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RemoteClaw

Slash Commands

Slash commands

Commands are handled by the Gateway. Most commands must be sent as a standalone message that starts with /. The host-only bash chat command uses ! <cmd> (with /bash <cmd> as an alias).

There are two related systems:

  • Commands: standalone /... messages.
  • Directives: /verbose, /queue.
    • Directives are stripped from the message before the model sees it.
    • In normal chat messages (not directive-only), they are treated as “inline hints” and do not persist session settings.
    • In directive-only messages (the message contains only directives), they persist to the session and reply with an acknowledgement.
    • Directives are only applied for authorized senders. If commands.allowFrom is set, it is the only allowlist used; otherwise authorization comes from channel allowlists/pairing plus commands.useAccessGroups. Unauthorized senders see directives treated as plain text.

There are also a few inline shortcuts (allowlisted/authorized senders only): /help, /commands, /status, /whoami (/id). They run immediately, are stripped before the model sees the message, and the remaining text continues through the normal flow.

Config

{
  commands: {
    native: "auto",


    text: true,
    bash: false,
    bashForegroundMs: 2000,
    config: false,
    debug: false,
    restart: false,
    allowFrom: {
      "*": ["user1"],
      discord: ["user:123"],
    },
    useAccessGroups: true,
  },
}

  • commands.text (default true) enables parsing /... in chat messages.

    • On surfaces without native commands (WhatsApp/WebChat/Signal/iMessage/Google Chat/MS Teams), text commands still work even if you set this to false.

  • commands.native (default "auto") registers native commands.

    • Auto: on for Discord/Telegram; off for Slack (until you add slash commands); ignored for providers without native support.
    • Set channels.discord.commands.native, channels.telegram.commands.native, or channels.slack.commands.native to override per provider (bool or "auto").
    • false clears previously registered commands on Discord/Telegram at startup. Slack commands are managed in the Slack app and are not removed automatically.

  • commands.bash (default false) enables ! <cmd> to run host shell commands (/bash <cmd> is an alias; requires tools.elevated allowlists).

  • commands.bashForegroundMs (default 2000) controls how long bash waits before switching to background mode (0 backgrounds immediately).

  • commands.config (default false) enables /config (reads/writes remoteclaw.json).

  • commands.debug (default false) enables /debug (runtime-only overrides).

  • commands.allowFrom (optional) sets a per-provider allowlist for command authorization. When configured, it is the only authorization source for commands and directives (channel allowlists/pairing and commands.useAccessGroups are ignored). Use "*" for a global default; provider-specific keys override it.

  • commands.useAccessGroups (default true) enforces allowlists/policies for commands when commands.allowFrom is not set.

Command list

Text + native (when enabled):

  • /help
  • /commands
  • /remoteclaw (show RemoteClaw middleware status)
  • /status (show current status; includes provider usage/quota for the current model provider when available)
  • /allowlist (list/add/remove allowlist entries)
  • /export-session [path] (alias: /export) (export current session to HTML)
  • /whoami (show your sender id; alias: /id)
  • /session ttl <duration|off> (manage session-level settings, such as TTL)
  • /subagents list|kill|log|info|send|steer|spawn (inspect, control, or spawn sub-agent runs for the current session)
  • /agents (list thread-bound agents for this session)
  • /focus <target> (Discord: bind this thread, or a new thread, to a session/subagent target)
  • /unfocus (Discord: remove the current thread binding)
  • /kill <id|#|all> (immediately abort one or all running sub-agents for this session; no confirmation message)
  • /steer <id|#> <message> (steer a running sub-agent immediately: in-run when possible, otherwise abort current work and restart on the steer message)
  • /tell <id|#> <message> (alias for /steer)
  • /config show|get|set|unset (persist config to disk, owner-only; requires commands.config: true)
  • /debug show|set|unset|reset (runtime overrides, owner-only; requires commands.debug: true)
  • /usage off|tokens|full|cost (per-response usage footer or local cost summary)
  • /tts off|always|inbound|tagged|status|provider|limit|summary|audio (control TTS; see /tts)
    • Discord: native command is /voice (Discord reserves /tts); text /tts still works.
  • /stop
  • /restart
  • /dock-telegram (alias: /dock_telegram) (switch replies to Telegram)
  • /dock-discord (alias: /dock_discord) (switch replies to Discord)
  • /dock-slack (alias: /dock_slack) (switch replies to Slack)
  • /activation mention|always (groups only)
  • /send on|off|inherit (owner-only)
  • /reset or /new (remainder is passed through)
  • /verbose on|full|off (alias: /v)
  • /queue <mode> (plus options like debounce:2s cap:25 drop:summarize; send /queue to see current settings)

Text-only:

  • ! <command> (host-only; one at a time; use !poll + !stop for long-running jobs)
  • !poll (check output / status; accepts optional sessionId; /bash poll also works)
  • !stop (stop the running bash job; accepts optional sessionId; /bash stop also works)

Notes:

  • Commands accept an optional : between the command and args (e.g. /send: on, /help:).
  • /allowlist add|remove requires commands.config=true and honors channel configWrites.
  • /usage controls the per-response usage footer; /usage cost prints a local cost summary from session logs.
  • /restart is enabled by default; set commands.restart: false to disable it.
  • Discord-only native command: /vc join|leave|status controls voice channels (requires channels.discord.voice and native commands; not available as text).
  • Discord thread-binding commands (/focus, /unfocus, /agents, /session ttl) require effective thread bindings to be enabled (session.threadBindings.enabled and/or channels.discord.threadBindings.enabled).
  • /verbose is meant for debugging and extra visibility; keep it off in normal use.
  • Tool failure summaries are still shown when relevant, but detailed failure text is only included when /verbose is on or full.
  • Fast path: command-only messages from allowlisted senders are handled immediately (bypass queue + model).
  • Group mention gating: command-only messages from allowlisted senders bypass mention requirements.
  • Inline shortcuts (allowlisted senders only): certain commands also work when embedded in a normal message and are stripped before the model sees the remaining text.
    • Example: hey /status triggers a status reply, and the remaining text continues through the normal flow.
  • Currently: /help, /commands, /status, /whoami (/id).
  • Unauthorized command-only messages are silently ignored, and inline /... tokens are treated as plain text.
  • Native command arguments: Discord uses autocomplete for dynamic options (and button menus when you omit required args). Telegram and Slack show a button menu when a command supports choices and you omit the arg.

Usage surfaces (what shows where)

  • Provider usage/quota (example: “Claude 80% left”) shows up in /status for the current model provider when usage tracking is enabled.
  • Per-response tokens/cost is controlled by /usage off|tokens|full (appended to normal replies).

Debug overrides

/debug lets you set runtime-only config overrides (memory, not disk). Owner-only. Disabled by default; enable with commands.debug: true.

Examples:

/debug show
/debug set messages.responsePrefix="[remoteclaw]"
/debug set channels.whatsapp.allowFrom=["+1555","+4477"]
/debug unset messages.responsePrefix
/debug reset

Notes:

  • Overrides apply immediately to new config reads, but do not write to remoteclaw.json.
  • Use /debug reset to clear all overrides and return to the on-disk config.

Config updates

/config writes to your on-disk config (remoteclaw.json). Owner-only. Disabled by default; enable with commands.config: true.

Examples:

/config show
/config show messages.responsePrefix
/config get messages.responsePrefix
/config set messages.responsePrefix="[remoteclaw]"
/config unset messages.responsePrefix

Notes:

  • Config is validated before write; invalid changes are rejected.
  • /config updates persist across restarts.

Surface notes

  • Text commands run in the normal chat session (DMs share main, groups have their own session).
  • Native commands use isolated sessions:
    • Discord: agent:<agentId>:discord:slash:<userId>
    • Slack: agent:<agentId>:slack:slash:<userId> (prefix configurable via channels.slack.slashCommand.sessionPrefix)
    • Telegram: telegram:slash:<userId> (targets the chat session via CommandTargetSessionKey)
  • /stop targets the active chat session so it can abort the current run.
  • Slack: channels.slack.slashCommand is still supported for a single /remoteclaw-style command. If you enable commands.native, you must create one Slack slash command per built-in command (same names as /help). Command argument menus for Slack are delivered as ephemeral Block Kit buttons.