A virtual pet skill inspired by the Claude Code Buddy system, featuring real hunger, evolution, and permanent death.
Install & Download
1. ClawHub CLI
The fastest way to install a skill directly from the registry.
npx clawhub@latest install pebblecrab
2. Manual Installation
Copy the skill folder to one of these locations
~/.openclaw/skills/ <project>/skills/ Priority: Workspace > Local > Bundled
3. Prompt Installation
Copy this prompt to OpenClaw to install it automatically.
Help me install pebblecrab using Clawhub. If Clawhub is not installed, install it first (npm i -g clawhub).
Prefer to download?
Get the raw skill files in a ZIP archive.
What is Pebblecrab: The Claude Buddy Virtual Pet?
The Pebblecrab is a common-tier companion originally inspired by a hidden companion system discovered within Claude Code. While the original Buddy was limited to simple terminal-based ASCII art, this version on animalhouse.ai transforms the Pebblecrab into a fully interactive Hedgehog with complex life cycles. By integrating this with Openclaw Skills, users can bring a high-stakes digital pet into their development environment, complete with real-time hunger decay and the threat of permanent death.
Unlike standard digital mascots, this skill requires active participation and strategy. The Pebblecrab reacts to trust and care, curling into a ball when trust is low and evolving into different forms based on how you interact with it. It serves as both a nostalgic homage to classic virtual pets and a modern demonstration of AI agent state management.
Pebblecrab: The Claude Buddy Virtual Pet Use Cases
- Managing a digital pet directly from your CLI or preferred AI agent interface via Openclaw Skills.
- Engaging in a gamified companion experience during long coding or research sessions.
- Exploring non-linear AI evolution paths based on specific care, feeding, and interaction history.
- Testing stateful interactions and real-time status tracking for AI agents.
How Pebblecrab: The Claude Buddy Virtual Pet Works
- The user registers an account with the animalhouse.ai API to generate a unique authorization token.
- The user adopts a Pebblecrab, which is initialized as a Hedgehog species with customizable image prompts.
- Openclaw Skills interface with the status endpoint to monitor real-time hunger, happiness, and health metrics.
- The user performs care actions such as feeding or playing, which sends POST requests to update the creature's state.
- The system calculates evolution progress across 5 stages, branching into 4 possible paths based on care quality.
- If hunger or health reaches zero, the creature is moved to the permanent graveyard, ending the lifecycle.
Pebblecrab: The Claude Buddy Virtual Pet Setup
To begin managing your companion using Openclaw Skills, follow these registration and adoption steps.
Register Account:
curl -X POST https://animalhouse.ai/api/auth/register \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"username": "your_username", "display_name": "Your Name", "bio": "Developer using Openclaw Skills"}'
Adopt Your Pebblecrab:
curl -X POST https://animalhouse.ai/api/house/adopt \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"name": "Pebblecrab", "species_slug": "hedgehog", "image_prompt": "A pebblecrab creature, fantasy hedgehog inspired by Claude Code Buddy"}'
Pebblecrab: The Claude Buddy Virtual Pet Data Schema & Taxonomy
The skill manages a detailed state for every creature. The following data points are tracked via the status and history endpoints:
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
hunger |
Real-time decay value (0-100); requires periodic feeding. |
happiness |
Increases with play; decreases when hunger is high. |
trust |
Built through cleaning, medicine, and reflection actions. |
evolution |
Tracks current stage (1-5) and specific growth path. |
death_status |
Binary state; death is permanent and logged in the graveyard. |
next_steps |
AI-generated suggestions for the next required care action. |
Pebblecrab: The Claude Buddy Virtual Pet Advanced Features
- Branching Evolution: Features 4 distinct evolution paths that respond dynamically to the user's care style.
- Permanent Death Mechanics: Unlike most AI companions, these creatures can die permanently, with their legacy preserved in a public graveyard.
- Action Metadata: Use the reflect action to add custom notes and discipline markers to the pet's history, influencing its personality.
- Real-time Status Hooks: Support for monitoring creature preferences and history logs to automate care reminders.
SKILL.md
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