clawfetch#

This skill is a thin Agent wrapper around the published clawfetch npm CLI. It is not a second scraper product and it does not contain a separate implementation of clawfetch.

Use this skill when an Agent needs to fetch web content into markdown for knowledge-base ingestion, source review, or compact reading. Typical targets include ordinary web pages, GitHub repository README pages, and Reddit threads.

Boundary#

This skill does not:

• vendor the clawfetch source tree
• clone the clawfetch repository
• reimplement browser startup, Playwright runtime handling, GitHub fast-paths, Reddit RSS handling, FlareSolverr support, or markdown conversion
• define a second set of runtime rules
• act as a general shell wrapper

The runtime behavior belongs to the published clawfetch CLI installed by bootstrap_deps.sh.

Bootstrap#

Installing this skill through OpenClaw/ClawHub only installs the wrapper files in this directory. Do not treat openclaw skills install clawfetch as a complete clawfetch installation.

First-time setup is not complete until both the npm CLI and the browser runtime are installed and checked:

1. Find the installed skill directory, the directory containing this SKILL.md and bootstrap_deps.sh.
2. Install the published clawfetch npm CLI into this skill directory:

bash

cd <installed skill directory>
sh bootstrap_deps.sh

1. Install the CLI-managed browser runtime:

bash

node node_modules/clawfetch/clawfetch.js runtime install

1. Verify the runtime before fetching pages:

bash

node node_modules/clawfetch/clawfetch.js runtime check

1. Optional smoke test for network and extraction:

bash

node node_modules/clawfetch/clawfetch.js https://example.com

The smoke test should print --- METADATA --- and --- MARKDOWN ---.

The bootstrap script installs the published clawfetch npm package into this skill directory, under node_modules/clawfetch, and verifies that node_modules/clawfetch/clawfetch.js exists before reporting success. It does not install the browser runtime, clone a repository, install unrelated packages, modify global npm state, or change system paths.

When this skill lives inside the clawfetch project repository, bootstrap reads the project root package.json and installs that same version. If the wrapper is distributed without the project root, it uses the pinned fallback version in bootstrap_deps.sh; maintainers must keep that fallback aligned with the current published CLI version.

Ready state means node_modules/clawfetch exists and node node_modules/clawfetch/clawfetch.js runtime check exits successfully. If runtime check fails, run node node_modules/clawfetch/clawfetch.js runtime diagnose --json and follow the CLI's NEXT: hints.

Configuration#

This skill includes a formal configuration file at:

text

clawfetch.toml

From this skill directory, the CLI resolves that file as the fixed host config for node_modules/clawfetch/clawfetch.js. Do not place the long-lived skill configuration inside node_modules/clawfetch; that directory is a bootstrap-generated npm package install and may be replaced during repair, upgrade, or re-bootstrap.

The default config is conservative:

toml

[flaresolverr]
enabled = false
# url = "http://127.0.0.1:8191"
max_timeout_ms = 60000

To enable FlareSolverr, edit this skill directory's clawfetch.toml, set enabled = true, and set url to a reachable FlareSolverr-compatible service. FLARESOLVERR_URL remains supported only as a compatibility or temporary override; it is not the preferred skill configuration path.

Invocation#

After bootstrap and a successful runtime check, invoke the CLI through the local package installation:

bash

node node_modules/clawfetch/clawfetch.js https://example.com/article

Runtime lifecycle commands are also provided by the CLI itself:

bash

node node_modules/clawfetch/clawfetch.js runtime install
node node_modules/clawfetch/clawfetch.js runtime check
node node_modules/clawfetch/clawfetch.js runtime diagnose --json

Do not bypass these CLI lifecycle commands from the skill layer. Browser runtime install, check, repair, upgrade, clean, and diagnose behavior must remain owned by the clawfetch CLI. bootstrap_deps.sh installs the npm CLI; runtime install installs the browser runtime. Both are required for first use.

Agent Guidance#

Use the CLI's NEXT: hints when recovering from missing dependencies, missing browser runtime, runtime mismatch, protected pages, or weak extraction results. The skill should surface those hints rather than inventing alternate recovery paths.