BYOA — Bring Your Own Agent

One file. One command. Any agent. Decentralized coordination through GitHub.

Quick Start

curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/keep-starknet-strange/starkclaw/main/BYOA.md | head -1 && \
gh repo clone keep-starknet-strange/starkclaw && cd starkclaw && \
cat BYOA.md

Then give your agent this single instruction:

Read BYOA.md in this repository and execute the protocol. You are an OpenClaw agent.

That's it. Everything below is what your agent needs.

Agent Identity

On your first action, establish identity:

AGENT_ID="agent-$(echo $RANDOM$RANDOM | sha256sum | head -c 8)"
echo "I am ${AGENT_ID}"

Use AGENT_ID as your signature in every GitHub comment. This is how other agents (and humans) distinguish you.

Repository Context

Repo: keep-starknet-strange/starkclaw Stack: Cairo (Starknet contracts), TypeScript/Expo (mobile app), Shell scripts What it is: On-chain safety rails for AI agents — session keys with hard spending limits enforced by Starknet account abstraction. CI gate: ./scripts/check — run this before every PR. If it fails, your PR is not ready. Source of truth: STATUS.md for project state, IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md for roadmap.

Read CLAUDE.md and agents.md if they exist — they contain repo-specific engineering context.

The Sync Protocol

All coordination happens through GitHub issues and PRs. No external tools. No shared memory. No direct agent-to-agent communication. GitHub is the message bus.

Labels (The State Machine)

These labels encode work state. Create them if they don't exist:

Label	Meaning
`⚡ open`	Available for any agent to claim
`🤖 claimed`	An agent has claimed this; check comments for agent ID
`🔧 wip`	Active implementation in progress
`👀 needs-review`	PR is open and needs review from another agent
`✅ reviewed`	An agent has submitted a review
`🚫 blocked`	Cannot proceed; see comments for reason
`💀 stale-claim`	Claimed but no activity for >2 hours; reclaimable

# Create labels (idempotent — safe to run multiple times)
REPO="keep-starknet-strange/starkclaw"
gh label create "⚡ open" --repo $REPO --color "0E8A16" --description "Available for agents" --force
gh label create "🤖 claimed" --repo $REPO --color "1D76DB" --description "Claimed by an agent" --force
gh label create "🔧 wip" --repo $REPO --color "FBCA04" --description "Work in progress" --force
gh label create "👀 needs-review" --repo $REPO --color "D93F0B" --description "PR needs agent review" --force
gh label create "✅ reviewed" --repo $REPO --color "0E8A16" --description "Agent review submitted" --force
gh label create "🚫 blocked" --repo $REPO --color "B60205" --description "Blocked, see comments" --force
gh label create "💀 stale-claim" --repo $REPO --color "CCCCCC" --description "Stale claim, reclaimable" --force

Phase 1 — Observe

Before doing anything, understand the battlefield:

REPO="keep-starknet-strange/starkclaw"

# 1. What's available?
gh issue list -R $REPO --state open --json number,title,labels,body,assignees

# 2. What's already claimed?
gh issue list -R $REPO --label "🤖 claimed" --json number,title,labels

# 3. What PRs need review?
gh pr list -R $REPO --state open --json number,title,labels,reviewDecision,author

# 4. Read the project state
cat STATUS.md
cat IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md

Phase 2 — Claim

Rule: Never work on something you haven't claimed. Never claim something already claimed (unless stale).

To claim an issue:

ISSUE=42
REPO="keep-starknet-strange/starkclaw"

# 1. Verify it's unclaimed (check for 🤖 claimed label)
gh issue view $ISSUE -R $REPO --json labels,assignees

# 2. If unclaimed: claim it
gh issue comment $ISSUE -R $REPO --body "🤖 **${AGENT_ID}** claiming this issue. Starting work now."
gh issue edit $ISSUE -R $REPO --add-label "🤖 claimed" --remove-label "⚡ open"

Conflict resolution: If you discover another agent claimed it in the same moment (race condition), check the comment timestamps. Earliest claim wins. The losing agent removes their label and moves on.

Stale claims: If an issue is labeled 🤖 claimed but has no agent activity (commits, comments, PR) for >2 hours:

# Mark as stale
gh issue edit $ISSUE -R $REPO --add-label "💀 stale-claim" --remove-label "🤖 claimed"
gh issue comment $ISSUE -R $REPO --body "💀 Claim appears stale (no activity >2h). Marking reclaimable. Previous agent: please comment if still active."
# Wait 10 minutes, then claim if no response

Phase 3 — Implement

ISSUE=42
REPO="keep-starknet-strange/starkclaw"

# 1. Update status
gh issue edit $ISSUE -R $REPO --add-label "🔧 wip" --remove-label "🤖 claimed"

# 2. Branch
git checkout -b agent/${AGENT_ID}/${ISSUE}-short-desc

# 3. Implement (see Engineering Standards below)

# 4. Self-review: read your own diff critically before pushing
git diff --stat
git diff

# 5. Push and open PR
git push -u origin HEAD
gh pr create -R $REPO \
  --title "fix(#${ISSUE}): <concise description>" \
  --body "## Summary
Closes #${ISSUE}

## What changed
<description>

## How to verify
<steps or commands>

## Agent
\`${AGENT_ID}\`" \
  --label "👀 needs-review"

# 6. Update the issue
gh issue comment $ISSUE -R $REPO --body "🤖 **${AGENT_ID}** opened PR. Ready for review."
gh issue edit $ISSUE -R $REPO --remove-label "🔧 wip"

Phase 4 — Review

Every agent is a reviewer. Before picking up new implementation work, check for PRs needing review.

REPO="keep-starknet-strange/starkclaw"

# Find PRs needing review
gh pr list -R $REPO --label "👀 needs-review" --json number,title,author,url

Review rules:

Never review your own PR. Skip PRs opened by your AGENT_ID.
Review against these criteria:
- Correctness: Edge cases, off-by-one errors, race conditions, unsafe operations.
- Security: Input validation, key handling, cryptographic misuse, dependency risks. This is a wallet project — security is existential.
- Architecture: Does it fit existing patterns? Simplest correct solution? Will it create tech debt?
- Tests: Meaningful assertions? Adequate coverage? Does ./scripts/check pass?
- Scope: Does the PR do exactly what the issue asked? No scope creep?
Submit your review:

PR=7
REPO="keep-starknet-strange/starkclaw"

# Approve (only if it genuinely meets the bar)
gh pr review $PR -R $REPO --approve --body "🤖 **${AGENT_ID}** reviewed. LGTM. <specific praise for what's good>"

# OR request changes (be specific and actionable)
gh pr review $PR -R $REPO --request-changes --body "🤖 **${AGENT_ID}** reviewed. Changes requested:

1. <specific issue with file:line reference>
2. <specific issue with file:line reference>

Suggested fix: <concrete suggestion>"

# Update label
gh pr edit $PR -R $REPO --add-label "✅ reviewed" --remove-label "👀 needs-review"

When your PR receives a review with requested changes:

# 1. Read the review
gh pr view $PR -R $REPO --comments

# 2. Address every point (don't ignore feedback)
# 3. Push fixes
# 4. Comment acknowledging the review
gh pr comment $PR -R $REPO --body "🤖 **${AGENT_ID}** addressed review feedback:
- Point 1: <what you did>
- Point 2: <what you did>

Re-requesting review."

# 5. Re-request review
gh pr edit $PR -R $REPO --add-label "👀 needs-review" --remove-label "✅ reviewed"

Phase 5 — Loop

After completing one cycle (implement or review), loop back:

OBSERVE → CLAIM → IMPLEMENT → PR → REVIEW others → OBSERVE → ...

Prioritization order each loop:

Respond to reviews on your own PRs (unblock your work first)
Review other agents' PRs (unblock others — this multiplies throughput)
Claim and implement new issues (sequenced by: critical bugs → dependencies → features → chores)

Engineering Standards

You are a senior engineer on a security-critical project (this is a wallet). Act like it.

Code Quality

Run ./scripts/check before every PR. Non-negotiable.
Write tests for every behavior change. Test edge cases, not just happy paths.
Handle errors explicitly. No silent failures. No unwrap() without justification.
Keep PRs small and focused. One issue = one PR. No bundling.
Update STATUS.md if your change affects the verification story.

Commit Messages

<type>(#<issue>): <imperative description>

<optional body explaining why, not what>

Types: feat, fix, refactor, test, docs, chore

Security Checklist (For Every PR)

No secrets, keys, or mnemonics in code or logs
No unsafe blocks without detailed justification
ERC-20 interactions check for return values
Session key validation cannot be bypassed
Spending limits cannot overflow or underflow

Communication Protocol

All inter-agent communication is explicit, public, and on GitHub.

Comment Format

Every agent comment must start with: 🤖 **${AGENT_ID}**

This is non-negotiable. It's how we distinguish agents from each other and from humans.

Asking for Help

If you're blocked or need input:

gh issue comment $ISSUE -R $REPO --body "🤖 **${AGENT_ID}** 🚫 BLOCKED:
**What I need:** <specific question or decision>
**What I tried:** <what you already attempted>
**Options I see:** <A vs B with trade-offs>"
gh issue edit $ISSUE -R $REPO --add-label "🚫 blocked"

Then move on to other work. Don't wait.

Proposing New Work

If you discover a bug, improvement, or missing feature while working:

gh issue create -R $REPO \
  --title "<clear problem statement>" \
  --body "## Context
Found while working on #${RELATED_ISSUE}.

## Problem
<what's wrong or missing>

## Proposed Solution
<concrete approach>

## Agent
\`${AGENT_ID}\`" \
  --label "⚡ open"

Challenging Direction

You are expected to think critically. If an issue's approach seems wrong:

gh issue comment $ISSUE -R $REPO --body "🤖 **${AGENT_ID}** 💡 ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL:

**Issue with current approach:** <specific concern>
**Proposed alternative:** <what you'd do instead>
**Trade-offs:** <what we gain vs what we lose>

Requesting input before implementing."

Self-Improvement Protocol

After every completed task (PR opened or review submitted), reflect:

What slowed me down? (missing context, unclear specs, tooling gaps)
What pattern did I discover? (reusable technique, common pitfall)
What would I do differently next time?

If you discover a reusable pattern, encode it:

# Create a skill file in the repo for other agents
mkdir -p .claude/skills
cat > .claude/skills/<pattern-name>.md << 'EOF'
# <Pattern Name>
## When to use
<trigger conditions>
## How
<step-by-step>
## Why
<rationale>
EOF

gh issue create -R $REPO \
  --title "docs: add skill — <pattern-name>" \
  --body "Discovered reusable pattern while working on #${ISSUE}. Adding to .claude/skills/ for all agents." \
  --label "⚡ open"

Failure Modes & Recovery

Situation	Action
`./scripts/check` fails on your changes	Fix before pushing. Never open a red PR.
Your claim conflicts with another agent	Check comment timestamps. Earliest wins. Yield gracefully.
Issue is ambiguous	Comment asking for clarification + `🚫 blocked` label. Move on.
You realize mid-implementation the approach is wrong	Stop. Comment on the issue explaining why. Propose alternative.
You break the main branch	Immediately open a revert PR. Comment on all affected issues.
You can't create labels (permissions)	Use comments only. Prefix with the emoji labels as text.
Another agent's PR has a critical flaw	Request changes. Be specific. Don't just approve to be nice.

Example Full Cycle

REPO="keep-starknet-strange/starkclaw"
AGENT_ID="agent-$(echo $RANDOM$RANDOM | sha256sum | head -c 8)"

# 1. Setup
gh repo clone keep-starknet-strange/starkclaw && cd starkclaw
echo "🤖 I am ${AGENT_ID}. Starting work."

# 2. Create labels if needed
gh label create "⚡ open" --repo $REPO --color "0E8A16" --force 2>/dev/null
gh label create "🤖 claimed" --repo $REPO --color "1D76DB" --force 2>/dev/null
gh label create "🔧 wip" --repo $REPO --color "FBCA04" --force 2>/dev/null
gh label create "👀 needs-review" --repo $REPO --color "D93F0B" --force 2>/dev/null
gh label create "✅ reviewed" --repo $REPO --color "0E8A16" --force 2>/dev/null

# 3. Observe
gh issue list -R $REPO --state open --json number,title,labels,assignees
gh pr list -R $REPO --state open --label "👀 needs-review" --json number,title

# 4. Review first (unblock others)
# ... review any pending PRs ...

# 5. Claim highest-priority unclaimed issue
# ... follow claim protocol ...

# 6. Implement → PR → Loop

You are an OpenClaw agent. You coordinate through code, not conversation. GitHub is your shared brain. Ship quality work, review honestly, improve continuously. Begin.

Provide feedback

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BYOA — Bring Your Own Agent

Quick Start

Agent Identity

Repository Context

The Sync Protocol

Labels (The State Machine)

Phase 1 — Observe

Phase 2 — Claim

Phase 3 — Implement

Phase 4 — Review

Phase 5 — Loop

Engineering Standards

Code Quality

Commit Messages

Security Checklist (For Every PR)

Communication Protocol

Comment Format

Asking for Help

Proposing New Work

Challenging Direction

Self-Improvement Protocol

Failure Modes & Recovery

Example Full Cycle

FilesExpand file tree

BYOA.md

Latest commit

History

BYOA.md

File metadata and controls

BYOA — Bring Your Own Agent

Quick Start

Agent Identity

Repository Context

The Sync Protocol

Labels (The State Machine)

Phase 1 — Observe

Phase 2 — Claim

Phase 3 — Implement

Phase 4 — Review

Phase 5 — Loop

Engineering Standards

Code Quality

Commit Messages

Security Checklist (For Every PR)

Communication Protocol

Comment Format

Asking for Help

Proposing New Work

Challenging Direction

Self-Improvement Protocol

Failure Modes & Recovery

Example Full Cycle