Parley — Communication Shield 🪶

Parley is a web-based cognitive buffer that sits between you and your notifications, reducing burnout by triaging, reframing, and drafting responses on your behalf. It is an extension of Stillness.

Less noise. More clarity. Protect your stillness.

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ and npm 9+
• A modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
• Optional The parley CLI and
• A running OpenClaw local agent for live message processing

Installation

git clone <your-repo-url> parley
cd parley
npm install

Running Locally

npm run dev

Open the URL shown in your terminal (typically http://localhost:5173).

Building for Production - LOCAL RECOMMENDED FOR NOW

npm run build
npm run preview   # preview the production build locally

The output is in dist/ — deploy it to any static host (GitHub Pages, Vercel, Netlify, etc.).

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How to Use Parley

1. The Stillness Meter (Top of Dashboard)

The circular gauge shows your current cognitive load calculated from your notification volume and urgency. When it hits 80%, the UI enters Focus Mode — non-essential elements dim so you can concentrate on what matters.

2. The Triage Table

Your notifications are sorted by Heat Level:

Heat	Meaning	Visual Behavior
🔴 High	Urgent, emotionally charged	Raw text is blurred by default. You see only the AI-generated "Neutral Reality" summary. Click "Reveal original" when you're ready.
🟡 Med	Needs attention, not urgent	Fully visible with a warm accent
🟢 Low	Informational, no action needed	Fully visible with a cool accent

Why the blur? High-heat messages (e.g., "WHERE IS THE UPDATE??") trigger a stress response before you even process them. Parley shows you "Status inquiry: Project Timeline" first, letting you approach the content from a calm, grounded state.

3. The Drafting Room

Click any notification to enter the split-pane Drafting Room:

• Left pane: The raw, original message
• Right pane: Parley's proposed response — effective, brief, and boundaried

You can Copy, Send, or Edit the draft before it goes out.

4. The Boundary Toggle

Flip this On to signal to the OpenClaw backend to:

• Auto-decline non-critical meeting invites
• Suppress low-priority pings
• Batch informational notifications for later review

Flip it Off when you're ready to re-engage.

5. CLI Sync Status

The indicator in the top-right shows whether Parley is connected to your local parley CLI and OpenClaw agent. Green = live processing. Gray = offline (dashboard still works with cached/mock data).

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Connecting to the Parley CLI & OpenClaw

Parley's dashboard is the visual layer. For live message processing, connect it to the backend:

# Install the Parley CLI
npm install -g @parley/cli

# Start the local OpenClaw agent
parley agent start

# The dashboard auto-detects the agent on localhost:4891

When the CLI is running, the dashboard will:

• Receive real-time notifications from your email, Slack, and calendar
• Generate AI-powered neutral summaries and draft responses via OpenClaw
• Execute boundary rules (auto-decline, batching) when Boundary Mode is on

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Security Recommendations

Local-First Architecture

Parley is designed to run locally by default. Your messages, notifications, and AI-processed content stay on your machine.

Environment Variables

Never hardcode API keys or secrets. Use a .env file (already in .gitignore):

# .env (never commit this file)
VITE_OPENCLAW_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:4891
VITE_OPENCLAW_API_KEY=your-local-agent-key

Secrets & Credential Hygiene

• Do not commit .env, API keys, or tokens to version control
• Do not paste sensitive message content into public bug reports or logs
• Rotate your OpenClaw agent key periodically: parley agent rotate-key
• If deploying to a server, use encrypted environment variables (e.g., GitHub Secrets, Vercel Environment Variables)

Network Security

• The OpenClaw agent binds to localhost only by default — it is not exposed to the network
• If you need remote access, put it behind a reverse proxy with TLS (HTTPS)
• Never expose the agent port directly to the public internet
• Use firewall rules to restrict access: parley agent start --bind 127.0.0.1

Data Handling

• Message content is processed in-memory by the local OpenClaw agent and is not stored persistently unless you enable logging
• Proposed responses are generated locally and never sent to external servers unless you explicitly click "Send"
• To audit what data the agent has seen: parley agent audit-log
• To wipe all cached data: parley agent flush

Authentication (Production Deployments)

If deploying Parley as a team tool:

• Add authentication (OAuth 2.0 / SSO) before exposing to any network
• Use HTTPS exclusively — never serve over plain HTTP
• Implement role-based access if multiple users share an instance
• Enable Content Security Policy (CSP) headers in your hosting config

Dependency Security

# Check for known vulnerabilities
npm audit

# Fix automatically where possible
npm audit fix

# Keep dependencies up to date
npx npm-check-updates -u && npm install

Browser Security

• Parley uses rel="noopener noreferrer" on all external links
• No inline scripts — compatible with strict CSP policies
• No cookies or third-party trackers

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Tech Stack

• React + Vite — fast dev and build
• Tailwind CSS v4 — utility-first styling with custom Mid-Century Modern theme
• Lucide React — clean, thin-stroke icons
• Commander.js — CLI framework
• OpenClaw (optional backend) — local AI agent for message processing

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CLI Reference

Parley ships with a full CLI. After installing, run parley --help to see all commands:

🪶 Parley — Communication Shield CLI

Commands:
  triage [options]    View heat-mapped notification triage table
  draft [id]          View a shielded reframe and proposed response
  boundary [options]  Toggle Boundary Mode (auto-reject non-critical pings)
  status              Show system status and cognitive load
  serve [options]     Start the Parley web dashboard

parley triage

Displays all notifications in a heat-mapped table, sorted High → Med → Low. High-heat messages are [shielded] by default — only the neutral summary is shown.

parley triage              # shielded view (default)
parley triage --raw        # reveal original message text
parley triage -f high      # filter to high-heat only

parley draft [id]

Shows the neutral reframe, original message, and a proposed response for a specific notification.

parley draft               # list all notifications with draft responses
parley draft 1             # view full draft for notification #1
parley draft 5             # view full draft for notification #5

parley boundary

Toggles Boundary Mode. When on, signals to OpenClaw to auto-decline meetings, suppress low-priority pings, and batch informational notifications.

parley boundary            # check current status
parley boundary --on       # enable
parley boundary --off      # disable

parley status

Shows a full system overview: cognitive load, notification breakdown, boundary state, agent connection, and dashboard URL.

parley status

parley serve

Starts the Parley web dashboard.

parley serve               # dev server (default port 5173)
parley serve -p 3000       # custom port
parley serve --build       # build and serve production version

Sharing with Others

To share Parley as a global CLI tool:

# From the project directory
npm link

# Now anyone on this machine can run:
parley triage
parley draft 1
parley status

To publish for others to install:

# Update package.json "name" to your scoped package, e.g. @yourname/parley
npm publish --access public

# Others can then install with:
npm install -g @yourname/parley

License

MIT

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Parley is a tool for stillness. Protect your peace. Set your boundaries. Communicate with clarity.