Panic Stop

Panic stop is a safety mechanism that immediately cancels all running agent sessions for a user. When triggered, any in-progress LLM calls are aborted and tool executions are halted.

How It Works

GoClaw monitors all incoming messages for configured panic phrases. When a panic phrase is detected:

1. All active sessions for the user are cancelled
2. Running tool calls are interrupted
3. The agent stops immediately
4. You receive confirmation the stop was triggered

The check happens before any other processing, so even if the system is busy, the panic phrase takes priority.

Default Behavior

Panic stop is enabled by default. The default phrase is STOP (case-insensitive).

Repeating the phrase also works: stop stop stop or STOP STOP STOP will trigger the stop.

Configuration

Configure panic phrases in goclaw.json:

{
  "safety": {
    "panicEnabled": true,
    "panicPhrases": ["STOP", "HALT", "EMERGENCY"]
  }
}

Multiple Phrases

You can configure multiple phrases for different preferences:

{
  "safety": {
    "panicPhrases": ["STOP", "CANCEL", "ABORT", "HALT"]
  }
}

Disabling

To disable panic stop entirely (not recommended):

{
  "safety": {
    "panicEnabled": false
  }
}

Supported Channels

Panic stop works across all channels:

• HTTP / Web UI — Type the phrase in the chat
• Telegram — Send the phrase as a message
• WhatsApp — Send the phrase as a message
• TUI — Type the phrase at the prompt

When to Use

• Agent is stuck in a loop
• Wrong command is executing
• You need to regain control immediately
• Something unexpected is happening

Limitations

• Network calls in progress — A network request that’s already sent cannot be unsent
• Completed actions — Files already written or commands already finished cannot be undone
• Non-message contexts — Panic phrases only work through message channels, not webhooks or cron

Alternatives

For less urgent situations:

• /stop command — Cancels the current session gracefully
• Supervision — Pause, guide, or interrupt via the web UI (owner only)

See Also

• Security — Security overview
• Supervision — Session monitoring and control