openclaw-mem

Local-first long‑term memory layer for OpenClaw agents.

openclaw-mem captures useful observations (what tools ran, what happened, what mattered), stores them in a lightweight local SQLite database, and enables cheap progressive recall back into the agent:

1. Search (compact hits) → 2) Timeline (nearby context) → 3) Get (full record)

Optional upgrades add embeddings + hybrid ranking, dual-language assist (zh/en, etc.), gateway-assisted semantic recall, and deterministic triage for heartbeats.

Pitch (truthful): if your agent is already doing real work, openclaw-mem turns that work into a searchable, auditable memory trail—without requiring an external database.

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What you get (feature map)

Core (local, deterministic)

• Observation store: SQLite + FTS5
• Progressive disclosure recall:
  • search → timeline → get
• Export: export (with safety confirmation)
• Auto-ingest helper: harvest (ingest + optional embeddings)

Optional (higher recall quality)

• Embeddings: embed, vsearch
• Hybrid retrieval: hybrid (FTS + vector, RRF fusion)
• Optional post-retrieval rerank (opt-in) on hybrid path:
  • --rerank-provider jina|cohere
  • --rerank-model ... --rerank-topn ...
  • fail-open fallback to base RRF ranking on provider/network errors
• Dual-language memory (original + optional English companion):
  • store --text-en ...
  • dedicated EN embedding table (observation_embeddings_en)
  • optional EN assist query route in hybrid (--query-en)

Optional (OpenClaw integration)

• Auto-capture plugin (extensions/openclaw-mem): listens to tool_result_persist and writes JSONL for ingestion.
• Backend adapter annotations (v0.5.9):
  • capture layer remains sidecar-only (no tool registration)
  • records memory backend metadata (memory-core / memory-lancedb) into detail_json
  • tracks memory tool actions (memory_store / memory_recall / memory_forget / memory_search / memory_get) for audit and monitoring
• Gateway-assisted semantic recall (Route A):
  • index (build markdown index)
  • semantic (use OpenClaw memory_search as a black-box semantic retriever)

Operational (heartbeat-safe)

• Deterministic triage: triage modes for:
  • heartbeat
  • cron-errors
  • tasks
• Includes dedupe state to avoid repeating the same alert every heartbeat.
• Importance grading (MVP v1): canonical detail_json.importance objects + deterministic heuristic-v1 scorer + regression tests.
  • Notes: docs/importance-grading.md

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Installation

git clone https://github.com/phenomenoner/openclaw-mem.git
cd openclaw-mem
uv sync --locked

After syncing, you can run either:

• uv run openclaw-mem ... (recommended, always uses the project env)
• or openclaw-mem ... if the script is on your PATH.

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5-minute tour

# 1) Create/open DB and show counts
uv run openclaw-mem status --json

# 1.5) Check active OpenClaw memory backend + fallback posture
uv run openclaw-mem backend --json

# 2) Ingest JSONL observations
uv run openclaw-mem ingest --file observations.jsonl --json

# 3) Layer 1 recall (compact)
uv run openclaw-mem search "gateway timeout" --limit 10 --json

# 4) Layer 2 recall (nearby context)
uv run openclaw-mem timeline 42 --window 3 --json

# 5) Layer 3 recall (full rows)
uv run openclaw-mem get 42 --json

Proactive memory (explicit “remember this”)

uv run openclaw-mem store "Prefer tabs over spaces" \
  --category preference --importance 0.9 --json

uv run openclaw-mem hybrid "tabs or spaces preference" --limit 5 --json
uv run openclaw-mem hybrid "tabs or spaces preference" \
  --rerank-provider jina --rerank-topn 20 --json

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Typical outcomes (what it enables)

This is what a “serious” always-on agent starts to feel like when memory is stable:

• Wake up to a daily briefing (what matters today + what broke overnight)
• Fewer context drops: the agent can carry threads across days
• Less busywork: deterministic background scans + human approval only when needed
• A growing, auditable trail you can browse later (and optionally visualize in Obsidian)

How it fits together (system view)

Capture → Ingest → Recall

• Capture (optional): the OpenClaw plugin writes append-only JSONL observations.
• Ingest: ingest/harvest imports JSONL into SQLite (WAL-enabled), optionally building embeddings.
• Recall:
  • cheap keyword recall via FTS
  • higher quality retrieval via embeddings + hybrid fusion
  • optional gateway semantic route for “black-box” semantic recall

This design is intentionally practical:

• local files you can inspect/backup
• deterministic baseline behavior
• optional AI where it provides leverage (compression/embeddings), not as the only way the system works

Ecosystem fit with OpenClaw native memory

openclaw-mem is intentionally a sidecar, not a slot owner:

• memory-core owns native baseline tools (memory_search, memory_get)
• memory-lancedb owns official semantic tools (memory_store, memory_recall, memory_forget)
• openclaw-mem adds capture, local-first recall, triage, and backend-aware observability

Practical effect for operators:

• you can switch memory slot (memory-core ↔ memory-lancedb) without rebuilding your memory ledger pipeline
• you keep a stable local audit trail during migrations and incidents
• rollback remains one slot flip away

See detailed deployment patterns:

• docs/ecosystem-fit.md

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Dual-language memory (zh/en etc.)

# Store original text + optional English companion
uv run openclaw-mem store "偏好：發布前先跑整合測試" \
  --text-en "Preference: run integration tests before release" \
  --lang zh --category preference --importance 0.9 --json

# Build embeddings (original + English)
uv run openclaw-mem embed --field both --limit 500 --json

# Hybrid recall with optional EN assist query
uv run openclaw-mem hybrid "發布前流程" \
  --query-en "pre-release process" \
  --limit 5 --json

Design notes:

• docs/dual-language-memory-strategy.md

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OpenClaw plugin: auto-capture

The plugin lives at extensions/openclaw-mem.

Minimal config fragment for ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

{
  "plugins": {
    "entries": {
      "openclaw-mem": {
        "enabled": true,
        "config": {
          "outputPath": "~/.openclaw/memory/openclaw-mem-observations.jsonl",
          "captureMessage": false,
          "redactSensitive": true,
          "backendMode": "auto",
          "annotateMemoryTools": true
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Notes (important):

• The capture hook listens to tool results, not raw inbound chat messages.
• openclaw-mem plugin is a sidecar adapter (capture + annotations), not the canonical memory backend.
• Canonical memory tools depend on your active memory slot backend (e.g., memory-core vs memory-lancedb).
• For preferences/tasks that must be remembered reliably, use explicit writes via CLI (openclaw-mem store).

More detail:

• docs/auto-capture.md

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Deterministic triage (heartbeat-safe)

# 0: no new issues, 10: attention needed
uv run openclaw-mem triage --mode heartbeat --json

This is designed to be safe for heartbeat automation: fast, local, and deterministic.

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Obsidian (optional): turn memory into a “second brain”

If you like the "living knowledge graph" workflow (Hub & Spoke, graph view, daily notes), Obsidian is a great human-facing UI on top of the artifacts openclaw-mem produces.

• Guide: docs/obsidian.md

Documentation map

• QUICKSTART.md — 5-minute setup
• docs/importance-grading.md — importance grading schema + heuristic-v1 + tests
• docs/context-engineering-lessons.md — local-first context engineering patterns (Manus-aligned)
• docs/auto-capture.md — plugin setup + troubleshooting
• docs/deployment.md — timers/permissions/rotation/monitoring
• docs/privacy-export-rules.md — export safety rules
• docs/db-concurrency.md — WAL + lock guidance
• docs/dual-language-memory-strategy.md — current zh/en memory approach
• docs/rerank-poc-plan.md — hybrid post-retrieval rerank POC + A/B evaluation plan
• docs/obsidian.md — optional Obsidian adoption guide
• docs/v0.5.9-adapter-spec.md — minimal-risk adapter design for memory-core/memory-lancedb
• docs/ecosystem-fit.md — ownership boundaries + deployment patterns (memory-core/memory-lancedb + openclaw-mem)
• CHANGELOG.md — notable changes (Keep a Changelog)

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Acknowledgements

We are heavily inspired by the architecture ideas shared in thedotmack/claude-mem. We did not borrow code from that project, but we want to properly credit the contribution of publicly sharing a strong memory-layer design for agents.

• See: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.md

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License

Apache-2.0 (LICENSE).