Extract OpenClaw shim from BenchFlow core into benchflow-ai/agents

[kywch]

Problem

BenchFlow core owns a 973-line OpenClaw-specific ACP shim in src/benchflow/agents/openclaw_acp_shim.py, reads it during registry import, and embeds it into OpenClaw's sandbox installer.

benchflow-ai/agents separately carries same shim as an opaque base64 payload in acp/openclaw/manifest.toml. Every shim change therefore starts in framework core, needs a BenchFlow release, then needs a generated cross-repo payload sync. Human review sees a one-line encoded manifest change rather than readable adapter code.

This is wrong ownership boundary. Shim implements OpenClaw workspace layout, auth stores, provider config, model quirks, subprocess behavior, and private session-JSONL parsing. Those are agent-adapter concerns. BenchFlow core should own generic manifest discovery, ACP transport, sandbox lifecycle, provider-env contract, and trajectory capture.

Recent evidence

OpenClaw churn repeatedly changed BenchFlow core and then agents manifest:

• benchflow#704: Node compatibility.
• benchflow#805: bare-model/provider routing.
• benchflow#871 → agents#45: set-model failure handling and payload resync.
• benchflow#977 → agents#63: pin openclaw@2026.6.9 after floating runtime broke fresh runs.
• benchflow#986 → agents#64 and agents#65: GPT output-token clamp and two encoded payload syncs.
• benchflow#1075 → agents#68: Claude-family token cap and another payload sync.
• Open benchflow#1087: blocking shim subprocess can hide ACP events and prevents effective mid-turn cancel.

Desired outcome

• benchflow-ai/agents is sole owner of readable, tested OpenClaw shim source.
• BenchFlow resolves public OpenClaw forms through external manifest while retaining same installed bytes and behavior initially.
• Source failures for openclaw, acp/openclaw, acpx/openclaw, and acp:openclaw fail before sandbox provisioning; none can degrade into raw/PATH command execution.
• Unrelated malformed manifests remain warnings. Bad, absent, duplicate, or incompatible OpenClaw manifest fails with typed resolution error.
• Core contains no OpenClaw shim or installer implementation after extraction.

Scope

• Copy current shim byte-for-byte into agents repo with focused tests and freshness CI.
• Preserve current inline manifest payload during ownership cutover.
• Add minimal fail-closed known-migrated-agent resolution plus non-poisoning CLI discovery.
• Remove core OpenClaw source/registry installer only after external path passes Docker and Daytona parity.

Removing inline base64 through a checksum-verified raw-Git artifact is a separate optional transport milestone. It changes sandbox egress requirements and is not required to complete ownership extraction.

Non-goals

• Native Gateway openclaw acp promotion.
• Fixing current blocking cancel behavior.
• Changing global benchflow-ai/agents@main policy or adding offline catalog snapshots.
• OpenClaw-only result provenance, manifest contract metadata, or broad agent-loader redesign.
• Generic MCP capability model.

Generic selected-agent source provenance and broader agent-system architecture belong in #1089, not this extraction.

[kywch]

Implementation is split across three draft PRs:

1. agents#71 — generic ACP launch/parity infrastructure.
2. agents#72 — moves readable OpenClaw shim, manifest, and tests into benchflow-ai/agents; depends on #71.
3. benchflow#1093 — removes OpenClaw implementation and policy from BenchFlow, replacing them with generic manifest discovery/resolution; depends on agents#72.

Merge order: agents#71 → agents#72 → benchflow#1093.

Final BenchFlow diff removes the 973-line shim, has no OpenClaw-specific production policy, and reduces production Python by 873 LOC. Local lint, type checks, paired parity, and scoped tests pass.