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Agent send

text

openclaw agent

runs a single agent turn from the command line without needing an inbound chat message. Use it for scripted workflows, testing, and programmatic delivery.

Quick start

Run a simple agent turn

```bash} openclaw agent --message "What is the weather today?" ```


text
This sends the message through the Gateway and prints the reply.

Target a specific agent or session

```bash} # Target a specific agent openclaw agent --agent ops --message "Summarize logs"


text
# Target a phone number (derives session key)
openclaw agent --to +15555550123 --message "Status update"

# Reuse an existing session
openclaw agent --session-id abc123 --message "Continue the task"
```

Deliver the reply to a channel

```bash} # Deliver to WhatsApp (default channel) openclaw agent --to +15555550123 --message "Report ready" --deliver


text
# Deliver to Slack
openclaw agent --agent ops --message "Generate report" \
  --deliver --reply-channel slack --reply-to "#reports"
```

Flags

Flag	Description
text `--message \<text\>`	Message to send (required)
text `--to \<dest\>`	Derive session key from a target (phone, chat id)
text `--agent \<id\>`	Target a configured agent (uses its text `main` session)
text `--session-id \<id\>`	Reuse an existing session by id
text `--local`	Force local embedded runtime (skip Gateway)
text `--deliver`	Send the reply to a chat channel
text `--channel \<name\>`	Delivery channel (whatsapp, telegram, discord, slack, etc.)
text `--reply-to \<target\>`	Delivery target override
text `--reply-channel \<name\>`	Delivery channel override
text `--reply-account \<id\>`	Delivery account id override
text `--thinking \<level\>`	Set thinking level for the selected model profile
text `--verbose \<on\|full\|off\>`	Set verbose level
text `--timeout \<seconds\>`	Override agent timeout
text `--json`	Output structured JSON

Behavior

By default, the CLI goes through the Gateway. Add
text
--local
to force the embedded runtime on the current machine.
If the Gateway is unreachable, the CLI falls back to the local embedded run.
Session selection:
text
--to
derives the session key (group/channel targets preserve isolation; direct chats collapse to
text
main
).
Thinking and verbose flags persist into the session store.
Output: plain text by default, or
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--json
for structured payload + metadata.

Examples


bash
# Simple turn with JSON output
openclaw agent --to +15555550123 --message "Trace logs" --verbose on --json

# Turn with thinking level
openclaw agent --session-id 1234 --message "Summarize inbox" --thinking medium

# Deliver to a different channel than the session
openclaw agent --agent ops --message "Alert" --deliver --reply-channel telegram --reply-to "@admin"

Agent CLI reference
Sub-agents — background sub-agent spawning
Sessions — how session keys work

OpenClaw Docs