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OpenClaw Carapace — Setup Guide

Source: openclaw/carapace (2.3K combined installs) GitHub: github.com/openclaw/carapace (4⭐) Category: Design System / UI Engineering First Seen: July 21, 2026 Security: Gen Agent Trust Hub Pass · Socket Pass (Warn on openclaw-design) · Snyk Pass

Carapace is the official OpenClaw design system, packaged as six focused skills. Instead of one monolithic design rulebook, each skill owns one surface. A router skill (openclaw-design) dispatches to the correct branch so the agent only loads what the task needs.

Installation

# Install all six skills from the repo
npx skills add https://github.com/openclaw/carapace

# Or install individually
npx skills add https://github.com/openclaw/carapace --skill openclaw-design
npx skills add https://github.com/openclaw/carapace --skill openclaw-brand
npx skills add https://github.com/openclaw/carapace --skill openclaw-carapace
npx skills add https://github.com/openclaw/carapace --skill openclaw-marketing-pages
npx skills add https://github.com/openclaw/carapace --skill openclaw-design-audit
npx skills add https://github.com/openclaw/carapace --skill openclaw-design-system

The Six Skills

Skill Installs Use For
openclaw-design 379 Router — chooses the focused branch before changing any interface
openclaw-brand 379 Identity: typography, logos, imagery, voice, non-product brand artifacts
openclaw-carapace 369 App UI: semantic tokens, themes, component reuse, framework adapters
openclaw-marketing-pages 379 Public pages: landing/content composition, navigation, SEO, responsive layout
openclaw-design-audit 379 Design drift, token misuse, component substitution, accessibility, recurring audits
openclaw-design-system 378 v0.1.x compatibility alias for projects upgrading an existing skill lock

Routing rule: for a public website change start with openclaw-marketing-pages, adding openclaw-brand only when the task changes identity, logo, imagery, typography, or voice. For a product application start with openclaw-carapace. Load multiple branches only when the task genuinely crosses them.

Working With openclaw-carapace

The core skill enforces a read-then-build workflow over five reference files:

  1. references/tokens.md — read before choosing colors, spacing, type, radii, or shadows
  2. references/consumer-adapters.md — current framework adapter conventions
  3. references/application-surfaces.md — shells, panes, settings, operational screens
  4. references/terminal-ui.md — terminal interface design and auditing
  5. references/embedded-surfaces.md — surfaces rendered inside host frames (MCP apps)

Core rules: use semantic tokens for UI intent and palette primitives only for documented exceptions; keep application behavior, routes, and information architecture unchanged unless the task says otherwise; validate affected routes with existing tests and real browser screenshots; inspect the consumer's existing shared primitives before creating a new component.

Prerequisites

Requirement Details
Node.js + npx For the skills.sh CLI install path
OpenClaw or Clawd runtime Skills target OpenClaw interfaces; guidelines are reusable in Hermes UI work
Git access For direct clone installs

Direct clone alternative:

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/openclaw/carapace.git /tmp/carapace
cp -r /tmp/carapace/openclaw-* ~/.clawd/skills/

CorpusIQ Use Cases

Use Case How
UI surface audits Run openclaw-design-audit methodology against agent-built dashboards to catch token misuse and drift
Landing page composition openclaw-marketing-pages for SEO-aware, responsive public pages
Terminal UI polish terminal-ui.md reference when building or auditing TUI surfaces
Brand consistency openclaw-brand when identity, voice, or imagery is involved in generated copy
Framework adapter decisions consumer-adapters.md before choosing React/Vue/vanilla adapters in agent projects

Limitations / Verification

  • Low GitHub star count (4⭐) and first seen July 21, 2026 — young package, follow release cadence
  • openclaw-design-system is a compatibility alias, not new functionality — install only when upgrading old locks
  • Verify install: npx skills list | grep -i carapace should show six entries
  • Security posture is clean on all three scanners (Socket flags one Warn on the router skill)

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