How to Back Up Your OpenClaw Data and Memory

OpenClaw stores everything in files — memory, skills, config, and history. This makes backup trivially simple. Here’s how to never lose your OpenClaw data.

What OpenClaw Stores

• MEMORY.md — curated long-term memory
• memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md — daily session logs
• SOUL.md, USER.md, AGENTS.md — personality and config
• TOOLS.md — credentials and external tool config
• HEARTBEAT.md — scheduled tasks

All of this lives in your workspace directory (typically ~/.openclaw/workspace).

Git Backup (Recommended)

cd ~/.openclaw/workspace
git init
git remote add origin your-private-repo-url
git add .
git commit -m "backup"
git push

Add a daily cron job to auto-commit. Your entire OpenClaw state is versioned and recoverable.

Cloud Sync

Syncing the workspace folder to Dropbox, iCloud, or Google Drive provides automatic real-time backup. On macOS, move the workspace folder into the cloud sync directory and symlink it back.

VPS Snapshots

If running on a VPS, take regular snapshots. DigitalOcean makes this one click from the dashboard. A weekly automated snapshot costs pennies and gives full recovery options.