AI Agent Framework

BearClaw

AI agent framework with defense-in-depth security, multi-agent orchestration, and provider abstraction. Zero SDK dependencies — only 2 runtime deps total.

View on GitHubnpm install -g bearclaw

Why BearClaw

Most AI agent frameworks bolt security on as an afterthought. BearClaw treats it as a core architectural concern — with encrypted secrets, rate limiting, SSRF guards, approval workflows, and policy engines built in from the start.

  • Security-first with defense-in-depth design
  • Multi-provider: Anthropic, OpenAI, Ollama, CLI delegation
  • Multi-agent orchestration with team-based routing
  • Zero SDK dependencies — all providers use fetch() directly

Built for security & control

API keys encrypted at rest with ChaCha20-Poly1305, sliding window rate limiting scoped per-agent and per-tool, SSRF protection, and configurable autonomy levels from locked to full.

Security PolicyRate LimitingEncrypted SecretsSSRF GuardApproval WorkflowsAutonomy LevelsPairing AuthSession Persistence

Quick start

Install globally and start chatting with your configured AI agent.

$ npm install -g bearclaw

$ bearclaw

BearClaw looks for its config at ~/.bearclaw/config.json. On first run it encrypts your API keys in-place and generates a secret key.

What you get out of the box

Multi-provider LLM

Anthropic, OpenAI, Ollama, and CLI delegation with streaming support and exponential backoff retry.

Multi-agent orchestration

Team-based routing, @agent mention parsing, conversation tracking with fan-out/fan-in patterns.

Defense-in-depth security

SecurityPolicy, PolicyEngine, SSRF guard, rate limiting, approval workflows, and encrypted secrets.

Tool system

9 built-in tools with JSON Schema validation, before/after hooks, parallel execution, and structured results.

Multi-channel messaging

CLI REPL and Telegram with a unified message bus. HTTP gateway with pairing-based authentication.

Zero SDK dependencies

All provider integrations use fetch() directly. Only 2 runtime dependencies total.

Learn more

Check out the full README, configuration docs, and source code on GitHub.