Phase 3 / Ep 14: Coding Permissions in Action — Make the Agent Your Coding Assistant

⏱ Est. reading time: 3 min Updated on 4/13/2026

🎯 Learning Objective: Configure coding permissions and have the Agent complete a real programming task.

1. Enabling the Coding Profile

openclaw config set tools.profile coding
openclaw gateway restart

2. Capabilities Unlocked by Coding Permissions

Once enabled, the Agent can:

  • 🔧 Execute arbitrary Shell commands (npm install, python script.py)
  • 📁 Create, edit, and delete files
  • 🔀 Perform Git operations (clone, branch, commit, push)
  • 🧪 Run test suites
  • 📦 Install dependencies

3. Hands-on: A Complete Programming Task by the Agent

Send via Telegram or CLI:

"Please help me clone the openclaw/example-skill repository under ~/projects/, create a feat/weather branch, add a description for weather queries in SKILL.md, and then run npm test."

The Agent's execution flow:

sequenceDiagram
    participant User as 🧑 You
    participant Agent as 🤖 Code Agent
    participant Shell as 💻 Shell
    participant Git as 🔀 Git

    User->>Agent: "clone repo + create branch + modify file + test"
    Agent->>Shell: git clone openclaw/example-skill
    Shell->>Agent: ✅ Clone completed
    Agent->>Git: git checkout -b feat/weather
    Git->>Agent: ✅ Branch created
    Agent->>Shell: Edit SKILL.md (add weather description)
    Shell->>Agent: ✅ File saved
    Agent->>Shell: npm test
    Shell->>Agent: ✅ 3 tests passed
    Agent->>User: "✅ All done! The repository has been cloned, the feat/weather branch created, SKILL.md updated, and all tests passed."

4. Security Boundaries

Even with coding permissions, the following commands will still be rejected:

  • rm -rf / (Dangerous recursive deletion)
  • sudo commands (Privilege escalation is not allowed)
  • Modifying system configuration files
  • Accessing the ~/.openclaw/ directory itself

5. Audit Logs

Every Shell command will be recorded in the session logs:

# View which commands the Agent executed
openclaw sessions show <id> --filter tools

Coming up next: Ep 15, full permissions — the most powerful and the most dangerous. When to use them? How to use them safely?