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docs: add architecture diagram and overview #1095

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74 changes: 74 additions & 0 deletions README.md
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Expand Up @@ -22,6 +22,80 @@ It also includes open source models such as [NVIDIA Nemotron](https://build.nvid

---

## Architecture

**OpenShell** is a general-purpose agent runtime. It provides sandbox containers, a credential-storing gateway, inference proxying, and policy enforcement — but no opinions about what runs inside.

**NemoClaw** is an opinionated reference stack built on OpenShell. It adds:

| Layer | What it provides |
|-------|------------------|
| **Onboarding** | Guided setup that validates credentials, selects providers, and creates a working sandbox in one command. |
| **Blueprint** | A hardened Dockerfile with security policies, capability drops, and least-privilege network rules. |
| **State management** | Safe migration of agent state across machines with credential stripping and integrity verification. |
| **Messaging bridges** | Host-side processes that connect Telegram, Discord, and Slack to the sandboxed agent. |

OpenShell handles *how* to sandbox an agent securely. NemoClaw handles *what* goes in the sandbox and makes the setup accessible.

```mermaid
graph LR
classDef nemoclaw fill:#76b900,stroke:#5a8f00,color:#fff,stroke-width:2px,font-weight:bold
classDef openshell fill:#1a1a1a,stroke:#1a1a1a,color:#fff,stroke-width:2px,font-weight:bold
classDef sandbox fill:#444,stroke:#76b900,color:#fff,stroke-width:2px,font-weight:bold
classDef agent fill:#f5f5f5,stroke:#e0e0e0,color:#1a1a1a,stroke-width:1px
classDef external fill:#f5f5f5,stroke:#e0e0e0,color:#1a1a1a,stroke-width:1px
classDef user fill:#fff,stroke:#76b900,color:#1a1a1a,stroke-width:2px,font-weight:bold

USER(["👤 User"]):::user
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⚠️ Potential issue | 🟡 Minor

Remove emoji from diagram labels in technical prose.

Line 49 (👤) and Line 72 (🔒) violate the Markdown prose rule; please replace with plain text labels.

As per coding guidelines, "**/*.md ... No emoji in technical prose."

Also applies to: 72-72

🤖 Prompt for AI Agents 
Verify each finding against the current code and only fix it if needed.

In `@README.md` at line 49, Replace the emoji labels in the Mermaid diagram nodes
with plain text: change the USER node label USER(["👤 User"]):::user to
USER(["User"]):::user (and the Auth/lock node that uses "🔒"—e.g. AUTH(["🔒
Auth"]):::auth—to AUTH(["Auth"]):::auth); update any other diagram node labels
containing emojis to their plain-text equivalents so README.md follows the "No
emoji in technical prose" rule.


subgraph EXTERNAL["External Services"]
INFERENCE["Inference Provider<br/><small>NVIDIA Endpoints · OpenAI<br/>Anthropic · Ollama · vLLM</small>"]:::external
MSGAPI["Messaging Platforms<br/><small>Telegram · Discord · Slack</small>"]:::external
INTERNET["Internet<br/><small>PyPI · npm · GitHub · APIs</small>"]:::external
end

subgraph HOST["Host Machine"]

subgraph NEMOCLAW["NemoClaw"]
direction TB
NCLI["CLI + Onboarding<br/><small>Guided setup · provider selection<br/>credential validation · deploy</small>"]:::nemoclaw
BRIDGE["Messaging Bridges<br/><small>Connect chat platforms<br/>to sandboxed agent</small>"]:::nemoclaw
BP["Blueprint<br/><small>Hardened Dockerfile<br/>Network policies · Presets<br/>Security configuration</small>"]:::nemoclaw
MIGRATE["State Management<br/><small>Migration snapshots<br/>Credential stripping<br/>Integrity verification</small>"]:::nemoclaw
end

subgraph OPENSHELL["OpenShell"]
direction TB
GW["Gateway<br/><small>Credential store<br/>Inference proxy<br/>Policy engine<br/>Device auth</small>"]:::openshell
OSCLI["openshell CLI<br/><small>provider · sandbox<br/>gateway · policy</small>"]:::openshell
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⚠️ Potential issue | 🟡 Minor

Fix product casing in diagram node text.

Line 70 uses openshell CLI; this should be OpenShell CLI to match required product casing.

As per coding guidelines, "**/*.md ... NemoClaw, OpenClaw, and OpenShell must use correct casing."

🤖 Prompt for AI Agents 
Verify each finding against the current code and only fix it if needed.

In `@README.md` at line 70, Update the diagram node text that currently reads
OSCLI["openshell CLI<br/><small>provider · sandbox<br/>gateway ·
policy</small>"]:::openshell to use the correct product casing: change
"openshell CLI" to "OpenShell CLI" while keeping the rest of the label (the HTML
line breaks and small text) unchanged so the node still reads OSCLI["OpenShell
CLI<br/><small>provider · sandbox<br/>gateway · policy</small>"]:::openshell.


subgraph SANDBOX["Sandbox Container 🔒"]
direction TB
AGENT["Agent<br/><small>OpenClaw or any<br/>compatible agent</small>"]:::agent
PLUG["NemoClaw Plugin<br/><small>Extends agent with<br/>managed configuration</small>"]:::sandbox
end
end
end

USER -->|"nemoclaw onboard<br/>nemoclaw connect"| NCLI
USER -->|"Chat messages"| MSGAPI

NCLI -->|"Orchestrates"| OSCLI
BP -->|"Defines sandbox<br/>shape + policies"| SANDBOX
MIGRATE -->|"Safe state<br/>transfer"| SANDBOX

AGENT -->|"Inference requests<br/><small>no credentials</small>"| GW
GW -->|"Proxied with<br/>credential injected"| INFERENCE

MSGAPI -->|"Bot messages"| BRIDGE
BRIDGE -->|"Relayed as data<br/>via SSH"| AGENT

AGENT -.->|"Policy-gated"| INTERNET
GW -.->|"Enforced by<br/>gateway"| INTERNET
```

---

## Quick Start

Follow these steps to get started with NemoClaw and your first sandboxed OpenClaw agent.
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