CLI-Anything cli-anything-openclaw

install
source · Clone the upstream repo
git clone https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything
Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/
T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/openclaw-skill/agent-harness/cli_anything/openclaw/skills" ~/.claude/skills/hkuds-cli-anything-cli-anything-openclaw && rm -rf "$T"
OpenClaw · Install into ~/.openclaw/skills/
T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/skills && cp -r "$T/openclaw-skill/agent-harness/cli_anything/openclaw/skills" ~/.openclaw/skills/hkuds-cli-anything-cli-anything-openclaw && rm -rf "$T"
manifest: openclaw-skill/agent-harness/cli_anything/openclaw/skills/SKILL.md
source content

OpenClaw Macro System CLI

What It Is

The OpenClaw Macro System converts valuable GUI workflows into parameterized, CLI-callable macros. Agents never touch the GUI directly — they call macros through this stable CLI, and the runtime routes execution to the best available backend (native plugin/API, file transformation, semantic UI control, or precompiled GUI macro replay).

Installation

cd openclaw-skill/agent-harness
pip install -e .

Requirements: Python 3.10+, PyYAML, click, prompt-toolkit.

Quick Start (for agents)

# 1. See what macros are available
cli-anything-openclaw macro list --json

# 2. Inspect a macro's parameters
cli-anything-openclaw macro info export_file --json

# 3. Dry-run to check params without side effects
cli-anything-openclaw --dry-run macro run export_file \
    --param output=/tmp/test.txt --json

# 4. Execute a macro
cli-anything-openclaw macro run export_file \
    --param output=/tmp/result.txt --json

# 5. See what backends are available
cli-anything-openclaw backends --json

Command Reference

Global Flags

FlagDescription
--json
Machine-readable JSON output on stdout
--dry-run
Simulate all steps, skip side effects
--session-id <id>
Resume or create a named session

macro
group

CommandDescription
macro list
List all available macros
macro info <name>
Show macro schema (parameters, steps, conditions)
macro run <name> --param k=v
Execute a macro
macro dry-run <name> --param k=v
Simulate without side effects
macro validate [name]
Structural validation
macro define <name>
Scaffold a new macro YAML

session
group

CommandDescription
session status
Show session statistics
session history
Show recent run history
session save
Persist session to disk
session list
List all saved sessions

backends

cli-anything-openclaw backends --json
# Shows: native_api, file_transform, semantic_ui, gui_macro, recovery
# and whether each is available in the current environment.

Macro Parameters

Pass parameters with

--param key=value
. Repeat for multiple:

cli-anything-openclaw macro run transform_json \
    --param file=/path/to/data.json \
    --param key=settings.theme \
    --param value=dark \
    --json

Output Format (--json)

All commands output JSON when

--json
is set:

{
  "success": true,
  "macro_name": "export_file",
  "output": {
    "exported_file": "/tmp/result.txt"
  },
  "error": "",
  "telemetry": {
    "duration_ms": 312,
    "steps_total": 2,
    "steps_run": 2,
    "backends_used": ["native_api"],
    "dry_run": false
  }
}

On failure (

"success": false
), read the
"error"
field for the reason. Exit code is 1 on failure.

Execution Backends

Backends are selected automatically based on the macro step definition:

BackendTriggered byUse case
native_api
backend: native_api
Subprocess / shell command
file_transform
backend: file_transform
XML, JSON, text file editing
semantic_ui
backend: semantic_ui
Accessibility / keyboard shortcuts
gui_macro
backend: gui_macro
Precompiled coordinate replay
recovery
backend: recovery
Retry / fallback orchestration

Writing Macros

Macros are YAML files in

cli_anything/openclaw/macro_definitions/
. Scaffold one with:

cli-anything-openclaw macro define my_macro --output \
    cli_anything/openclaw/macro_definitions/examples/my_macro.yaml

Minimal schema:

name: my_macro
version: "1.0"
description: What this macro does.

parameters:
  output:
    type: string
    required: true
    description: Where to write results.
    example: /tmp/result.txt

preconditions:
  - file_exists: /path/to/input

steps:
  - id: step1
    backend: native_api
    action: run_command
    params:
      command: [my-app, --export, "${output}"]
    timeout_ms: 30000
    on_failure: fail  # or: skip, continue

postconditions:
  - file_exists: ${output}
  - file_size_gt: [${output}, 100]

outputs:
  - name: result_file
    path: ${output}

agent_hints:
  danger_level: safe  # safe | moderate | dangerous
  side_effects: [creates_file]
  reversible: true

Agent Usage Rules

  1. Always use
    --json
    for programmatic output.
  2. Use
    --dry-run
    to validate params
    before executing side-effectful macros.
  3. Check
    success
    field
    — do not assume success from exit code alone.
  4. Read
    error
    field
    when
    success
    is false — it explains what failed.
  5. Use
    macro info <name>
    to discover params
    before calling
    macro run
    .
  6. Use absolute paths for all file parameters.

Example Workflow

# Step 1: What's available?
cli-anything-openclaw macro list --json

# Step 2: What params does transform_json need?
cli-anything-openclaw macro info transform_json --json

# Step 3: Test safely
cli-anything-openclaw --dry-run macro run transform_json \
    --param file=/tmp/config.json \
    --param key=theme \
    --param value=dark --json

# Step 4: Execute for real
cli-anything-openclaw macro run transform_json \
    --param file=/tmp/config.json \
    --param key=theme \
    --param value=dark --json

Version

1.0.0