Agent send

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
Terminal window
```
openclaw agent --agent main --message "What is the weather today?"
```
This sends the message through the Gateway and prints the reply.

Target a specific agent or session

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

# 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"

# Target an exact session key
openclaw agent --session-key agent:ops:incident-42 --message "Summarize status"

Deliver the reply to a channel

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

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

Flags

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

Behavior

By default, the CLI goes through the Gateway. Add --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: --to derives the session key (group/channel targets preserve isolation; direct chats collapse to main).
--session-key selects an explicit key. Agent-prefixed keys must use agent:<agent-id>:<session-key>, and --agent must match that agent id when both are supplied. Bare non-sentinel keys are scoped to --agent when supplied; for example, --agent ops --session-key incident-42 routes to agent:ops:incident-42. Without --agent, bare non-sentinel keys are scoped to the configured default agent. Literal global and unknown remain unscoped only when no --agent is supplied; in that case, embedded fallback and store ownership use the configured default agent.
Thinking and verbose flags persist into the session store.
Output: plain text by default, or --json for structured payload + metadata.
With --json --deliver, the JSON includes delivery status for sent, suppressed, partial, and failed sends. See JSON delivery status.

Examples

# 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

# Exact session key
openclaw agent --session-key agent:ops:incident-42 --message "Summarize status"

# Legacy key scoped to an agent
openclaw agent --agent ops --session-key incident-42 --message "Summarize status"

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