Build DashClaw

Guide for contributing to the DashClaw codebase. Covers architecture, adding new capabilities, testing, and CI.

Architecture Overview

DashClaw is organized into 3 tiers:

Tier 1: Core Runtime (app/api/)

7 mandatory endpoints that define DashClaw's governance category:

The 7-route boundary is CI-enforced. Adding a new core route requires justification.

Tier 2: Extensions (app/(extensions)/)

Modular operational intelligence:

• Compliance, Drift, Evaluations, Scoring, Prompts, Webhooks, Learning

Tier 3: Archived (app/api/_archive/)

Legacy features from the "Agent Platform" era. Physically isolated.

Tech Stack

Key Conventions

TEXT Primary Keys

All IDs are TEXT with crypto-random prefixed values:

import { randomBytes } from 'crypto';
const id = `act_${randomBytes(16).toString('hex')}`;

ID prefixes: ar_ (actions), oc_live_/oc_test_ (API keys), sp_ (scoring profiles), pt_ (prompt templates), etc.

Repository Pattern

No direct SQL in route handlers. All data access goes through repository modules:

app/lib/repositories/*.repository.js

Route handlers import from repositories, never inline SQL.

Auth Chain

Request → Strip client org headers → Rate limit → Route matching
  → Public routes: pass through
  → Protected routes: x-api-key (fast path: timing-safe compare)
    → Inject org context from resolved key

12-Step Scaffold for New Capabilities

When adding a new feature to DashClaw:

1. Migration — Add table with TEXT PKs and crypto-random IDs
2. Repository — Create app/lib/repositories/<name>.repository.js (all SQL here)
3. Lib module — Create app/lib/<name>.js (business logic)
4. Route handler — Create app/api/<name>/route.js (imports from repository)
5. Demo fixtures — Add fixture data if the feature needs demo mode support
6. Demo middleware — Wire fixtures into demo mode if needed
7. Node SDK method — Add to sdk/dashclaw.js (camelCase)
8. Python SDK method — Add to sdk-python/dashclaw/client.py (snake_case)
9. Docs page — Create dashboard page or update existing docs
10. Node README — Add method to SDK README
11. Python README — Add method to Python SDK README
12. Parity matrix — Update docs/sdk-parity.md with new method counts

Legacy SDK Promotion

The v1 SDK has 187 methods across 31 categories. When promoting to v2:

High priority (core governance):

• registerOpenLoop() + resolveOpenLoop() — Decision integrity
• events() — Real-time SSE events
• heartbeat() + startHeartbeat() — Agent telemetry

Medium priority (analytics):

• getRecommendations() + recommendAction() — Adaptive learning
• getLearningVelocity() + getLearningCurves() — Learning analytics
• getSignals() — Decision integrity signals

See knowledge/legacy-sdk-reference.md for the full inventory with all method signatures.

Testing

# Run all tests (watch mode)
npm run test

# Run tests once (CI mode)
npm run test -- --run

# Run specific test file
npx vitest run app/lib/__tests__/guard.test.js

Tests live alongside their modules or in __tests__/ directories.

CI Checks

Three mandatory CI checks:

# 1. Governance boundary — enforces 7-route API limit
npm run governance:boundary:check

# 2. OpenAPI contract — detects API drift
npm run openapi:check

# 3. Tests
npm run test -- --run

All three must pass before merge.

Key Files for Contributors

Contributing Workflow

1. Read PROJECT_DETAILS.md and CLAUDE.md
2. Understand the 3-tier boundary (core vs extension vs archived)
3. Follow the 12-step scaffold if adding a new capability
4. Match existing patterns (repository pattern, TEXT PKs, etc.)
5. Run all three CI checks locally before committing
6. Keep SDK parity: if you add a Node method, add the Python equivalent