Sentinel Shield

Runtime security for OpenClaw agents. Monitors tool calls, enforces rate limits, scans for prompt injection, and alerts on suspicious behavior. Protect your gateway token and agent session from infostealers and session hijacking.

Sentinel Shield — Runtime Security for OpenClaw Agents

Everyone else secures the model. We secure the agent.

Sentinel Shield is a lightweight security layer for OpenClaw agents. It monitors what your agent does — not just what it says — and alerts you before damage is done.

What It Protects Against

• Stolen gateway tokens — Rate limiting + anomaly detection catches unauthorized sessions
• Prompt injection — Scans inbound content for 16+ injection pattern signatures
• Session hijacking — Behavioral fingerprinting flags sessions that don't match your patterns
• Runaway agents — 50-call/60s sliding window kills runaway loops automatically
• Silent exfiltration — File integrity monitoring on critical OpenClaw files

Quick Commands

Status Check

node {baseDir}/scripts/sentinel.js status

Returns current health, active session stats, and recent alert summary.

Security Audit

node {baseDir}/scripts/sentinel.js audit

Full audit: file integrity, rate limit state, injection scanner status, anomaly log.

Recent Alerts

node {baseDir}/scripts/sentinel.js alerts [--hours 24]

Shows alerts from the last N hours (default: 24).

Rate Limit Status

node {baseDir}/scripts/sentinel.js ratelimit

Shows current call counts per window for all monitored tools.

Kill Switch

node {baseDir}/scripts/sentinel.js kill

Emergency stop. Terminates active rate counters, logs kill event, sends Telegram alert.

Run Injection Scan

node {baseDir}/scripts/sentinel.js scan --text "some content to check"

Manually scan text for injection signatures.

Initialize / Reset Baselines

node {baseDir}/scripts/sentinel.js init

Establishes file integrity baselines for critical OpenClaw files.

Configuration

Edit {baseDir}/config/shield.json to customize:

{
  "rateLimit": {
    "maxCalls": 50,
    "windowSeconds": 60,
    "alertThreshold": 40
  },
  "telegram": {
    "enabled": true,
    "botToken": "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN",
    "chatId": "YOUR_CHAT_ID"
  },
  "monitoredFiles": [
    "~/.openclaw/openclaw.json",
    "~/.openclaw/credentials",
    "~/.ssh/authorized_keys",
    "/etc/passwd"
  ],
  "injectionScanning": true,
  "alertLevel": "medium"
}

Setup (Telegram Alerts)

1. Create a Telegram bot via @BotFather → copy the token
2. Message your bot to get your chat ID: https://api.telegram.org/bot<TOKEN>/getUpdates
3. Add both to {baseDir}/config/shield.json

How to Use in Agent Sessions

When you see a suspicious message or want to verify your session is clean:

User: "Run a security check" Action: Run node {baseDir}/scripts/sentinel.js status

User: "Show me recent security alerts"
Action: Run node {baseDir}/scripts/sentinel.js alerts

User: "Scan this text for injection: [text]" Action: Run node {baseDir}/scripts/sentinel.js scan --text "[text]"

User: "Emergency stop sentinel" Action: Run node {baseDir}/scripts/sentinel.js kill

Alert Levels

Level	Trigger	Action
INFO	Normal activity logged	Write to log only
MEDIUM	Rate limit >80%	Log + Telegram
HIGH	Rate limit hit, injection detected	Log + Telegram + kill option
CRITICAL	File integrity violation	Log + Telegram + alert all channels

Files Monitored (Default)

• ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json — Gateway auth token (THE critical file)
• ~/.openclaw/credentials — Stored credentials
• ~/.ssh/authorized_keys — SSH access control
• /etc/passwd — System user accounts
• /etc/sudoers — Privilege escalation paths

Version History

• v0.2.0 — Rate limiting (50/60s sliding window), Telegram alerts, clawhub distribution
• v0.1.0 — File integrity monitoring, process scanning, injection detection (16 patterns)