LobeSter

LobeSter is the local control panel for OpenClaw skills.
Deterministic. Non-destructive. CLI-first.
Install, group, activate, and safely apply your engrams without breaking your base config.

Why "LobeSter"?

In the brain, the frontal lobe governs executive control, deciding which patterns of behavior are active. LobeSter does the same for OpenClaw: it allows you decide which skills are active and applies those patterns without mutating your base config.

Managing OpenClaw skills by hand is error-prone:

• Config JSON drifts over time
• Skills can collide on entry keys
• Context switching means editing config manually
• It is hard to see what is active and why

LobeSter introduces deterministic loadouts called engrams - reproducible skill states you can switch instantly without editing config by hand.

What It Does

• Install skills from local folders or public GitHub repos
• Group installed skills into engrams
• Set an engram with a non-destructive apply flow
• Never mutates your base OpenClaw config in place
• Always produces explicit conflict output
• Generate deterministic OpenClaw output files
• Report conflicts instead of silently overwriting entries
• Manage everything from a local dashboard and CLI

Philosophy

• Local-first
• Deterministic output
• Explicit conflict reporting
• No silent mutation

How It Works

LobeSter runs locally and does not mutate your base OpenClaw config in place.

On each engram is set, it writes:

• ~/.lobester/openclaw/overlay.json
• ~/.lobester/openclaw/openclaw.generated.json

You point OpenClaw to the generated file via OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH.

What LobeSter Is Not

• Not an agent runtime
• Not a model host
• Not a cloud execution service
• Not a skill marketplace

Quick Start

Prefer a walkthrough first? Watch the run/setup demo:

If your Markdown viewer does not render embedded video, open apps/assets/Lobester-demo.mp4 directly.

Install from npm (CLI + local UI):

npm install -g lobester
lobe init
lobe start

Prerequisites:

• Node.js 20+
• pnpm 9+

This starts the local control panel + connector on http://localhost:3210.

pnpm quickstart

Quickstart modes (local service only):

• pnpm quickstart
  • Smart default for daily use.
  • Installs dependencies only when needed.
  • Builds only local runtime pieces (shared, ui, connector) when they are missing/stale.
• pnpm quickstart:cold
  • Force-installs + force-builds local runtime pieces, then starts.
  • Use after dependency/tooling drift or when you want a clean local rebuild.
• pnpm quickstart:fast
  • Skips install/build and just runs init + start.
  • Use when you already built and want the fastest restart.

From repo root:

pnpm install
pnpm build

Create a minimal base OpenClaw config (PowerShell):

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force "$HOME\.openclaw" | Out-Null
'{"skills":{"entries":{}}}' | Set-Content "$HOME\.openclaw\openclaw.json" -Encoding Ascii

Start LobeSter:

pnpm lobe -- init
pnpm lobe -- start

Open:

• http://localhost:3210

Validation script:

• docs/GATE_A_ONBOARDING.md

CLI Examples

pnpm lobe -- doctor
pnpm lobe -- skill install --source local --ref "<ABSOLUTE_PATH>"
pnpm lobe -- create engram --name writing --skills "<SKILL_REF>"
pnpm lobe -- set --engram writing
pnpm lobe -- engram list

<SKILL_REF> accepts skill id, skill name, or OpenClaw key. If a name matches multiple skills, use the explicit skill id.

Environment Variables

Local connector:

• LOBESTER_HOME
• OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH
• LOBESTER_CLOUD_URL

License

Apache License 2.0. See LICENSE.md.