# OpenClaw for developers: an open-source API and harness you own

> OpenClaw is an open-source personal assistant you configure on your own machine, and developers ask next about its API and harness. Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: the agents, skills, memory, connectors and triggers are files in one git repo you own, and OpenCode is the harness.

URL: https://openclaw-alternative.com/openclaw-for-developers

## One repo, one manifest, one command surface.

The configuration is files in a git repo you own, not a file on one machine.

### kortix.yaml

`kortix.yaml`

```yaml
# kortix.yaml
agents:
  support-triage:
    file: agents/support-triage.md   # what it does, in plain markdown
    connectors: all                  # what it may reach
```

Source: README.md in https://github.com/kortix-ai/suna

### CLI

`terminal`

```sh
$ curl -fsSL https://kortix.com/install | bash
$ kortix init
$ kortix ship
```

Source: README.md in https://github.com/kortix-ai/suna

## The config is the program

A Kortix project is a git repo with `kortix.yaml` at its root. Agents, skills, memory, tools, triggers and connectors are files in that repo, so the whole setup is versioned, diffable and yours. `kortix.yaml` declares the machine image, connectors and triggers, and secret names and grants. Secret values never appear in the repo.

OpenClaw organizes the same idea around one Gateway. Its repository calls the Gateway the local control plane for sessions, tools, events and channel connections, keeps configuration on the machine that runs it, and says a personal assistant and a shared team deployment share one shape ([OpenClaw's repository](https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw)). For a developer the difference is where the program lives: a file on a host, or a repo the team clones, reviews and rolls back.

## The harness is OpenCode

OpenCode is the harness, the open-source coding agent ([OpenCode on GitHub](https://github.com/anomalyco/opencode)). The runtime config sits in the same repo as the agents and skills, and covers agents, skills, commands, tools, plugins, models and providers. A session runs one agent on its own sandbox, clones the repo and works on a new branch named after the session.

The everyday loop is three commands and a review. `kortix init` scaffolds a project, `kortix ship` validates `kortix.yaml`, commits the change and pushes the branch, and `kortix sessions new --prompt "…"` starts an agent on its own sandbox. `kortix cr ls` lists the change requests those agents opened.

## Any model, your own keys

Any model provider with your own keys. Or the ChatGPT plan you already pay for. Or sign in with your OpenCode Console account for OpenCode Zen and Go. For a self-hosted instance, every model call routes through the LLM gateway on your own box ([self-hosting Kortix](/self-host-openclaw-alternative)).

## Reach any API

Connectors reach 3,000+ apps in a click, plus MCP, OpenAPI, Postman, GraphQL and raw HTTP. Connector credentials are brokered server-side and never enter the machine. For your own code, the project exposes a REST API under `/v1` with a reference at `api.kortix.com/v1/docs`, a typed TypeScript client in `@kortix/sdk`, and a Kortix MCP server at `/v1/mcp` that starts sessions and calls connectors as you.

OpenClaw's new capabilities usually belong in plugins built on its plugin SDK and shared through ClawHub, per its repository. In Kortix, a skill is markdown plus scripts that encode how the company does one job. An agent is `agents/<name>.md` (behavior) plus an `agents.<name>` block in `kortix.yaml` (governance). Both are files in the repo, so a change is a diff a teammate reads.

## Where a team feels the difference

OpenClaw is a capable personal assistant for a machine you own. Kortix is the company system. Files live in one repo. One isolated sandbox per session. A person reads a change request before it merges. Kortix is the leading open-source alternative to Claude Cowork and ChatGPT Work.

If you already run OpenClaw, the [OpenClaw alternatives guide](/openclaw-alternatives) and the [Kortix vs OpenClaw comparison](/kortix-vs-openclaw) map the move, and you can [read the blog](https://kortix.com/blog/kortix-vs-openclaw) for the write-up. A team that needs the whole control plane inside its own network starts with [self-hosting Kortix](/self-host-openclaw-alternative).

## OpenClaw developer questions, answered

### Is there a Kortix API and SDK?

Yes. The REST API is under `/v1`, with an interactive reference at `api.kortix.com/v1/docs`. `@kortix/sdk` is the typed TypeScript client, and the Kortix MCP server at `/v1/mcp` lets an MCP client start sessions and call connectors as you.

### What is the Kortix harness?

OpenCode is the harness. Its config, covering agents, skills, plugins, models and providers, lives in the project repo beside `kortix.yaml`.

### Does Kortix work with MCP servers?

Yes. A connector can be an MCP server, and connectors reach 3,000+ apps in a click, plus MCP, OpenAPI, Postman, GraphQL and raw HTTP.

### Where does the configuration live?

In the project repo you own. Agents and skills are markdown files, memory accumulates as files, and `kortix.yaml` declares the machine image, connectors and triggers, and secret names and grants. Secret values never appear in the repo.

### How do I move from OpenClaw?

The agents, skills, memory and connector config are files, so they move into the repo. The OpenClaw alternatives guide maps the field, and the write-up compares the two projects directly.

## Build your company like a codebase

Kortix is open source, self-host free, and every change lands through a review.

[Try Kortix](https://kortix.com) · [Read the docs](https://kortix.com/docs)

Open source · Any model, your keys · Self-host, VPC, or on-prem