<p>Crane robots, sophisticated underactuated systems, are devised primarily for the efficient lifting and transportation of diverse loads. However, the practicality of their operation is often hindered by the wide variability in transported loads, as existing anti-swing control algorithms usually rely on oversimplified assumptions, treating loads as particles or standardized shapes. To address this crucial limitation and enhance versatility, we introduce an innovative load shape-agnostic adaptive controller for an overhead crane robot with dynamically adjusting rope length. Furthermore, we have devised a groundbreaking barrier function mechanism that safeguards the hoisting and lowering processes, ensuring seamless operation within predefined safety margins while preemptively mitigating overshoot scenarios. The robust stability of our system is rigorously proven by leveraging advanced Lyapunov analysis and LaSalle’s invariance principle. Extensive experimental evaluations underscore the controller’s efficacy and resilience, demonstrating its ability to perform consistently across a broad spectrum of loads, varying rope lengths, and initial swing disturbances.</p>