picoclaw/README.md

<div align="center">
<img src="assets/logo.jpg" alt="PicoClaw" width="512">

<h1>PicoClaw: Ultra-Efficient AI Assistant in Go</h1>

<h3>$10 Hardware · 10MB RAM · 1s Boot · 皮皮虾，我们走！</h3>
<h3></h3>

<p>
<img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Go-1.21+-00ADD8?style=flat&logo=go&logoColor=white" alt="Go">
<img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Arch-x86__64%2C%20ARM64%2C%20RISC--V-blue" alt="Hardware">
<img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-green" alt="License">
</p>

</div>


---

🦐 PicoClaw is an ultra-lightweight personal AI Assistant inspired by [nanobot](https://github.com/HKUDS/nanobot), refactored from the ground up in Go through a self-bootstrapping process, where the AI agent itself drove the entire architectural migration and code optimization.

⚡️ Runs on $10 hardware with <10MB RAM: That's 99% less memory than OpenClaw and 98% cheaper than a Mac mini!

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  <tr align="center">
    <td align="center" valign="top">
      <p align="center">
        <img src="assets/picoclaw_mem.gif" width="360" height="240">
      </p>
    </td>
    <td align="center" valign="top">
      <p align="center">
        <img src="assets/licheervnano.png" width="400" height="240">
      </p>
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## 📢 News
2026-02-09 🎉 PicoClaw Launched! Built in 1 day to bring AI Agents to $10 hardware with <10MB RAM. 🦐 皮皮虾，我们走！

## ✨ Features

🪶 **Ultra-Lightweight**: <10MB Memory footprint — 99% smaller than Clawdbot - core functionality.

💰 **Minimal Cost**: Efficient enough to run on $10 Hardware — 98% cheaper than a Mac mini.

⚡️ **Lightning Fast**: 400X Faster startup time, boot in 1 second even in 0.6GHz single core.

🌍 **True Portability**: Single self-contained binary across RISC-V, ARM, and x86, One-click to Go!

🤖 **AI-Bootstrapped**: Autonomous Go-native implementation — 95% Agent-generated core with human-in-the-loop refinement.

|  | OpenClaw  | NanoBot | **PicoClaw** |
| --- | --- | --- |--- |
| **Language** | TypeScript | Python | **Go** |
| **RAM** | >1GB |>100MB| **< 10MB** |
| **Startup**</br>(0.8GHz core) | >500s | >30s |  **<1s** |
| **Cost** | Mac Mini 599$ | Most Linux SBC </br>~50$ |**Any Linux Board**</br>**As low as 10$** |
<img src="assets/compare.jpg" alt="PicoClaw" width="512">


## 🦾 Demonstration
### 🛠️ Standard Assistant Workflows
<table align="center">
  <tr align="center">
    <th><p align="center">🧩 Full-Stack Engineer</p></th>
    <th><p align="center">🗂️ Logging & Planning Management</p></th>
    <th><p align="center">🔎 Web Search & Learning</p></th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td align="center"><p align="center"><img src="assets/picoclaw_code.gif" width="240" height="180"></p></td>
    <td align="center"><p align="center"><img src="assets/picoclaw_memory.gif" width="240" height="180"></p></td>
    <td align="center"><p align="center"><img src="assets/picoclaw_search.gif" width="240" height="180"></p></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td align="center">Develop • Deploy • Scale</td>
    <td align="center">Schedule • Automate • Memory</td>
    <td align="center">Discovery • Insights • Trends</td>
  </tr>
</table>

### 🐜 Innovative Low-Footprint Deploy
1. Minimal 10$ Home Assitant
2. NanoKVM Automated Maintenance
3. MaixCAM2 Smart Monitoring

https://private-user-images.githubusercontent.com/83055338/547056448-e7b031ff-d6f5-4468-bcca-5726b6fecb5c.mp4

🌟 More Deployment Cases Await！

## 📦 Install

### Install with precompiled binary

Download the firmware for your platform from the [release](https://github.com/sipeed/picoclaw/releases) page.

### Install from source (latest features, recommended for development)

```bash
git clone https://github.com/sipeed/picoclaw.git

cd picoclaw
make deps

# Build, no need to install
make build

# Build for multiple platforms
make build-all

# Build And Install
make install
```

### 🚀 Quick Start

> [!TIP]
> Set your API key in `~/.picoclaw/config.json`.
> Get API keys: [OpenRouter](https://openrouter.ai/keys) (LLM) · [Zhipu](https://open.bigmodel.cn/usercenter/proj-mgmt/apikeys) (LLM)
> Web search is **optional** - get free [Brave Search API](https://brave.com/search/api) (2000 free queries/month)

**1. Initialize**

```bash
picoclaw onboard
```

**2. Configure** (`~/.picoclaw/config.json`)

```json
{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "workspace": "~/.picoclaw/workspace",
      "model": "glm-4.7",
      "max_tokens": 8192,
      "temperature": 0.7,
      "max_tool_iterations": 20
    }
  },
  "providers": {
    "openrouter": {
      "api_key": "xxx",
      "api_base": "https://open.bigmodel.cn/api/paas/v4"
    }
  },
  "tools": {
    "web": {
      "search": {
        "api_key": "YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY",
        "max_results": 5
      }
    }
  }
}
```

**3. Get API Keys**

- **LLM Provider**: [OpenRouter](https://openrouter.ai/keys) · [Zhipu](https://open.bigmodel.cn/usercenter/proj-mgmt/apikeys) · [Anthropic](https://console.anthropic.com) · [OpenAI](https://platform.openai.com) · [Gemini](https://aistudio.google.com/api-keys)
- **Web Search** (optional): [Brave Search](https://brave.com/search/api) - Free tier available (2000 requests/month)

> **Note**: See `config.example.json` for a complete configuration template.

**3. Chat**

```bash
picoclaw agent -m "What is 2+2?"
```

That's it! You have a working AI assistant in 2 minutes.

---

## 💬 Chat Apps

Talk to your picoclaw through Telegram

| Channel | Setup |
|---------|-------|
| **Telegram** | Easy (just a token) |
| **Discord** | Easy (bot token + intents) |

<details>
<summary><b>Telegram</b> (Recommended)</summary>

**1. Create a bot**

- Open Telegram, search `@BotFather`
- Send `/newbot`, follow prompts
- Copy the token

**2. Configure**

```json
{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "enabled": true,
      "token": "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN",
      "allowFrom": ["YOUR_USER_ID"]
    }
  }
}
```

> Get your user ID from `@userinfobot` on Telegram.

**3. Run**

```bash
picoclaw gateway
```
</details>


<details>
<summary><b>Discord</b></summary>

**1. Create a bot**
- Go to https://discord.com/developers/applications
- Create an application → Bot → Add Bot
- Copy the bot token

**2. Enable intents**
- In the Bot settings, enable **MESSAGE CONTENT INTENT**
- (Optional) Enable **SERVER MEMBERS INTENT** if you plan to use allow lists based on member data

**3. Get your User ID**
- Discord Settings → Advanced → enable **Developer Mode**
- Right-click your avatar → **Copy User ID**

**4. Configure**

```json
{
  "channels": {
    "discord": {
      "enabled": true,
      "token": "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN",
      "allowFrom": ["YOUR_USER_ID"]
    }
  }
}
```

**5. Invite the bot**
- OAuth2 → URL Generator
- Scopes: `bot`
- Bot Permissions: `Send Messages`, `Read Message History`
- Open the generated invite URL and add the bot to your server

**6. Run**

```bash
nanobot gateway
```

</details>

## ⚙️ Configuration

Config file: `~/.picoclaw/config.json`

### Providers

> [!NOTE]
> Groq provides free voice transcription via Whisper. If configured, Telegram voice messages will be automatically transcribed.

| Provider | Purpose | Get API Key |
|----------|---------|-------------|
| `gemini` | LLM (Gemini direct) | [aistudio.google.com](https://aistudio.google.com) |
| `zhipu` | LLM (Zhipu direct) | [bigmodel.cn](bigmodel.cn) |
| `openrouter(To be tested)` | LLM (recommended, access to all models) | [openrouter.ai](https://openrouter.ai) |
| `anthropic(To be tested)` | LLM (Claude direct) | [console.anthropic.com](https://console.anthropic.com) |
| `openai(To be tested)` | LLM (GPT direct) | [platform.openai.com](https://platform.openai.com) |
| `deepseek(To be tested)` | LLM (DeepSeek direct) | [platform.deepseek.com](https://platform.deepseek.com) |
| `groq(To be tested)` | LLM + **Voice transcription** (Whisper) | [console.groq.com](https://console.groq.com) |


<details>
<summary><b>Zhipu</b></summary>

**1. Get API key and base URL**
- Get [API key](https://bigmodel.cn/usercenter/proj-mgmt/apikeys)

**2. Configure**

```json
{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "workspace": "~/.picoclaw/workspace",
      "model": "glm-4.7",
      "max_tokens": 8192,
      "temperature": 0.7,
      "max_tool_iterations": 20
    }
  },
  "providers": {
    "zhipu": {
      "api_key": "Your API Key",
      "api_base": "https://open.bigmodel.cn/api/paas/v4"
    },
  },
}
```

**3. Run**

```bash
picoclaw agent -m "Hello"
```
</details>

<details>
<summary><b>Full config example</b></summary>

```json
{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": "anthropic/claude-opus-4-5"
    }
  },
  "providers": {
    "openrouter": {
      "apiKey": "sk-or-v1-xxx"
    },
    "groq": {
      "apiKey": "gsk_xxx"
    }
  },
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "enabled": true,
      "token": "123456:ABC...",
      "allowFrom": ["123456789"]
    },
    "discord": {
      "enabled": true,
      "token": "",
      "allow_from": [""]
    },
    "whatsapp": {
      "enabled": false
    },
    "feishu": {
      "enabled": false,
      "appId": "cli_xxx",
      "appSecret": "xxx",
      "encryptKey": "",
      "verificationToken": "",
      "allowFrom": []
    }
  },
  "tools": {
    "web": {
      "search": {
        "apiKey": "BSA..."
      }
    }
  }
}
```

</details>

## CLI Reference

| Command | Description |
|---------|-------------|
| `picoclaw onboard` | Initialize config & workspace |
| `picoclaw agent -m "..."` | Chat with the agent |
| `picoclaw agent` | Interactive chat mode |
| `picoclaw gateway` | Start the gateway |
| `picoclaw status` | Show status |

## 🤝 Contribute & Roadmap

PRs welcome! The codebase is intentionally small and readable. 🤗

**Roadmap** — Pick an item and [open a PR](https://github.com/HKUDS/picoclaw/pulls)!


## 🐛 Troubleshooting

### Web search says "API 配置问题"

This is normal if you haven't configured a search API key yet. PicoClaw will provide helpful links for manual searching.

To enable web search:
1. Get a free API key at [https://brave.com/search/api](https://brave.com/search/api) (2000 free queries/month)
2. Add to `~/.picoclaw/config.json`:
   ```json
   {
     "tools": {
       "web": {
         "search": {
           "api_key": "YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY",
           "max_results": 5
         }
       }
     }
   }
   ```

### Getting content filtering errors

Some providers (like Zhipu) have content filtering. Try rephrasing your query or use a different model.

### Telegram bot says "Conflict: terminated by other getUpdates"

This happens when another instance of the bot is running. Make sure only one `picoclaw gateway` is running at a time.

---

## 📝 API Key Comparison

| Service | Free Tier | Use Case |
|---------|-----------|-----------|
| **OpenRouter** | 200K tokens/month | Multiple models (Claude, GPT-4, etc.) |
| **Zhipu** | 200K tokens/month | Best for Chinese users |
| **Brave Search** | 2000 queries/month | Web search functionality |
| **Groq** | Free tier available | Fast inference (Llama, Mixtral) |