Tools Configuration

PicoClaw's tools configuration is located in the tools field of config.json.

{
  "tools": {
    "web": { ... },
    "exec": { ... },
    "cron": { ... },
    "skills": { ... }
  }
}

Web Tools

Web tools are used for web search and fetching.

Brave Search

Config	Type	Default	Description
enabled	bool	false	Enable Brave search
api_key	string	—	Brave Search API key
max_results	int	5	Maximum number of results

Get a free API key at brave.com/search/api (2000 free queries/month).

DuckDuckGo

Config	Type	Default	Description
enabled	bool	true	Enable DuckDuckGo search
max_results	int	5	Maximum number of results

DuckDuckGo is enabled by default and requires no API key.

Perplexity

Config	Type	Default	Description
enabled	bool	false	Enable Perplexity search
api_key	string	—	Perplexity API key
max_results	int	5	Maximum number of results

Web Tools Configuration Example

{
  "tools": {
    "web": {
      "brave": {
        "enabled": true,
        "api_key": "YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY",
        "max_results": 5
      },
      "duckduckgo": {
        "enabled": true,
        "max_results": 5
      },
      "perplexity": {
        "enabled": false,
        "api_key": "pplx-xxx",
        "max_results": 5
      }
    }
  }
}

Exec Tool

The exec tool executes shell commands on behalf of the agent.

Config	Type	Default	Description
enable_deny_patterns	bool	true	Enable default dangerous command blocking
custom_deny_patterns	array	[]	Custom deny patterns (regular expressions)

Default Blocked Command Patterns

By default, PicoClaw blocks these dangerous commands:

• Delete commands: rm -rf, del /f/q, rmdir /s
• Disk operations: format, mkfs, diskpart, dd if=, writing to /dev/sd*
• System operations: shutdown, reboot, poweroff
• Command substitution: $(), ${}, backticks
• Pipe to shell: | sh, | bash
• Privilege escalation: sudo, chmod, chown
• Process control: pkill, killall, kill -9
• Remote operations: curl | sh, wget | sh, ssh
• Package management: apt, yum, dnf, npm install -g, pip install --user
• Containers: docker run, docker exec
• Git: git push, git force
• Other: eval, source *.sh

Exec Configuration Example

{
  "tools": {
    "exec": {
      "enable_deny_patterns": true,
      "custom_deny_patterns": [
        "\\brm\\s+-r\\b",
        "\\bkillall\\s+python"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Cron Tool

The cron tool schedules periodic tasks.

Config	Type	Default	Description
exec_timeout_minutes	int	5	Execution timeout in minutes (0 = no limit)

Skills Tool

The skills tool manages skill discovery and installation via registries like ClawHub.

Config	Type	Default	Description
registries.clawhub.enabled	bool	true	Enable ClawHub registry
registries.clawhub.base_url	string	https://clawhub.ai	ClawHub base URL
registries.clawhub.search_path	string	/api/v1/search	Search API path
registries.clawhub.skills_path	string	/api/v1/skills	Skills API path
registries.clawhub.download_path	string	/api/v1/download	Download API path

{
  "tools": {
    "skills": {
      "registries": {
        "clawhub": {
          "enabled": true,
          "base_url": "https://clawhub.ai"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Environment Variables

Override config options with environment variables using PICOCLAW_TOOLS_<SECTION>_<KEY>:

• PICOCLAW_TOOLS_WEB_BRAVE_ENABLED=true
• PICOCLAW_TOOLS_EXEC_ENABLE_DENY_PATTERNS=false
• PICOCLAW_TOOLS_CRON_EXEC_TIMEOUT_MINUTES=10

Note: Array-type environment variables must be set via the config file.