Lobster

What is Lobster?

Lobster is a small workflow runtime used with OpenClaw agents. Without it, a multi-step job such as email triage needs many round-trip tool calls with the model steering each step. With Lobster, a single tool call runs the whole pipeline and returns one structured JSON result. Any step with a side effect, such as sending, posting or deleting, stops at an approval checkpoint until a person approves, and the call returns a resume token so the run can continue without repeating earlier steps. Pipelines are data, written either as piped commands or as YAML or JSON .lobster workflow files with args, steps, conditions and approvals, so they are easy to log, diff and review. The grammar is deliberately tiny and the runtime enforces timeouts, output caps, sandbox checks and allowlists. It is an optional plugin installed with openclaw plugins install @openclaw/lobster, and it is open source with no listed pricing.

Use cases

• Run multi-step agent tool pipelines in one call
• Add human approval before sending or deleting
• Resume a halted workflow with a token
• Triage email with a repeatable pipeline
• Chain small JSON-speaking CLI commands
• Map input items into OpenClaw tool calls
• Review and diff automations as files

Who it's for

• OpenClaw users
• Agent developers
• Automation engineers

Why use Lobster

• One call replaces many model-driven round trips, so there is less back-and-forth and fewer tokens spent on orchestration.
• Sends, posts and deletes wait for approval, which keeps a person in control of sensitive actions.
• Resume tokens mean an approved workflow carries on from the checkpoint instead of starting again.
• Because pipelines are plain data, they can be logged, diffed, replayed and reviewed.
• The small grammar and runtime-enforced limits keep validation realistic compared with free-form scripts.

Lobster features

• One tool call returns a structured result for a whole pipeline
• Approval and input checkpoints that halt side-effecting steps
• Resume tokens so approved runs continue without re-running earlier steps
• .lobster workflow files in YAML or JSON with args, steps, env, condition and approval fields
• Piped command pipelines using exec, approve and other built-in steps
• In-process runtime inside the OpenClaw Gateway, with no extra subprocess
• Timeouts, output caps, sandbox checks and allowlists enforced by the runtime
• Optional llm-task plugin for JSON-only LLM steps
• Standalone Lobster CLI for development and external pipelines

Lobster integrations

• OpenClaw
• Gmail
• Telegram
• llm-task

How to get started with Lobster

1. Install the official plugin with openclaw plugins install @openclaw/lobster.
2. Allow the tool globally or per agent by adding lobster to the alsoAllow list.
3. Write a pipeline of piped commands or a .lobster workflow file with steps and an approval step.
4. Call the tool with the run action and the pipeline, and read the JSON result.
5. If it returns needs_approval, call the resume action with the token and approve to continue.

Lobster limitations

• It is an optional plugin, not installed or enabled by default
• The tool is disabled entirely in sandboxed tool contexts
• In the embedded runner, openclaw.invoke does not inherit gateway auth, so nested OpenClaw tool calls are not reliable
• It is built around OpenClaw rather than as a general-purpose automation platform

Lobster pricing

Lobster is open source, so you can use and self-host it for free.

Prices can change and may vary by country or exclude tax. Check the official pricing page.

Lobster alternatives

The main Lobster alternatives listed on Debuly are n8n, Zapier, Make, Activepieces, LangGraph and Agent Barn. The table compares pricing and platforms; order is A–Z.

1. 

   Activepieces

   Open-source automation platform for building flows, AI agents and tables across 770+ apps, in the cloud or self-hosted.

   Automation and agentsDeveloper platformsProductivity
   Open sourceVisit Activepieces (official site)
2. 

   Agent Barn

   Open-source control plane for running AI agents in Slack, Teams and Telegram, with templates, skills, cost tracking and self-hosting.

   Automation and agentsDeveloper platformsProductivity
   Open sourceVisit Agent Barn (official site)
3. 

   LangGraph

   Low-level open-source orchestration framework and runtime for building stateful, long-running AI agents as graphs.

   Developer platformsAutomation and agentsCoding
   Open sourceVisit LangGraph (official site)
4. 

   Make

   Visual automation platform for connecting apps and AI agents with drag-and-drop scenarios, custom code and credit-based pricing.

   Automation and agentsDeveloper platformsProductivity
   FreemiumVisit Make (official site)
5. 

   n8n

   Workflow automation platform with a visual builder, code steps and AI agents, available as n8n Cloud or self-hosted.

   Automation and agentsDeveloper platforms
   FreemiumVisit n8n (official site)
6. 

   Zapier

   No-code automation platform that links 9,000+ apps through multi-step Zaps, AI agents, tables, forms and an MCP server.

   Automation and agentsProductivity
   FreemiumVisit Zapier (official site)

Lobster FAQ

Sources & verification

Facts on this page come from the official sources below, each with the date we read it. Written by Debuly; the vendor did not review this page.

Image credits

• Logo: from docs.openclaw.ai · fetched 24 Oct 2026 · Vendor trademark, used only to identify the product; removed on request
• Cover: none collected yet, so a generated tile is shown.

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