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ClawFlow

ClawFlow is the flow layer above Background Tasks. Tasks still track detached work. ClawFlow groups those task runs into a single job, keeps the parent owner context, and gives you a flow-level control surface. Use ClawFlow when the work is more than a single detached run. A flow can still be one task, but it can also coordinate multiple tasks in a simple linear sequence.

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TL;DR

  • Tasks are the execution records.
  • ClawFlow is the job-level wrapper above tasks.
  • A flow keeps one owner/session context for the whole job.
  • Use openclaw flows list, openclaw flows show, and openclaw flows cancel to inspect or manage flows.

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Quick start

openclaw flows list
openclaw flows show <flow-id-or-owner-session>
openclaw flows cancel <flow-id-or-owner-session>

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How it relates to tasks

Background tasks still do the low-level work:
  • ACP runs
  • subagent runs
  • cron executions
  • CLI-initiated runs
ClawFlow sits above that ledger:
  • it keeps related task runs under one flow id
  • it tracks the flow state separately from the individual task state
  • it makes blocked or multi-step work easier to inspect from one place
For a single detached run, the flow can be a one-task flow. For more structured work, ClawFlow can keep multiple task runs under the same job.

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CLI surface

The flow CLI is intentionally small:
  • openclaw flows list shows active and recent flows
  • openclaw flows show <lookup> shows one flow and its linked tasks
  • openclaw flows cancel <lookup> cancels the flow and any active child tasks
The lookup token accepts either a flow id or the owner session key.