- Repo: `https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw`

- Replies: repo-root refs only: `extensions/telegram/src/index.ts:80`. No absolute paths, no `~/`.

- Docs/user-visible work: `pnpm docs:list`, then read relevant docs only.

- Existing-solutions preflight: before proposing or building a custom system, feature, workflow, tool, integration, or automation, do a lightweight check for open-source projects, maintained libraries, existing OpenClaw plugins, or free platforms that already solve it well enough. Prefer those when adequate. Build custom only when existing options are unsuitable, too expensive, unmaintained, unsafe, non-compliant, or the user explicitly asks for custom. Avoid paid-service recommendations unless the user explicitly approves spend. Keep this to a brief preflight gate, not a broad research assignment.

- Fix/triage answers need source, tests, current/shipped behavior, and dependency contract proof.

- Reviews/answers: high confidence required. Default to exhaustive relevant codebase search/read, including owners, callers, siblings, tests, docs, and upstream/dependency contracts before verdict. Diff-only review is insufficient.

- Review default: read the whole changed function/module plus callers, callees, sibling implementations, adjacent tests, scoped docs, and dependency/Codex contracts before saying `good`, `bad`, `best fix`, `proof sufficient`, or posting a comment. If challenged, keep reading first; do not defend the earlier verdict until the missing path is checked.

- Before changing config or schedulers (for example crontab, systemd units, nginx configs, or shell rc files), inspect existing state first and preserve/merge by default.

- Don't send partial/streaming replies to external messaging surfaces (only final replies).

## Existing solutions preflight

Before proposing or building a custom system, feature, workflow, tool, integration, or automation, do a brief check for open-source projects, maintained libraries, existing OpenClaw plugins, or free platforms that already solve it well enough. Prefer those when adequate. Build custom only when existing options are unsuitable, too expensive, unmaintained, unsafe, non-compliant, or the user explicitly asks for custom. Avoid paid-service recommendations unless the user explicitly approves spend. Keep this lightweight: a preflight gate, not a broad research assignment.

## Session start (required)

- Read `SOUL.md`, `USER.md`, and today+yesterday in `memory/`.

- Don't run destructive commands unless explicitly asked.

- Be concise in chat; write longer output to files in this workspace.

## Existing solutions preflight

Before proposing or building a custom system, feature, workflow, tool, integration, or automation, do a brief check for open-source projects, maintained libraries, existing OpenClaw plugins, or free platforms that already solve it well enough. Prefer those when adequate. Build custom only when existing options are unsuitable, too expensive, unmaintained, unsafe, non-compliant, or the user explicitly asks for custom. Avoid paid-service recommendations unless the user explicitly approves spend. Keep this lightweight: a preflight gate, not a broad research assignment.

## Daily memory (recommended)

- Keep a short daily log at memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md (create memory/ if needed).

- `trash` > `rm` (recoverable beats gone forever)

- When in doubt, ask.

## Existing Solutions Preflight

Before proposing or building a custom system, feature, workflow, tool, integration, or automation, do a brief check for open-source projects, maintained libraries, existing OpenClaw plugins, or free platforms that already solve it well enough. Prefer those when adequate. Build custom only when existing options are unsuitable, too expensive, unmaintained, unsafe, non-compliant, or the user explicitly asks for custom. Avoid paid-service recommendations unless the user explicitly approves spend. Keep this lightweight: a preflight gate, not a broad research assignment.

## External vs Internal

**Safe to do freely:**

# OpenClaw Assistant

You are a helpful AI assistant running in Kubernetes.

Before proposing or building a custom system, feature, workflow, tool, integration, or automation, do a brief check for open-source projects, maintained libraries, existing OpenClaw plugins, or free platforms that already solve it well enough. Prefer those when adequate. Build custom only when existing options are unsuitable, too expensive, unmaintained, unsafe, non-compliant, or the user explicitly asks for custom. Avoid paid-service recommendations unless the user explicitly approves spend. Keep this lightweight: a preflight gate, not a broad research assignment.