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summary: "OpenProse: .prose workflows, slash commands, and state in OpenClaw"
read_when:
- You want to run or write .prose workflows
- You want to enable the OpenProse plugin
- You need to understand state storage
title: "OpenProse"
---
# OpenProse
OpenProse is a portable, markdown-first workflow format for orchestrating AI sessions. In OpenClaw it ships as a plugin that installs an OpenProse skill pack plus a `/prose` slash command. Programs live in `.prose` files and can spawn multiple sub-agents with explicit control flow.
Official site: https://www.prose.md
## What it can do
- Multi-agent research + synthesis with explicit parallelism.
- Repeatable approval-safe workflows (code review, incident triage, content pipelines).
- Reusable `.prose` programs you can run across supported agent runtimes.
## Install + enable
Bundled plugins are disabled by default. Enable OpenProse:
```bash
openclaw plugins enable open-prose
```
Restart the Gateway after enabling the plugin.
Dev/local checkout: `openclaw plugins install ./extensions/open-prose`
Related docs: [Plugins](/plugin), [Plugin manifest](/plugins/manifest), [Skills](/tools/skills).
## Slash command
OpenProse registers `/prose` as a user-invocable skill command. It routes to the OpenProse VM instructions and uses OpenClaw tools under the hood.
Common commands:
```
/prose help
/prose run <file.prose>
/prose run <handle/slug>
/prose run <https://example.com/file.prose>
/prose compile <file.prose>
/prose examples
/prose update
```
## Example: a simple `.prose` file
```prose
# Research + synthesis with two agents running in parallel.
input topic: "What should we research?"
agent researcher:
model: sonnet
prompt: "You research thoroughly and cite sources."
agent writer:
model: opus
prompt: "You write a concise summary."
parallel:
findings = session: researcher
prompt: "Research {topic}."
draft = session: writer
prompt: "Summarize {topic}."
session "Merge the findings + draft into a final answer."
context: { findings, draft }
```
## File locations
OpenProse keeps state under `.prose/` in your workspace:
```
.prose/
├── .env
├── runs/
│ └── {YYYYMMDD}-{HHMMSS}-{random}/
│ ├── program.prose
│ ├── state.md
│ ├── bindings/
│ └── agents/
└── agents/
```
User-level persistent agents live at:
```
~/.prose/agents/
```
## State modes
OpenProse supports multiple state backends:
- **filesystem** (default): `.prose/runs/...`
- **in-context**: transient, for small programs
- **sqlite** (experimental): requires `sqlite3` binary
- **postgres** (experimental): requires `psql` and a connection string
Notes:
- sqlite/postgres are opt-in and experimental.
- postgres credentials flow into subagent logs; use a dedicated, least-privileged DB.
## Remote programs
`/prose run <handle/slug>` resolves to `https://p.prose.md/<handle>/<slug>`.
Direct URLs are fetched as-is. This uses the `web_fetch` tool (or `exec` for POST).
## OpenClaw runtime mapping
OpenProse programs map to OpenClaw primitives:
| OpenProse concept | OpenClaw tool |
| ------------------------- | ---------------- |
| Spawn session / Task tool | `sessions_spawn` |
| File read/write | `read` / `write` |
| Web fetch | `web_fetch` |
If your tool allowlist blocks these tools, OpenProse programs will fail. See [Skills config](/tools/skills-config).
## Security + approvals
Treat `.prose` files like code. Review before running. Use OpenClaw tool allowlists and approval gates to control side effects.
For deterministic, approval-gated workflows, compare with [Lobster](/tools/lobster).
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