OpenClaw AI Agent | Code Generation & Refactoring Guide

OpenClaw AI Agent - Code Generation Guide

OpenClaw is an open-source AI agent specifically designed for software development tasks, with a focus on code generation, refactoring, and project scaffolding.

Overview

OpenClaw emphasizes:

• Code-first approach - Every interaction produces runnable code
• Language agnostic - Supports 20+ programming languages
• IDE integration - Works as extension for VSCode, IntelliJ, and Vim
• Test generation - Automatically creates tests for generated code

Key Features

Feature	Description
Code Generation	Generate functions, classes, and entire modules
Refactoring	Restructure code while preserving behavior
Test Creation	Auto-generate unit and integration tests
Documentation	Generate docstrings and README files
Code Review	Analyze code for bugs and improvements

Installation

CLI Installation

# via npm
npm install -g @openclaw/cli

# via pip
pip install openclaw

IDE Extensions

• VSCode: Search “OpenClaw” in Extensions marketplace
• IntelliJ: Install from JetBrains marketplace
• Vim/Neovim: Use plugin manager

  Plug 'openclaw/vim-openclaw'

Configuration

Config File (~/.openclaw/config.json)

{
  "provider": "anthropic",
  "apiKey": "${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}",
  "model": "claude-sonnet-4-20250514",
  "language": "python",
  "features": {
    "autoTest": true,
    "autoDocs": true,
    "typeHints": true
  },
  "style": {
    "indent": 4,
    "lineLength": 88,
    "formatter": "black"
  }
}

Per-Project Config (.openclaw.json)

{
  "language": "typescript",
  "framework": "react",
  "testing": "jest",
  "exclude": ["node_modules", "dist", "build"],
  "include": ["src/**/*.ts", "src/**/*.tsx"]
}

Usage

CLI Commands

Generate Code:

openclaw generate "Create a React component for a todo list"

Refactor:

openclaw refactor src/utils.js --target "improve performance"

Create Tests:

openclaw test src/calculator.js

Review Code:

openclaw review src/

Generate Documentation:

openclaw docs src/ --output API.md

Interactive Mode

openclaw --interactive
# or
ocl  # shorthand

Provider Configuration

Anthropic (Recommended)

{
  "provider": "anthropic",
  "apiKey": "${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}",
  "model": "claude-sonnet-4-20250514"
}

OpenAI

{
  "provider": "openai",
  "apiKey": "${OPENAI_API_KEY}",
  "model": "gpt-4o"
}

Google Gemini

{
  "provider": "google",
  "apiKey": "${GEMINI_API_KEY}",
  "model": "gemini-2.5-pro"
}

Local Models (Ollama)

{
  "provider": "ollama",
  "baseUrl": "http://localhost:11434",
  "model": "codellama:13b"
}

Language Support

OpenClaw supports these languages with full feature parity:

Language	Generation	Refactor	Tests	Docs
Python	✅	✅	✅	✅
TypeScript	✅	✅	✅	✅
JavaScript	✅	✅	✅	✅
Java	✅	✅	✅	✅
Go	✅	✅	✅	✅
Rust	✅	✅	✅	✅
C/C++	✅	✅	⚠️	✅
Ruby	✅	✅	✅	✅
PHP	✅	✅	✅	✅
Swift	✅	✅	⚠️	✅
Kotlin	✅	✅	✅	✅

⚠️ = Partial support

Code Generation Examples

Python

openclaw generate "Create a FastAPI endpoint for user authentication with JWT"

Output:

from fastapi import FastAPI, Depends, HTTPException
from fastapi.security import HTTPBearer
import jwt
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

app = FastAPI()
security = HTTPBearer()

SECRET_KEY = "your-secret-key"
ALGORITHM = "HS256"

def create_token(user_id: str) -> str:
    expire = datetime.utcnow() + timedelta(hours=24)
    payload = {"sub": user_id, "exp": expire}
    return jwt.encode(payload, SECRET_KEY, algorithm=ALGORITHM)

@app.post("/auth/login")
async def login(credentials: LoginCredentials):
    # Implementation
    pass

React Component

openclaw generate "Create a responsive navbar with mobile hamburger menu"

Output:

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { Menu, X } from 'lucide-react';

export const Navbar: React.FC = () => {
  const [isOpen, setIsOpen] = useState(false);

  return (
    <nav className="bg-white shadow-lg">
      {/* Component implementation */}
    </nav>
  );
};

Refactoring Examples

Convert Callbacks to Async/Await

openclaw refactor src/api.js --pattern "callback-to-async"

Extract Components

openclaw refactor src/pages/Home.tsx --action "extract-component" --name "UserCard"

Add TypeScript Types

openclaw refactor src/ --action "add-types"

Testing Integration

Generate Tests

# Generate unit tests
openclaw test src/calculator.py

# Generate with specific framework
openclaw test src/calc.ts --framework jest

# Generate integration tests
openclaw test src/api --type integration

Test Coverage

# Analyze test coverage
openclaw coverage

# Generate missing tests for uncovered code
openclaw test --cover-only

Troubleshooting

”Model not responding”

• Check API key: echo $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
• Verify provider status
• Try a different model

”Generated code has errors”

• Enable stricter mode: "strict": true in config
• Use review mode before applying: openclaw review --dry-run
• Specify language version: "pythonVersion": "3.11"

”Context too large”

• Use --files flag to limit scope
• Enable context compression: "compressContext": true
• Break into smaller tasks

IDE extension not working

• Check OpenClaw CLI is installed: openclaw --version
• Verify config file exists
• Restart IDE

Comparison

Feature	OpenClaw	GitHub Copilot	Cursor	Cody
Open Source	✅	❌	❌	Partial
Self-hosted	✅	❌	❌	Partial
Multi-provider	✅	❌	Partial	✅
Test generation	✅	⚠️	✅	✅
Refactoring	✅	❌	✅	✅
Price	Free	$10/mo	$20/mo	$9/mo

Best Practices

1. Commit before refactoring - Always commit changes before running refactor commands
2. Review generated code - Don’t blindly accept AI-generated code
3. Use specific prompts - Vague prompts produce generic code
4. Set up project config - Create .openclaw.json for consistent results
5. Combine with linting - Run linters after generation

Resources

• GitHub
• Documentation
• VSCode Extension