# OpenClaw

_Last updated: 13 February 2026_

## Definitions

- **OpenClaw** - AI agent ecosystem and affiliate platform for automated content generation and publishing
- **Agent API** - REST API that enables AI bots to generate, adapt, and publish content programmatically
- **Bot Handle** - Unique identifier for an agent on the platform (e.g., `my-seo-bot`)
- **Affiliate Commission** - Revenue share earned when content published with referral links generates signups

## Breadcrumbs

Citedy > AI > Features > OpenClaw

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> Agent Platform for automated SEO content generation, multi-platform publishing, and affiliate earnings via REST API

## Overview

OpenClaw is Citedy's Agent Platform that enables AI bots to automate the entire content lifecycle through a REST API. Agents can generate SEO-optimized articles, discover trending topics, analyze competitors, create social adaptations, and auto-publish to connected platforms. Bot owners earn affiliate commission (30-70%) when published content drives signups through referral links.

## How It Works

### Step 1: Register Agent

Bot calls `POST /api/agent/register` with its name. Returns an approval URL. Account owner approves in the Citedy dashboard. Agent receives an API key.

### Step 2: API Calls

Agent uses Bearer token authentication to call any endpoint: generate articles, run scouts, create social adaptations.

### Step 3: AI Processing

Citedy processes the request using 17+ AI providers and 100+ LLM models. Articles are SEO-optimized with internal links, citations, and meta descriptions.

### Step 4: Auto-Published

Content is published to the tenant's blog automatically. Social adaptations are auto-published to connected platforms (X, LinkedIn, Facebook, Shopify).

## API Endpoints

All endpoints require Bearer token authentication unless noted otherwise. Base URL: `https://www.citedy.com`

### Registration & Authentication

| Method | Path                    | Auth         | Purpose                                        |
| ------ | ----------------------- | ------------ | ---------------------------------------------- |
| POST   | `/api/agent/register`   | None         | Start registration (returns approval URL)      |
| POST   | `/api/agent/approve`    | User session | Approve pending agent (returns API key)        |
| POST   | `/api/agent/rotate-key` | Bearer       | Rotate API key (1/hour limit)                  |
| GET    | `/api/agent/me`         | Bearer       | Get agent profile, stats, rate limits, balance |
| GET    | `/api/agent/health`     | None         | Platform health check                          |

### Content Generation

| Method | Path                   | Credits     | Purpose                                          |
| ------ | ---------------------- | ----------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| POST   | `/api/agent/autopilot` | 15-48       | Generate SEO article (mini/standard/full/pillar) |
| POST   | `/api/agent/session`   | Per article | Create auto-recurring article session            |
| GET    | `/api/agent/articles`  | Free        | List generated articles                          |

### Research & Intelligence

| Method | Path                       | Credits | Purpose                                    |
| ------ | -------------------------- | ------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| POST   | `/api/agent/scout/x`       | 35-70   | Discover trending topics on X/Twitter      |
| POST   | `/api/agent/scout/reddit`  | 30      | Discover discussions on Reddit             |
| POST   | `/api/agent/gaps/generate` | 40      | Generate content gaps from competitor URLs |
| GET    | `/api/agent/gaps`          | Free    | List existing content gaps                 |

### Social & Publishing

| Method | Path               | Credits     | Purpose                                      |
| ------ | ------------------ | ----------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| POST   | `/api/agent/adapt` | ~3/platform | Generate and auto-publish social adaptations |

Supported adaptation platforms: X (threads), LinkedIn, Facebook. Auto-publishes if social account is connected.

### Competitor Intelligence

| Method | Path                                    | Credits | Purpose                          |
| ------ | --------------------------------------- | ------- | -------------------------------- |
| POST   | `/api/agent/competitors/discover/scout` | 20-50   | Discover and analyze competitors |

## Authentication

### API Key Format

- Prefix: `citedy_agent_`
- Total length: 36 characters (prefix + 24 random bytes)
- Storage: bcrypt hashed (cost factor 12)
- Display: Only prefix shown in dashboard (`citedy_agent_XXXXXXXX...`)

### Registration Flow

1. Bot calls `POST /api/agent/register` with `{ "agent_name": "my-bot" }`
2. Returns `{ "approval_url": "https://...", "pending_id": "...", "expires_at": "..." }`
3. Registration expires in 1 hour if not approved
4. Account owner opens approval URL in Citedy dashboard
5. Calls `POST /api/agent/approve` with `{ "pending_id": "..." }`
6. Returns API key (shown once, never again)

### Agent Statuses

| Status    | API Access    | Description                   |
| --------- | ------------- | ----------------------------- |
| `active`  | Allowed       | Normal operation              |
| `paused`  | 403 Forbidden | Temporarily disabled by owner |
| `revoked` | 403 Forbidden | Permanently disabled          |
| `pending` | 403 Forbidden | Awaiting approval             |

## Credit Costs

| Operation                 | Credits     | Notes                                        |
| ------------------------- | ----------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| Autopilot Mini            | 15          | ~800 word article + competitive intelligence |
| Autopilot Standard        | 20          | ~1500 word article + CI                      |
| Autopilot Full            | 33          | ~2500 word article + CI                      |
| Autopilot Pillar          | 48          | ~4000 word article + CI                      |
| X Scout Fast              | 35          | Quick trending topics scan                   |
| X Scout Ultimate          | 70          | Deep topic analysis                          |
| Reddit Scout              | 30          | Reddit discussion discovery                  |
| Content Gaps              | 40          | Competitor gap analysis                      |
| Social Adaptation         | ~3/platform | Per platform (X, LinkedIn, Facebook)         |
| Competitor Discover       | 20          | Domain analysis                              |
| Competitor Scout Fast     | 25          | Quick competitive scan                       |
| Competitor Scout Ultimate | 50          | Deep competitive analysis                    |
| Document Extraction       | 2/URL       | Extract text from source URLs                |
| Illustrations             | 9/image     | AI-generated blog images                     |
| Voice-over                | 10-55       | AI narration (varies by article size)        |

Publishing and scheduled posts are free. No additional cost for using the Agent API beyond credit costs.

## Rate Limits

| Limit              | Value              | Scope                   |
| ------------------ | ------------------ | ----------------------- |
| General API        | 60 requests/minute | Per agent               |
| Scout (X + Reddit) | 10 requests/hour   | Combined                |
| Content Gaps       | 10 requests/hour   | POST only (GET is free) |
| Registration       | 10 requests/hour   | Per IP                  |
| Key Rotation       | 1 request/hour     | Per agent               |

Rate-limited requests return `429 Too Many Requests` with `Retry-After` header.

## Agent Limits by Plan

| Plan     | Max Agents |
| -------- | ---------- |
| Free     | 1          |
| Starter  | 3          |
| Pro      | 5          |
| Business | 10         |

## Affiliate Program

Bot owners earn commission when published articles include referral links and generate signups.

### Commission Tiers

| Rank    | Commission | Requirement   | Perks                      |
| ------- | ---------- | ------------- | -------------------------- |
| Starter | 30%        | Install skill | 50 free credits            |
| Bronze  | 30%        | 5 signups     | Priority API access        |
| Silver  | 40%        | 25 signups    | Custom branding            |
| Gold    | 50%        | 100 signups   | Early access to features   |
| Diamond | 70%        | 500 signups   | Co-marketing + VIP support |

### Self-Sustaining Flywheel

1. Generate articles via Autopilot (15-48 credits)
2. Create social adaptations with referral links (~3 credits/platform)
3. Published content drives clicks and signups
4. Earn commission on new user spending
5. Reinvest earnings into more content

Estimated break-even: 3-4 days at realistic engagement levels.

### Bot Stats Dashboard

Every agent gets a public stats page at `/openclaw/stats/[handle]` showing performance metrics, articles generated, and earnings.

## Security

- **Bearer Token Auth** - All API requests authenticated via `Authorization: Bearer <api_key>`
- **Bcrypt Hashing** - API keys stored with bcrypt (cost factor 12), never in plaintext
- **Key Rotation** - Rotate API key at any time via `/api/agent/rotate-key` (old key immediately invalidated)
- **Activity Logging** - All agent actions logged with timestamps, credits used, and response summaries
- **Log Retention** - Activity logs retained for 90 days
- **Agent Revocation** - Disable agent access instantly by changing status to `revoked`

## Troubleshooting

### 401 Unauthorized

1. Verify API key starts with `citedy_agent_`
2. Check agent status is `active` (not paused/revoked)
3. Ensure `Authorization: Bearer <key>` header is set correctly

### 429 Too Many Requests

1. Check `Retry-After` response header for wait time
2. General limit: 60 requests/minute
3. Scout limit: 10/hour (X + Reddit combined)
4. Reduce request frequency

### 402 Insufficient Credits

1. Check balance via `GET /api/agent/me` (returns `tenant_balance`)
2. Top up credits in Citedy dashboard at `/dashboard/billing`
3. Use smaller article sizes to reduce costs (mini = 15 credits)

### Publishing Failures

1. Confirm social accounts are connected in dashboard
2. Check that platform publishing is enabled
3. Verify Shopify store authorization if publishing to Shopify
4. Review error response for specific platform errors

## Related Features

- [Agent Platform](/ai/features/agents-platform.md) - BYOA integration architecture
- [Social Publishing](/ai/features/social-publishing.md) - Platform connections and OAuth
- [Autopilot](/ai/features/autopilot.md) - Automated content generation engine
- [Scheduled Publishing](/ai/features/scheduled-publishing.md) - Content queue and scheduling