/term — direct terminal execution (exec dispatch)

/term is a power-user shortcut: whatever you type after /term is forwarded as-is to OpenClaw’s exec tool.

This is intentionally “manual mode”:

• You (the user) provide the exact shell command.
• OpenClaw does not rewrite, expand, or “helpfully” change it.
• It’s useful when you want quick, deterministic terminal actions without a planning loop.

How dispatch works (important)

OpenClaw supports command-dispatch: tool skills. When you run:

• /term ls -la

the raw argument string (ls -la) is forwarded to the configured tool (exec) without extra parsing. In tool-dispatch mode, OpenClaw invokes the tool with params shaped like:

{ command: "\x3Craw args>", commandName: "\x3Cslash command>", skillName: "\x3Cskill name>" }

See the Skills docs section on command-dispatch, command-tool, and command-arg-mode. :contentReference[oaicite:10]{index=10}

When to use /term vs normal “agent runs”

Use /term when:

• You already know the exact command you want.
• You want a quick read-only check (files, git status, grep).
• You are debugging OpenClaw itself (skills folder, logs, Peekaboo bridge status).

Prefer normal agent flow when:

• You want the model to decide the best approach.
• The task may need multiple steps, safety checks, or file edits.

Safety model (read this once, then follow it)

/term is equivalent to letting an assistant type into your terminal. Good defaults:

1. Prefer read-only commands unless you mean to change state.
2. Avoid secrets in command lines (tokens, API keys, cookies).
3. Avoid remote execution one-liners:
   • no curl ... | sh
   • no “download and execute” pipelines
4. If the command could delete or overwrite files, slow down and double-check paths.

Host + sandbox notes

Your actual execution environment depends on how you invoke exec in your setup (sandbox vs host). Also note: when a session is sandboxed, environment variables are not automatically inherited by the container; you must inject them via sandbox env settings or bake them into the image. :contentReference[oaicite:11]{index=11}

Practical examples

Quick inspection (safe, read-only)

• /term pwd
• /term ls -la
• /term git status
• /term rg -n "TODO|FIXME" .

Debug Peekaboo bridge discovery (macOS)

• /term peekaboo bridge status --verbose

If the output shows “no such file or directory” for all candidates and “Selected: local (in-process)”, you likely have no bridge host running (see troubleshooting below).

One-liners for structured output

If you want JSON output for parsing:

• /term python -c 'import json,platform; print(json.dumps({"py":platform.python_version()}))'

Troubleshooting

“command not found”

The tool runs in whatever PATH your OpenClaw runtime provides. If you rely on Homebrew, ensure the runtime sees /opt/homebrew/bin.

“permission denied” / macOS privacy prompts

Some tools (screen capture / UI automation) require Screen Recording / Accessibility. Those permissions are per-process context on macOS; using PeekabooBridge is often the reliable path for automation.

I need richer guidance and guardrails

Install/use the companion skill terminal-helper (model-invocable) which teaches safe patterns, confirmations, and runbooks.