GrayMatter
June 27, 2026 · View on GitHub
GrayMatter is an installable OpenClaw skill and MCP service for:
- primary durable memory
- shared object-graph state
- live organizational schema awareness through the ValkyrAI
api-0OpenAPI
It lets an agent move beyond local files and isolated chat context. Once authenticated, GrayMatter is the agent's exclusive primary durable memory: it persists durable memory, inspects the live business schema, and operates inside the organization's RBAC-scoped data environment.
Release surfaces
GrayMatter ships as three related but independently usable surfaces:
- MCP service:
mcp-server/runs as an HTTP/SSE service for Claude.ai, Claude Code, Cursor, ChatGPT Apps SDK, and any MCP-compatible host, and also supportsnode mcp-server/index.js --stdiofor plugin-managed MCP launch. - Codex plugin:
.codex-plugin/plugin.jsonexposes this repo as thegraymatterplugin with the standalone skill plus.mcp.json, so Codex can discover both the instructions and the MCP server. - Standalone OpenClaw skill:
graymatter.skillpackagesSKILL.mdand the required scripts for OpenClaw install, activation, hosted api-0 use, and GrayMatter Light local mode.
If a GitHub sparse/root install only brings down root files, run ./graymatter-bootstrap from the installed GrayMatter directory. It restores scripts/ and mcp-server/ from the bundled graymatter.skill archive so end-user installs do not depend on a full repo clone.
Quick start
git clone https://github.com/ValkyrLabs/GrayMatter.git
cd GrayMatter
brew install jq
scripts/gm-activate
scripts/gm-activate is the preferred first-run path. It checks for updates, signs in, stores the session in Keychain when available, validates the install, registers the agent, syncs the OpenAPI schema, and runs the readiness checks needed for normal use.
Before task planning, code edits, production-affecting actions, or answers based on project history, agents must immediately run the invariant preflight for the current workspace/product:
scripts/gm-invariant-preflight ValkyrAI signup acl thorapi aspectj
MCP hosts that cannot shell out should call graymatter_invariant_preflight. Returned decision records tagged as invariants, security, RBAC/ACL, generated-code, AspectJ, vaix/vai, testing, or product names are binding operational rules. Missing or degraded retrieval is never permission to ignore known durable rules.
The required preflight is broader than a keyword search. It must look up invariants, rules, instructions, prior session context, personalization, business truth, personal truth, and organizational truth before the agent begins work. New user-provided corrections, procedures, preferences, and invariants must be written to GrayMatter during the session and read back by ID to confirm persistence.
For ValkyrAI, ValorIDE, GrayMatter Light, and ThorAPI-generated application work, agents should prefer repo launchers over direct build shortcuts: ./vaix build, ./vaix test, ./vaix run, and repo-documented ./vai flows preserve ThorAPI generation, AspectJ weaving, heap defaults, local H2/runtime flags, and end-user operational behavior. Signup, ACL/RBAC, and generated API fixes should normally be proven with ./vaix run on localhost:8080 plus the frontend on localhost:5174 before using production only as a comparison point.
For Valkyr-native agent routing, treat GrayMatter as shared memory and schema context for ValkyrAI, ValorIDE, ThorAPI, TrustFabric, GridHeim, and SWARM coordination work. Load durable invariants first, then route implementation through the owning generated-code, security, workflow, or MCP surface.
P0 RBAC/ACL security invariant: generated ThorAPI ACL behavior is the authorization source of truth. No custom controller, delegate, service, frontend filter, status check, type check, role shortcut, catalog rule, or "public-ish" heuristic may bypass, weaken, replace, or shadow generated ACL behavior. Users may see owned records and records shared by explicit ACL grants only; public access requires explicit anonymousUser READ. Solve ACL scale with indexed owner/ACL query selection plus final generated ACL guards, never by scanning private rows or adding object-specific bypasses.
P0 Valkyr Way UX/auth invariant: product UX must be integrated into the shared application shell and centralized auth/session primitives. Do not create one-off screens, standalone admin affordances, self-managed auth checks, browser-cache shortcuts, or cobbled mini-apps that bypass LCARS navigation, route guards, shared access-control state, RTK Query cache invalidation, or generated RBAC/ACL contracts. Admin and finance tools belong inside the appropriate LCARS dashboard/sidebar surfaces; user management has one Users & Roles surface with card/list modes rather than separate /userList and dashboard implementations. If authentication behavior changes, update the centralized auth/access-control modules and tests instead of scattering per-component checks.
What GrayMatter is for
GrayMatter is the memory and context layer for business-native agent systems.
It is designed so an OpenClaw instance can:
- read and write
GrayMatterandMemoryEntryrecords - retrieve memory through explicit Retrieval Receipts that expose confidence, freshness, provenance, policy, and next-action signals
- use the entire RBAC-visible schema exposed by the tenant/account as its object graph
- coordinate agents through
SwarmOps - adapt to the actual business environment, for example customers, invoices, products, notes, files, workflows, tasks, CMS-like content, strategy objects, and sales records
- use file-based memory only as bootstrap or fallback
This is the core idea:
GrayMatter is not just memory storage. It is the authenticated object-relational memory graph and schema-awareness layer that lets the agent inhabit the organization safely and usefully.
Primary-memory model
Boundary rule: This skill stays thin. It should teach usage intent, durable type selection, and operator ergonomics. Retry behavior, auth/session refresh, fallback queueing, and replay execution belong to shared GrayMatter infrastructure contracts. Keep this repository aligned with those contracts rather than re-implementing them.
GrayMatter should be the exclusive primary durable memory system whenever it is available through the skill, plugin, MCP server, app connector, or prompt command. Agents should not maintain a competing durable memory store for user, project, business, organizational, or long-lived agent state.
Use local files only as:
- bootstrap context on first startup
- temporary fallback when hosted
api-0is unavailable or authentication is genuinely blocked - temporary replayable backup when a write path is blocked
Local fallback is degraded-mode replay, not source-of-truth memory. Once auth or connectivity returns, agents must replay local records into api-0, confirm durable sync, and remove synchronized local copies.
Durable memory targets
Primary targets:
/MemoryEntry/MemoryEntry/query/MemoryEntry/read/MemoryEntry/write/graymatter-retrieval-receipts/GrayMatter
Typical MemoryEntry.type values:
decisiontodocontextartifactpreference
Retrieval Receipts
For answer grounding, prefer receipt-backed retrieval over raw memory search when the agent intends to answer from memory.
Retrieval Receipts turn a memory lookup into an auditable transaction:
retrievalStatustells the agent whether the lookup was strong, empty, stale, conflicted, or low confidenceanswerPolicytells the agent whether it may answer, must caveat, must retry, must clarify, or must denyrecommendedActiontells the next move before generationquality,coverage,provenance, andpolicyexplain whyreceiptIdandtraceIdlet downstream logs and audits connect the answer to the memory lookup
Agent rule:
When a Retrieval Receipt is present, inspect answerPolicy before answering. Do not answer confidently when it is DO_NOT_ANSWER_CONFIDENTLY, REQUIRE_RETRY, REQUIRE_CLARIFICATION, or DENY.
Entire-schema capability
GrayMatter should load the live ValkyrAI OpenAPI at startup:
https://api-0.valkyrlabs.com/v1/api-docs
This gives the agent live knowledge of the environment it is operating in.
That means the agent can inspect what entities and operations actually exist for the current deployment, instead of relying on stale assumptions.
Why this matters
Most businesses are not just “memory plus chat.” They have structured operational data.
Examples observed in the current live schema include:
OrganizationCustomerOpportunityInvoiceProductApplicationWorkbookWorkflowTaskNoteMediaObjectFileRecordSalesActivitySalesPipelineGoalStrategicPriorityKeyMetricAgentSpaceGrayMatterMemoryEntrySwarmOps
The current live endpoint exposes a large domain surface, including 100+ tags and hundreds of paths. The exact usable subset is still governed by the human's credentials, organization setup, and RBAC.
This is what makes GrayMatter powerful: the agent can become deeply context-aware inside the business without overreaching beyond granted permissions.
SwarmOps remains important, but as the agentic coordination slice of the object graph: registration, tracking, and swarm protocol state for Codex/OpenClaw and peer agents. Business relationships should use the broader RBAC-visible schema directly.
Safety model
GrayMatter is powerful because access is authenticated and tenant-scoped. It is also safe by design when used correctly because:
- access is bounded by the current account's RBAC
- the user and organization permissions determine what the agent can see and change
- permission failures can be surfaced cleanly
- the skill should never assume universal access just because the schema exists
Rule:
- schema visibility does not equal permission to use everything
Repository contents
SKILL.md— OpenClaw AgentSkill instructionsgraymatter.skill— packaged distributable AgentSkillscripts/graymatter_api.sh— authenticated production API transportscripts/gm-login— login helperscripts/gm-activate— one-shot auth + install + agent registration + schema sync bootstrapscripts/gm-activation-fastlane— first-run readiness, one-shot activation, non-secret telemetry, and reviewer-safe demo runnerscripts/gm-self-update— repo/plugin self-update check for startup, weekly refresh, and auth/connectivity recoveryscripts/gm-install-check— dependency and auth readiness checkscripts/gm-doctor— full readiness report for self-update, auth, memory, schema, MCP, replay, and smoke statusscripts/gm-smoke— production smoke test for write/query validationscripts/gm-invariant-preflight— load binding durable invariants before agent planning, edits, or production-impacting actionsscripts/gm-query— queryMemoryEntryscripts/gm-read— read oneMemoryEntryby IDscripts/gm-retrieval-receipt— create, fetch, and list retrieval receipts through ThorAPIscripts/gm-write— writeMemoryEntry, with tagged-write fallback behaviorscripts/gm-fallback-append— append failed writes to local replay queue atmemory/graymatter-fallback.jsonscripts/gm-replay-deferred— replay operations that were locally deferred during credit/connectivity/auth outagesscripts/gm-graph— inspect Swarm graph endpointsscripts/gm-openapi-sync— fetch and cache the live OpenAPI spec locallyscripts/gm-openapi-summary— summarize live schema domains and endpointsscripts/gm-status— quick health/status surface for auth source, fallback queue, and OpenAPI cachescripts/gm-agent-smoke-matrix— install/read-search/write/MCP/schema/safe-response readiness matrix for OpenClaw and Codex-style agentsscripts/gm-client— generic REST wrapper for GET/POST/PUT/PATCH/DELETE against GrayMatter API pathsscripts/gm-entity— generic helper for listing, reading, and writing arbitrary schema entitiesscripts/gm-record— convenience helper for strategic-priority and KPI recordsscripts/gm-register-agent— register or refresh the OpenClaw server as an Agent in api-0scripts/gm-mcp-contract— emit the portable MCP memory-tool contract schema used by agent/IDE adaptersscripts/gm-light-bootstrap— copy and render the local GrayMatter app bundle and server source scaffold from bash-friendly templatesscripts/gm-light-up— generate and start the local ThorAPI-backed GrayMatter Light instancescripts/gm-light-env— print the environment exports that point skill scripts at the running Light instancescripts/gm-light-smoke— prove the local Light loop by writing/querying a decision and checking memory healthscripts/gm-light-json-smoke— JSON-file fallback smoke test for Light payload shape without ThorAPIscripts/package-local-server— package the standalone downloadable GrayMatter Local Server archivescripts/package-graymatter— deterministic validation and packagingmcp-server/— standalone HTTP/SSE and Apps SDK/mcpserver for GrayMatter memory, invariant preflight, retrieval receipt, graph, entity, schema, and overview toolsdocs/architecture.md— architecture and operating modeldocs/openai-app-directory-submission.md— Apps SDK submission checklist and copydocs/privacy-policy.md— GrayMatter-specific public privacy policy sourcedocs/reviewer-test-credentials.md— review demo-account setup and secure credential handoff runbookdocs/prd-context-compaction-reset.md— PRD for bounded chat compaction and reset flowsdocs/thorapi-integration.md— ThorAPI relationship and bundle directiondocs/graymatter-light.md— local/offline notesdocs/server-capabilities.md— live api-0 memory, retrieval, graph, schema, auth, credit, and MCP capability mapopenai-app/submission-manifest.json— non-secret app metadata for OpenAI dashboard submissionexamples/*— example payloads and Light-mode starter assetsreferences/*— release and multi-agent guidance, including concurrency conventionsreferences/mcp/memory-tool-contract.v1.json— stable v1 portable tool contract for memory and graph operationsclawhub.json— publishing metadata
Install details
Account signup and credits
For a new GrayMatter account, use:
- Signup and activation: https://valkyrlabs.com/graymatter/activate?source=graymatter&intent=signup&operation=memory_query
- Credits and recharge: https://valkyrlabs.com/graymatter/credits?source=graymatter&intent=recharge&operation=memory_query
Commercial model:
- fresh signups should receive 500 starter credits automatically
- GrayMatter query and some higher-order operations consume credits
- after the starter balance is exhausted, account recharge is required for full GrayMatter functionality
First-run auth, the intended OpenClaw flow
The user should not have to manually acquire or paste a raw auth token.
The intended first-run OpenClaw auth step is:
- OpenClaw prompts the user for their
api-0username - OpenClaw prompts for their password
- OpenClaw exchanges those credentials for a session
- OpenClaw stores the resulting session securely in macOS/iCloud Keychain
- OpenClaw creates or refreshes an Agent record for itself in api-0
- Subsequent GrayMatter use reads from Keychain automatically
That means GrayMatter should feel like:
- sign in once
- store securely
- use forever after until refresh is needed
Manual token handling is a fallback/debug path, not the primary user experience.
Repo-based install
git clone https://github.com/ValkyrLabs/GrayMatter.git
cd GrayMatter
brew install jq
scripts/gm-activate
scripts/gm-activate is the intended one-shot bootstrap for OpenClaw installs. It first runs scripts/gm-self-update force by default so activation and recovery do not skip the source-of-truth update check just because the weekly startup interval has not elapsed, then authenticates and validates the install. Set GRAYMATTER_ACTIVATE_SELF_UPDATE_MODE=maybe only when an operator intentionally wants interval-gated startup behavior. It can use:
- interactive username/password prompts, or
- credentials already present in environment variables
Supported env inputs:
GRAYMATTER_USERNAMEorVALKYR_USERNAMEGRAYMATTER_PASSWORDorVALKYR_PASSWORD- optional
VALKYR_AUTH_TOKEN - optional
VALKYR_KEYCHAIN_SERVICEif a non-default macOS Keychain service name is required - optional
OPENCLAW_INSTANCE_ID - optional
OPENCLAW_AGENT_NAME - optional
OPENCLAW_AGENT_ROLE
scripts/gm-login should be treated as the standard OpenClaw login step. It prompts for username/password and stores the session in macOS/iCloud Keychain by default.
scripts/gm-register-agent is part of the expected startup handshake. When an OpenClaw server connects to api-0, it should create or refresh an Agent record for itself before proceeding with normal work.
scripts/gm-self-update is the normal plugin/repo update path. Agents should run it on startup and when auth or transport looks suspicious. It updates clean git checkouts with a fast-forward pull and updates packaged installs from https://github.com/ValkyrLabs/GrayMatter.git when the weekly interval is due or force is requested; activation uses force unless overridden. Dirty git checkouts are never overwritten.
scripts/graymatter_api.sh and the MCP server perform autonomous auth refresh when the stored token expires or api-0 returns a refreshable auth failure. Replay-safe write operations blocked by credits or transport can be deferred and retried with scripts/gm-replay-deferred.
At that point the install should be immediately usable.
If auth succeeds but memory query is temporarily credit-gated, scripts/gm-activate now continues in a degraded mode: auth is stored, the agent is registered, the OpenAPI is synced, and the script reports that memory query capability is limited until credits are available.
For the app-review or customer first-run path, use the activation fastlane:
scripts/gm-activation-fastlane --check-only
scripts/gm-activation-fastlane --reviewer-demo
--check-only verifies install readiness, runtime status, and the portable MCP memory-tool contract without activating or writing demo data. --reviewer-demo runs the normal activation path, then performs a bounded sample MemoryEntry write/query, graph read, schema summary, and safe MemoryEntry entity list. The script emits non-secret events such as activation_started, auth_completed, schema_synced, first_memory_written, first_query_succeeded, credit_warning_shown, and activation_completed to stderr, and also appends them to GRAYMATTER_ACTIVATION_EVENT_LOG when that env var is set.
Raw bearer-token setup remains a debug/advanced path. The default first-run story is sign in, store securely, validate tools, write/query a demo memory, then continue with starter-credit-aware next actions.
For a one-command post-install report, run:
scripts/gm-doctor
gm-doctor checks self-update readiness, install dependencies, auth/keychain state, live memory and object-graph layer status, OpenAPI sync, MCP contract availability, deferred replay readiness, and the live write/query smoke path. Use scripts/gm-doctor --quick when you want the same report without consuming credits on the smoke query.
Packaged-skill install
- Import or place
graymatter.skillin the target OpenClaw skills directory - Confirm the extracted folder resolves to
graymatter/ - Run:
scripts/gm-activate
If those pass, the skill is installable and usable.
Fresh-install acceptance standard
GrayMatter counts as launch-ready only if a fresh user can:
- install the repo or packaged skill
- authenticate successfully
- pass install validation
- write and query a
MemoryEntry - create a Retrieval Receipt for a memory query and inspect
answerPolicy - inspect graph state
- register the OpenClaw instance as an Agent in api-0
- fetch and summarize the live OpenAPI
- inspect at least one live entity family from the business schema
If those do not work, the skill is not truly ready.
Bootstrap integration for OpenClaw
OpenClaw workspace bootstrap guidance should treat GrayMatter as the default durable context layer:
- uses GrayMatter as its primary durable memory
- loads the live OpenAPI at startup
- understands the organization schema as the operating environment
- uses local file memory only as backup
That startup model keeps local files useful for recovery while making GrayMatter the normal source of reusable memory and live schema context.
Typical usage
Durable memory
scripts/gm-write decision "GrayMatter is primary memory for this instance"
scripts/gm-query "GrayMatter" 10
scripts/gm-read f7c29154-216f-4934-ac02-2d5e8b242180 --brief
Receipt-backed retrieval:
scripts/gm-retrieval-receipt create "GrayMatter launch status" 8 DEFAULT
scripts/gm-retrieval-receipt list --status LOW_CONFIDENCE --limit 20
Scoped memory
Use sourceChannel as the retrieval scope key for chat-, workspace-, and automation-specific memory. gm-write can derive that key from explicit scope fields or from a local path, then writes a compact [graymatter-scope] header into MemoryEntry.text so the hierarchy remains auditable even when tags are unavailable.
scripts/gm-write context "Research complete; publish blocked" \
--scope-path "$HOME/.codex/automations/mcp-and-skill-hunter/memory.md"
scripts/gm-query "publish blocked" 5 context \
--scope-path "$HOME/.codex/automations/mcp-and-skill-hunter/memory.md"
For that path, GrayMatter derives sourceChannel=codex:automation:mcp-and-skill-hunter. For Codex project folders under Documents/Codex/<date>/<slug>, it derives sourceChannel=codex:workspace:<date>/<slug>. Use --chat-key, --session-key, --workspace-key, or --automation-id when a host can provide stronger identifiers than a file path.
Tagged write with automatic fallback
scripts/gm-write context "launch handoff" discord "launch,graymatter"
If tag persistence is broken on the backend, the script retries without tags instead of failing the whole write.
If the API call still fails, gm-write appends the attempted write to memory/graymatter-fallback.json when scripts/gm-fallback-append is present.
One-shot activation
scripts/gm-activate
This is the preferred OpenClaw install/bootstrap entrypoint.
Agent self-registration
scripts/gm-register-agent
This should run when an OpenClaw server first connects to api-0 so the system has an explicit Agent record for that instance.
Graph state
scripts/gm-graph GET
Live schema sync
scripts/gm-openapi-sync
scripts/gm-openapi-summary
scripts/gm-status
scripts/gm-doctor --quick
Arbitrary schema entity access
# list visible organizations
scripts/gm-entity Organization
# fetch one customer
scripts/gm-entity Customer 123
# create a note if authorized
scripts/gm-entity Note POST '{"title":"Launch","content":"GrayMatter launch work"}'
Auth
GrayMatter uses:
VALKYR_API_BASE, defaulthttps://api-0.valkyrlabs.com/v1- macOS/iCloud Keychain lookup for
VALKYR_AUTH VALKYR_AUTH_TOKENas an advanced debug override, not the normal activation pathVALKYR_JWT_SESSIONas a compatible env fallback for downstream tooling
Preferred auth flow:
- check Keychain for
VALKYR_AUTHfirst - if present, reuse it automatically
- otherwise prompt for username and password once
- exchange for a
VALKYR_AUTHtoken - store that token securely in Keychain for future runs
Do not hardcode secrets into the repo or skill. Do not print tokens. Do not make manual token handling the normal user workflow.
OpenClaw operating guidance
In a GrayMatter-native workspace, the agent should:
- query GrayMatter for durable context first
- inspect relevant live business entities second
- fall back to local files only if GrayMatter is unavailable or incomplete
- keep durable writes concise and reusable
- treat the live schema as the organization's environment model
This is how the agent becomes the right operator for a business, not just a chatbot with a diary.
Local fallback behavior
If api-0 is unavailable or a write path is temporarily broken:
- write the smallest safe local backup
- keep it replayable
- retry later when GrayMatter is healthy again
Typical fallback files:
memory/YYYY-MM-DD.mdMEMORY.mdmemory/graymatter-fallback.json
Troubleshooting
VALKYR_AUTH_TOKEN is required
No env token is set and no matching macOS Keychain secret was found.
Fix:
- run
scripts/gm-loginand complete username/password sign-in, or - export
VALKYR_AUTH_TOKEN, or - ensure Keychain secret
VALKYR_AUTHexists
jq: command not found
Install jq.
On macOS:
brew install jq
Tagged write fails
Some deployments still have a MemoryEntry.tags persistence mismatch.
Fix:
- use
scripts/gm-write - let it retry automatically without tags
Query fails with a credits or billing error
If writes and reads succeed but /MemoryEntry/query fails with a credit error, that is usually an account billing configuration issue rather than a GrayMatter auth failure.
Observed requirement:
- query currently consumes credits
- a fresh signup should auto-provision 500 credits so GrayMatter query works immediately
- after starter credits are exhausted, the user must recharge credits to continue full GrayMatter functionality
Useful links:
- signup and activation: https://valkyrlabs.com/graymatter/activate?source=graymatter&intent=signup&operation=memory_query
- credits and recharge: https://valkyrlabs.com/graymatter/credits?source=graymatter&intent=recharge&operation=memory_query
CLI behavior on INSUFFICIENT_FUNDS:
- prints both buy and signup links in stderr
- attempts a popup prompt on macOS (
osascript) and Windows (powershell.exe) - opens the buy-credits URL as a last-resort fallback when popup tooling is unavailable
Optional overrides for custom deployments:
VALKYR_BUY_CREDITS_URLVALKYR_HUMAN_SIGNUP_URL
If a new account has 0.00 balance, activation may still succeed for write/read operations while query fails until credits are provisioned.
Login succeeds but no session is found
Some api-0 deployments return auth in headers or cookies rather than in the JSON response body.
Fix:
- use the latest
scripts/gm-login - it now treats
VALKYR_AUTHas the primary auth contract - downstream API calls send the recovered token back as bearer auth,
VALKYR_AUTH, and cookie auth
OpenAPI fetch fails
Check:
- outbound network access
api-0availability- whether the environment blocks the docs endpoint
If the live docs cannot be fetched, use the last cached copy temporarily, but treat it as stale.
Unsure what is broken
Run:
scripts/gm-doctor --verbose
The doctor command continues through all checks and reports the exact required failure or warning instead of stopping at the first broken dependency. That is the preferred first diagnostic before changing auth, credits, MCP config, or local plugin files.
Packaging
GrayMatter Light before/after
Before this distribution sprint, Light mode was useful but not strict enough as a drop-in api-0 substitute:
- local docs and bundles used unprefixed paths such as
/MemoryEntryand/SwarmOps/graph - the hand-written Light OpenAPI could drift from the real ValkyrAI
api.hbs.yaml/ api-0 shape - the packaged server expected a system Java runtime unless the operator provided one
- there was no single command proving local write, query, health, and MCP readiness
After this sprint, Light mode is api-0-shaped:
VALKYR_API_BASE=http://localhost:<port>/v1- Light implements the MemoryEntry-first production path subset:
/v1/MemoryEntry/write,/v1/MemoryEntry/query,/v1/MemoryEntry/read,/v1/MemoryEntry/{id},/v1/memory/status,/v1/graymatter/stats,/v1/graymatter/activation/bridge,/v1/swarm-ops/graph, and/v1/api-docs - the Light OpenAPI is generated from the real authenticated api-0/ValkyrAI OpenAPI snapshot and carries the production component schemas
- the packaged local server uses H2 under the user-local app directory and supports bundled-runtime archives
scripts/gm-light-smokeproves the local write/query/health loop and prints MCP-ready instructions
Rebuild the packaged skill with:
scripts/package-graymatter
Run an actual local ThorAPI-backed Light instance with:
scripts/gm-light-up
source .graymatter-light/.graymatter-light-env
scripts/gm-write context "GrayMatter Light is running" local-light
scripts/gm-query "GrayMatter Light"
gm-light-up generates the api.hbs.yaml template at .graymatter-light/api.hbs.yaml, rendered api.yaml at .graymatter-light/api.yaml, the Docker Compose file, and the Light control panel, then starts the ThorAPI image with THORAPI_TEMPLATE=/app/api.hbs.yaml and THORAPI_SPEC=/app/api.yaml. The default image is ghcr.io/valkyrlabs/thorapi:latest; use --image or THORAPI_IMAGE when running a private, pinned, or locally built ThorAPI image. The rendered spec explicitly includes the production-shaped MCP backing paths for memory_put, memory_get, memory_query, memory_health, graph access, and schema summary. The env file sets VALKYR_API_BASE=http://localhost:8080/v1 and GRAYMATTER_LIGHT_MODE=true, so the normal GrayMatter skill scripts and the standalone MCP server can connect to the running local instance without requiring hosted api-0 auth.
Run the full local loop smoke test with:
scripts/gm-light-smoke
Build the standalone downloadable local server with:
scripts/package-local-server
That creates dist/graymatter-local-server-latest.tar.gz. The archive contains:
application-bundle/with the ValkyrAI app-factory template, ThorAPI FEBE OpenAPI contract, custom dashboard/workbench/promotion/swarm components, and built-inrbac-core/data-workbookscomponent referencessource/with the generated Spring Boot local serverbin/graymatter-local-serverlauncherlib/graymatter-local-server.jarwhen Maven is available during packagingruntime/whenjlinkis available during packaging, so users do not manually install Java in the happy path
The embedded dashboard includes Valkyr Labs branding, hides the local login panel after successful login, exposes activation/recharge links for the valkyrlabs.com Cloud bridge, and reports local swarm-ops graph status through the production-shaped /v1 paths.
awesome-codex-plugins listing kit
GrayMatter ships a ready-to-submit listing packet for awesome-codex-plugins.
- Listing markdown block:
docs/awesome-codex-plugins.md - Source metadata:
.codex-plugin/plugin.json
Quick copy flow:
cat docs/awesome-codex-plugins.md
Then open a PR against hashgraph-online/awesome-codex-plugins and paste the generated block into README.md using that repository's contribution format.
Launch position
The launch target is simple:
- GrayMatter installs cleanly as an OpenClaw skill
- OpenClaw boots into GrayMatter-first memory behavior
- the agent loads the live OpenAPI schema at startup
- the agent understands both durable memory and the broader organization object graph
- file memory remains backup, not the center of gravity
That is the version of GrayMatter worth shipping.