Teaching Your OpenClaw Agent External Library Documentation (3 Methods)

Want your OpenClaw agent to become an expert on a specific library like Convex, Supabase, or Drizzle? Here are three proven methods from the community, ranked by effectiveness.

The Problem

You're building with a library your agent doesn't know well. Maybe it's Convex DB, a niche ORM, or your company's internal SDK. Every time you ask for help, the agent hallucinates APIs or gives outdated patterns.

Method 1: Clone the Repo Locally (Recommended)

The most reliable approach is giving your agent direct access to the source code and official docs.

Setup:

1. Create a projects directory in your workspace:

mkdir -p ~/clawd/projects

2. Configure the GitHub CLI for your agent:

gh auth login

3. Ask your agent to clone the library:

The agent will now have full access to:

• Source code with real implementations
• Official documentation
• Examples and tests
• Type definitions

Why this works best: The agent can grep, search, and cross-reference actual code. No hallucination risk on API signatures.

Method 2: Use the Context7 MCP Server

If you don't want to clone full repos, the Context7 MCP server provides curated documentation snippets on-demand.

Setup:

Add to your MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "context7": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@context7/mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Then ask your agent:

Pros: Lightweight, no local storage needed, curated content. Cons: Coverage depends on what Context7 has indexed.

Method 3: Web Docs as Reference

For well-documented libraries, you can simply point your agent at the web docs.

Example:

Pros: Zero setup. Cons: Agent may not fetch/parse docs correctly; can't search as efficiently.

Creating a Skill for Your Library

Once you've validated the approach, consider wrapping it in a skill:

Then in your SKILL.md:

# Convex Expert Skill

Use this skill when working with Convex DB.

## References
- Local docs: ./refs/convex/docs
- Key patterns: ./examples/

Quick Start

The fastest path for most libraries:

1. gh auth login (one-time setup)
2. Ask agent: "Clone [library] to projects and read their getting started docs"
3. Start coding with library-specific context

Tip from the Discord: Your agent can do the cloning for you. Just make sure gh CLI is authenticated, then ask!

Credit: This pattern came from a helpful exchange between dirtdiver and reddev in the OpenClaw Discord.