How to Build a Multi-Agent System with OpenClaw

A single OpenClaw agent can do a lot. But as your automation needs grow, you'll hit natural limits: one agent can only focus on one conversation at a time, and mixing responsibilities (CEO inbox + customer support + DevOps) creates confusion and security risk.

Multi-agent systems solve this by giving each agent a clear role, its own workspace, and its own security boundary. Think of it like hiring specialists instead of asking one person to do everything.

1. Orchestrator Pattern

One "main" agent receives all incoming requests and delegates to specialist agents using OpenClaw's subagent system. The orchestrator maintains context and routes tasks to the right specialist. Best for teams where all requests come through a single channel.

2. Parallel Specialists

Each agent owns a specific channel or function independently. The CEO's agent handles executive email; the support agent handles the help desk; the ops agent handles infrastructure monitoring. They share state through files but operate autonomously.

3. Hub-and-Spoke

A central coordination agent manages shared resources (calendar, CRM, databases) while spoke agents handle domain-specific work. The hub ensures data consistency and prevents conflicts.

At Soxoa, we run a 6-agent team internally on OpenClaw. Here's how it breaks down:

Each agent has its own workspace, its own SOUL.md, and its own channel connections. They coordinate through shared files in a common directory and can spawn subagents for complex tasks.

OpenClaw agents coordinate through the file system — it's simple, auditable, and reliable. Common patterns:

• Shared task queue: A tasks/ directory where agents drop task files and pick them up
• State files: JSON files tracking project status, customer data, or pipeline state
• Memory sharing: A common shared-memory/ directory for cross-agent context
• Lock files: Simple .lock files to prevent concurrent edits to shared resources

OpenClaw provides two mechanisms for periodic agent activity:

Heartbeats

Periodic polls (every ~30 minutes) where the agent checks for pending work. Good for batching multiple checks together — email, calendar, notifications — in a single turn. Controlled via HEARTBEAT.md.

Cron Jobs

Exact-time scheduling for precise tasks. "Send the weekly report every Monday at 9 AM." "Check inventory levels at 6 PM daily." Each cron job runs in an isolated session.