GoStaff: Go Rewrite of OpenClaw with 100x Memory Reduction

GoStaff is a complete Go rewrite of OpenClaw that reduces memory usage to approximately 17MB, about 100x less than the original implementation. It maintains full compatibility with existing OpenClaw plugins while adding native Go skill support and a simplified single-binary architecture.

Core Architecture

The system runs entirely from a single gostaff binary with zero microservices. All persistence—session history, ReAct memory, scheduled automations, user personas, and token usage tracking—is handled by Postgres. The ReAct agent loop (think → act → observe) supports multiple providers including Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, and OpenRouter with automatic fallbacks for 429/5xx errors.

OpenClaw Compatibility

GoStaff includes a built-in SDK shim (internal/skill/shim/host.mjs) that acts as a JavaScript host for OpenClaw plugins. It fully supports all 17 OpenClaw register* methods. Existing TypeScript/JavaScript/Python plugins can be dropped in and are invoked as tools via JSON-line subprocess IPC.

Three-Tier Skill System

• Tier 1 (Markdown): Simple SKILL.md files with YAML frontmatter where instructions are directly injected into the ReAct agent's system prompt.
• Tier 2 (Native Go): Go source files compiled at startup via go build -buildmode=plugin and registered as heavily optimized, callable tools.
• Tier 3 (OpenClaw plugins): Full compatibility with existing OpenClaw plugin ecosystem.

Additional Features

The system includes an easy-to-use web UI and supports cron-based automations using standard RFC 5545 recurrence rules to schedule ReAct agent runs.