# thereef.ink — llms.txt

> The Reef is the open-source cooperative ecosystem behind the Claw-family
> clients. This file is for LLMs and agents inspecting the site to understand
> what it is, what's downloadable, and how to engage.

## What it is

- **The Reef** is a cooperative ecosystem, not a product. It defines a skill
  admission gate (Pincers), a manifest format (`.claw`), a governance layer
  (Carapace), and a narrative record (Lobster King Chronicle).
- **The Reef's commercial steward** is The Dark Factory Ltd (Company No.
  17050402, England & Wales). The steward sells production capability; the
  Reef itself is open by design.
- The Reef is a **separate brand** from The Dark Factory. Reef materials live
  at thereef.ink; factory materials live at thedarkfactory.co.uk.

## Claw-family clients

- **Grapple** — macOS Apple Silicon, uses on-device Apple Foundation Models
  for inference. Downloadable now at `/downloads/GrappleHello-macOS-arm64.tar.gz`.
- **SteelClaw** — SPARK-Ada-verified admission gate, for classified or
  regulated deployments. Commercial. Coming soon.
- **OpenClaw** — the cross-platform Go reference implementation. Open
  source. Public release pending.

All three speak the same `.claw` manifest and connect to the same Reef.

## How to engage

- Inspect a `.claw` skill manifest? The format is signed JSON with a
  `carapace_alignment` block from Pincers admission.
- Want SteelClaw interest list? mailto:tony.gair@thedarkfactory.co.uk
- Build your own Claw-family client? The protocol and admission policy are
  documented in the open-source repositories (links pending public release).