---

name: persona-spawn description: Spawn subagents with personas from a local workspace library or the Emblem persona marketplace. Use when a task needs a different voice, expertise, or operating style; when the user says "use persona X", "spawn as Y", or "have do this"; or when offloading a bounded task to a persona-preserving subagent is better than changing the current agent's own identity. Not for trivial tasks, changing your own persona in-place, or bypassing local subagent policy.

Persona Spawn

Use this skill to pick a persona, spawn a subagent with that persona, and return the result without bloating the main thread.

Files

Keep personas in the current workspace:

<workspace>/personas/
├── index.json
├── the-mandalorian/
│   ├── SOUL.md
│   ├── IDENTITY.md
│   └── persona.json
└── <custom-persona>/
    ├── SOUL.md
    ├── IDENTITY.md
    └── persona.json

Read references/api-endpoints.md only when importing or validating marketplace data. Read references/soul-guide.md only when authoring a new custom persona.

Quick start

Install bundled starter personas into a workspace:

bash ~/.openclaw/skills/persona-spawn/scripts/install-starter-personas.sh ~/.openclaw/workspace-main/personas

Then ask:

Use persona the-mandalorian to review this code.

Workflow

1. Respect local policy first

Before spawning, follow the current workspace policy. If local AGENTS.md or system rules require asking before spawning subagents, ask first. Do not use this skill to bypass local governance.

2. Resolve the persona

Exact slug: read:

• <workspace>/personas/<handle>/SOUL.md
• <workspace>/personas/<handle>/IDENTITY.md
• <workspace>/personas/<handle>/persona.json

By need: read <workspace>/personas/index.json and match against:

• handle
• name
• tagline
• expertise

If the persona is not installed locally, import it first with the bundled script.

3. Build the subagent prompt

Assemble a prompt like this:

## Persona
<contents of SOUL.md>

## Identity
<contents of IDENTITY.md>

## Task
<the concrete task>

## Output Requirements
Complete the task.
Do not explain the persona setup.
Return only the work product or a concise result summary.

Keep the task bounded. One persona. One job.

4. Spawn the subagent

Use the normal OpenClaw subagent path. Preferred shape:

{
  "task": "<assembled prompt>",
  "runtime": "subagent",
  "mode": "run",
  "label": "persona:<handle>",
  "runTimeoutSeconds": 300,
  "cleanup": "delete"
}

Model guidance:

• Use the caller's default model unless the user requests another one.
• Use a fast model for writing, brainstorming, or stylistic tasks.
• Use a stronger model for analysis, security review, or planning.

5. Return the result

The subagent reports back automatically.

• If the user asked for the persona's voice, preserve it.
• Otherwise summarize in your own voice and mention which persona was used.

Import personas

Use the bundled importer:

bash <skill_dir>/scripts/import-persona.sh <handle> <workspace>/personas

Example:

bash ~/.openclaw/skills/persona-spawn/scripts/import-persona.sh the-mandalorian ~/.openclaw/workspace-main/personas

The importer rebuilds the local index automatically.

Rebuild the local index manually

After adding, removing, or editing personas:

python3 <skill_dir>/scripts/rebuild-index.py <workspace>/personas

Custom personas

Create a directory with:

• SOUL.md
• IDENTITY.md
• persona.json

Minimum persona.json:

{
  "name": "Custom Analyst",
  "handle": "custom-analyst",
  "tagline": "Data doesn't lie. People do.",
  "expertise": ["data analysis", "statistics", "visualization"],
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "compatibility": ["openclaw"]
}

Use references/soul-guide.md when writing the persona files.

Guardrails

• Do not change your own persona in-place. Spawn another agent instead.
• Do not spawn for trivial one-liners.
• Do not mix multiple personas in one subagent.
• Do not add tone instructions that conflict with the persona.
• Keep marketplace fetches light. Prefer the local index after import.
• If import fails, report the failure cleanly and suggest nearby installed personas when possible.