nself claw
nself claw — ɳSelf documentation.
Manage ɳClaw AI assistant.
Synopsis
nself claw <subcommand> [flags] [args]
Description
nself claw is the operator and end-user control plane for ɳClaw, the self-hosted AI assistant. It covers pairing client apps to a server, enabling the web UI for first-time setup, sending one-shot prompts, opening interactive chats, browsing topics and memories, managing API keys, exposing an OpenAI-compatible local proxy, running an MCP server for tool integrations, and exporting all data.
The CLI talks to the claw plugin over its HTTP API. Authentication is by API key (env nself or ~/.nself/claw/config.yaml). For first-time setup, run nself claw enable on the server to open a 10-minute window for account creation, then nself claw pair --qr to connect a mobile client.
nself claw mcp exposes ɳClaw memory, topics, and chat as Model Context Protocol tools so any MCP-aware client (Claude Code, IDEs) can read and write ɳClaw context. nself claw proxy exposes an OpenAI-compatible local endpoint so any client expecting OpenAI can route through ɳClaw without code changes.
Subcommands
| Name | Description |
|---|
pair | Generate a pairing code for ɳClaw clients |
enable | Temporarily enable the web UI for first-time account setup |
prompt [question] | Send a single prompt and print the response |
chat | Start an interactive chat session |
config | Show or modify ɳClaw CLI configuration |
config set <key> <value> | Set a configuration value (api-key, server) |
topics | List topics |
topics search <query> | Search topics by name |
memories | List memories |
memories search <query> | Search memories by content |
keys | List API keys |
keys create | Create a new API key |
keys revoke <id> | Revoke an API key |
status | Show ɳClaw server status and health |
proxy [port] | Start a local OpenAI-compatible proxy |
mcp | Start an MCP server for ɳClaw |
export | Export all ɳClaw data |
Flags
claw pair
| Flag | Default | Description |
|---|
--qr | false | Display QR code in terminal |
--direct | false | Skip cloud relay, local pairing only |
claw enable
| Flag | Default | Description |
|---|
--minutes | 10 | Minutes the enable lasts (1-60) |
claw prompt [question]
| Flag | Default | Description |
|---|
--json | false | Output full JSON response |
--model | "" | Override model name |
--topic | "" | Topic context |
--no-memory | false | Skip memory injection |
--system | "" | Custom system prompt |
--raw | false | No formatting, raw text only |
--timeout | 120s | Request timeout |
--file, -f | "" | Read prompt from file |
--no-stream | false | Wait for complete response |
claw chat
| Flag | Default | Description |
|---|
--topic | "" | Start in specific topic |
--model | "" | Use specific model |
--resume | false | Resume last conversation |
--session | "" | Resume specific session ID |
claw keys create
| Flag | Default | Description |
|---|
--name | "" | Name for the API key (required) |
claw mcp
| Flag | Default | Description |
|---|
--transport | stdio | Transport mode: stdio or sse |
--port | 8899 | Port for SSE transport |
claw export
| Flag | Default | Description |
|---|
--format | json | Output format: json or csv |
claw config, claw config set, claw topics, claw topics search, claw memories, claw memories search, claw keys, claw keys revoke, claw status, and claw proxy accept no flags beyond positional arguments.
Examples
# First-time server setup: open the web UI for 10 minutes to create an account
nself claw unlock
# Pair a mobile or desktop client (prints QR code)
nself claw pair
# Save API key and server URL on a workstation
nself claw config set api-key nself_claw_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
nself claw config set server https://claw.example.com
# Send a one-shot prompt and stream the answer
nself claw prompt "Summarize the project README"
# Pipe stdin through nClaw with a custom system prompt
cat notes.txt | nself claw prompt "Extract decisions" --system "You are a precise note-taker"
# Open the interactive chat REPL
nself claw chat
# Search memories
nself claw memories search "Postgres tuning"
# Run as an MCP server for Claude Code
nself claw mcp --transport stdio
# Run an OpenAI-compatible proxy on port 9000
nself claw proxy 9000
# Back up all nClaw data
nself claw export > claw-backup.json
See Also