance. The docs instruct agents to call the daemon CLI (rescueclaw status) and to write checkpoint files under ~/.openclaw/rescueclaw — both are within the skill's stated scope, but the example's systemctl usage requires elevated privileges and is not something the skill can safely perform on behalf of a user without explicit consent.

Install Mechanism

Installation downloads a tar.gz from a GitHub Releases URL (well-known host) and extracts it into ~/.local/bin; this is a common pattern. Concerns: the installer doesn't verify checksums or signatures, extracts archives directly (tar extraction can be abused if upstream is compromised), and uses curl/tar via execSync (the script itself invokes shell commands). The install targets user-local paths (no sudo required), which limits system-wide impact.

Credentials

The skill requests no environment variables, no credentials, and stores data under the user's home directory (~/.openclaw/rescueclaw). The code does call external binary 'rescueclaw' when present, which matches the skill's role. There are no extraneous secrets or unrelated env access.

Persistence & Privilege

The skill does create persistent artifacts: it installs a daemon binary to ~/.local/bin/rescueclaw and stores checkpoint data under ~/.openclaw/rescueclaw/. always is false (not force-included). The agent is allowed to invoke the skill autonomously by default (normal for skills); this combined with a long-lived daemon means the binary could be executed by the agent later — review the binary from upstream before trusting it.

Assessment

This skill appears to do what it claims (create/clear checkpoint files and invoke a user-local daemon), but before installing: 1) Review the upstream GitHub repository and the exact release asset (verify that the release author is trusted). 2) Prefer installs with checksums/signatures — the installer does not verify them. 3) Inspect the downloaded binary (or run it in an isolated environment) before trusting it, since the installer extracts a tarball from Releases. 4) Note that example code uses systemctl (requires privileges) and uses '~' in paths (Node won't expand it automatically) — fix these when you adapt the examples. 5) Ensure ~/.local/bin is in your PATH and that you are comfortable with a user-local daemon being available for the agent to call. If you need higher assurance, request a signed release or build the daemon from source yourself.

RescueClaw Skill

Provides checkpoint/rollback safety net for risky operations.

Before Risky Operations

Before modifying config, installing skills, or updating the gateway, create a checkpoint:

const rescueclaw = require('./rescueclaw-checkpoint');
await rescueclaw.createCheckpoint('About to apply config changes');

RescueClaw will take an immediate backup. If the agent goes unresponsive within the rollback window, it auto-restores.

After Successful Operations

Clear the checkpoint:

const rescueclaw = require('./rescueclaw-checkpoint');
await rescueclaw.clearCheckpoint();

Commands

The agent can also invoke RescueClaw CLI directly:

• rescueclaw backup — manual snapshot
• rescueclaw status — check health
• rescueclaw list — list backups

Installation

The daemon binary is bundled for supported platforms (linux/arm64). On install, it copies to ~/.local/bin/rescueclaw. For other platforms, download from GitHub Releases.

Data is stored in ~/.openclaw/rescueclaw/ (user-local, no sudo required).

API Reference

createCheckpoint(reason, rollbackWindowSec = 300)

Creates a checkpoint file that RescueClaw monitors. If the agent becomes unresponsive within the rollback window, RescueClaw will immediately restore from the checkpoint backup.

Parameters:

• reason (string): Description of what operation is about to be performed
• rollbackWindowSec (number, optional): How many seconds to monitor for issues (default: 300)

Returns: Promise<void>

clearCheckpoint()

Removes the checkpoint file, signaling that the risky operation completed successfully.

Returns: Promise<void>

getStatus()

Gets RescueClaw daemon status by invoking the CLI.

Returns: Promise<object> with health status details

Example: Safe Config Update

const fs = require('fs');
const rescueclaw = require('./rescueclaw-checkpoint');

async function updateConfig(newConfig) {
  // Create safety checkpoint
  await rescueclaw.createCheckpoint('Updating OpenClaw config', 180);
  
  try {
    // Perform the risky operation
    fs.writeFileSync('~/.openclaw/openclaw.json', JSON.stringify(newConfig));
    
    // Restart gateway
    await exec('systemctl restart openclaw-gateway');
    
    // If we get here, it worked!
    await rescueclaw.clearCheckpoint();
    console.log('✅ Config updated successfully');
  } catch (err) {
    console.error('❌ Config update failed:', err);
    // Don't clear checkpoint - let RescueClaw auto-restore
  }
}