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Multi-Agent Sandbox & Tools Configuration

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Overview

Each agent in a multi-agent setup can now have its own:
  • Sandbox configuration (agents.list[].sandbox overrides agents.defaults.sandbox)
  • Tool restrictions (tools.allow / tools.deny, plus agents.list[].tools)
This allows you to run multiple agents with different security profiles:
  • Personal assistant with full access
  • Family/work agents with restricted tools
  • Public-facing agents in sandboxes
For how sandboxing behaves at runtime, see Sandboxing.

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Configuration Examples

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Example 1: Personal + Restricted Family Agent

{
  "agents": {
    "list": [
      {
        "id": "main",
        "default": true,
        "name": "Personal Assistant",
        "workspace": "~/clawd",
        "sandbox": { "mode": "off" }
      },
      {
        "id": "family",
        "name": "Family Bot",
        "workspace": "~/clawd-family",
        "sandbox": {
          "mode": "all",
          "scope": "agent"
        },
        "tools": {
          "allow": ["read"],
          "deny": ["bash", "write", "edit", "process", "browser"]
        }
      }
    ]
  },
  "bindings": [
    {
      "agentId": "family",
      "match": {
        "provider": "whatsapp",
        "accountId": "*",
        "peer": {
          "kind": "group",
          "id": "[email protected]"
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}
Result:
  • main agent: Runs on host, full tool access
  • family agent: Runs in Docker (one container per agent), only read tool

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Example 2: Work Agent with Shared Sandbox

{
  "agents": {
    "list": [
      {
        "id": "personal",
        "workspace": "~/clawd-personal",
        "sandbox": { "mode": "off" }
      },
      {
        "id": "work",
        "workspace": "~/clawd-work",
        "sandbox": {
          "mode": "all",
          "scope": "shared",
          "workspaceRoot": "/tmp/work-sandboxes"
        },
        "tools": {
          "allow": ["read", "write", "bash"],
          "deny": ["browser", "gateway", "discord"]
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

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Example 3: Different Sandbox Modes per Agent

{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "sandbox": {
        "mode": "non-main",  // Global default
        "scope": "session"
      }
    },
    "list": [
      {
        "id": "main",
        "workspace": "~/clawd",
        "sandbox": {
          "mode": "off"  // Override: main never sandboxed
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "public",
        "workspace": "~/clawd-public",
        "sandbox": {
          "mode": "all",  // Override: public always sandboxed
          "scope": "agent"
        },
        "tools": {
          "allow": ["read"],
          "deny": ["bash", "write", "edit"]
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

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Configuration Precedence

When both global (agents.defaults.*) and agent-specific (agents.list[].*) configs exist:

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Sandbox Config

Agent-specific settings override global: 
agents.list[].sandbox.mode > agents.defaults.sandbox.mode
agents.list[].sandbox.scope > agents.defaults.sandbox.scope
agents.list[].sandbox.workspaceRoot > agents.defaults.sandbox.workspaceRoot
agents.list[].sandbox.workspaceAccess > agents.defaults.sandbox.workspaceAccess
agents.list[].sandbox.docker.* > agents.defaults.sandbox.docker.*
agents.list[].sandbox.browser.* > agents.defaults.sandbox.browser.*
agents.list[].sandbox.prune.* > agents.defaults.sandbox.prune.*
Notes:
  • agents.list[].sandbox.{docker,browser,prune}.* overrides agents.defaults.sandbox.{docker,browser,prune}.* for that agent (ignored when sandbox scope resolves to "shared").

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Tool Restrictions

The filtering order is:
  1. Global tool policy (tools.allow / tools.deny)
  2. Agent-specific tool policy (agents.list[].tools)
  3. Sandbox tool policy (tools.sandbox.tools or agents.list[].tools.sandbox.tools)
  4. Subagent tool policy (tools.subagents.tools, if applicable)
Each level can further restrict tools, but cannot grant back denied tools from earlier levels. If agents.list[].tools.sandbox.tools is set, it replaces tools.sandbox.tools for that agent.

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Elevated Mode (global)

tools.elevated is global and sender-based (per-provider allowlist). It is not configurable per agent. Mitigation patterns:
  • Deny bash for untrusted agents (agents.list[].tools.deny: ["bash"])
  • Avoid allowlisting senders that route to restricted agents
  • Disable elevated globally (tools.elevated.enabled: false) if you only want sandboxed execution

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Migration from Single Agent

Before (single agent): 
{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "workspace": "~/clawd",
      "sandbox": {
        "mode": "non-main"
      }
    }
  },
  "tools": {
    "sandbox": {
      "tools": {
        "allow": ["read", "write", "bash"],
        "deny": []
      }
    }
  }
}
After (multi-agent with different profiles): 
{
  "agents": {
    "list": [
      {
        "id": "main",
        "default": true,
        "workspace": "~/clawd",
        "sandbox": { "mode": "off" }
      }
    ]
  }
}
Legacy agent.* configs are migrated by clawdbot doctor; prefer agents.defaults + agents.list going forward.

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Tool Restriction Examples

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Read-only Agent

{
  "tools": {
    "allow": ["read"],
    "deny": ["bash", "write", "edit", "process"]
  }
}

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Safe Execution Agent (no file modifications)

{
  "tools": {
    "allow": ["read", "bash", "process"],
    "deny": ["write", "edit", "browser", "gateway"]
  }
}

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Communication-only Agent

{
  "tools": {
    "allow": ["sessions_list", "sessions_send", "sessions_history"],
    "deny": ["bash", "write", "edit", "read", "browser"]
  }
}

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Common Pitfall: “non-main”

agents.defaults.sandbox.mode: "non-main" is based on session.mainKey (default "main"), not the agent id. Group/channel sessions always get their own keys, so they are treated as non-main and will be sandboxed. If you want an agent to never sandbox, set agents.list[].sandbox.mode: "off".

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Testing

After configuring multi-agent sandbox and tools:
  1. Check agent resolution: 
    clawdbot agents list --bindings
  2. Verify sandbox containers: 
    docker ps --filter "label=clawdbot.sandbox=1"
  3. Test tool restrictions:
    • Send a message requiring restricted tools
    • Verify the agent cannot use denied tools
  4. Monitor logs: 
    tail -f "${CLAWDBOT_STATE_DIR:-$HOME/.clawdbot}/logs/gateway.log" | grep -E "routing|sandbox|tools"

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Troubleshooting

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Agent not sandboxed despite mode: "all"

  • Check if there’s a global agents.defaults.sandbox.mode that overrides it
  • Agent-specific config takes precedence, so set agents.list[].sandbox.mode: "all"

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Tools still available despite deny list

  • Check tool filtering order: global → agent → sandbox → subagent
  • Each level can only further restrict, not grant back
  • Verify with logs: [tools] filtering tools for agent:${agentId}

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Container not isolated per agent

  • Set scope: "agent" in agent-specific sandbox config
  • Default is "session" which creates one container per session

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See Also