Clawdbot Backup

Backup and restore ClawdBot configuration, skills, commands, and settings. Sync across devices, version control with git, automate backups, and migrate to new machines.

Sebastian-Buitrag0@sebastian-buitrag0

Install

openclaw skills install @sebastian-buitrag0/clawdbot-backup

ClawdBot Backup Skill

Backup, restore, and sync your ClawdBot configuration across devices directly from Clawdbot.

Overview

This skill helps you:

Backup all ClawdBot data and settings
Restore from backups
Sync between multiple machines
Version control your configuration
Automate backup routines
Migrate to new devices

ClawdBot Directory Structure

Key Locations

text

~/.claude/                    # Main ClawdBot directory
├── settings.json             # Global settings
├── settings.local.json       # Local overrides (machine-specific)
├── projects.json             # Project configurations
├── skills/                   # Your custom skills
│   ├── skill-name/
│   │   ├── SKILL.md
│   │   └── supporting-files/
│   └── another-skill/
├── commands/                 # Custom slash commands (legacy)
│   └── command-name.md
├── contexts/                 # Saved contexts
├── templates/                # Response templates
└── mcp/                      # MCP server configurations
    └── servers.json

~/projects/                   # Your projects (optional backup)
├── project-1/
│   └── .claude/              # Project-specific config
│       ├── settings.json
│       └── skills/
└── project-2/

What to Backup

text

ESSENTIAL (Always backup):
✓ ~/.claude/skills/           # Custom skills
✓ ~/.claude/commands/         # Custom commands
✓ ~/.claude/settings.json     # Global settings
✓ ~/.claude/mcp/              # MCP configurations

RECOMMENDED (Usually backup):
✓ ~/.claude/contexts/         # Saved contexts
✓ ~/.claude/templates/        # Templates
✓ Project .claude/ folders    # Project configs

OPTIONAL (Case by case):
○ ~/.claude/settings.local.json  # Machine-specific
○ Cache directories              # Can be rebuilt
○ Log files                      # Usually not needed

Quick Backup Commands

Full Backup

bash

# Create timestamped backup
BACKUP_DIR="$HOME/clawdbot-backups"
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
BACKUP_NAME="clawdbot_backup_$TIMESTAMP"

mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"

tar -czvf "$BACKUP_DIR/$BACKUP_NAME.tar.gz" \
  -C "$HOME" \
  .claude/skills \
  .claude/commands \
  .claude/settings.json \
  .claude/mcp \
  .claude/contexts \
  .claude/templates \
  2>/dev/null

echo "Backup created: $BACKUP_DIR/$BACKUP_NAME.tar.gz"

Quick Skills-Only Backup

bash

# Backup just skills
tar -czvf ~/clawdbot_skills_$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz \
  -C "$HOME" .claude/skills .claude/commands

Restore from Backup

bash

# Restore full backup
BACKUP_FILE="$HOME/clawdbot-backups/clawdbot_backup_20260129.tar.gz"

# Preview contents first
tar -tzvf "$BACKUP_FILE"

# Restore (will overwrite existing)
tar -xzvf "$BACKUP_FILE" -C "$HOME"

echo "Restore complete!"

Backup Script

Full-Featured Backup Script

bash

#!/bin/bash
# clawdbot-backup.sh - Comprehensive ClawdBot backup tool

set -e

# Configuration
BACKUP_ROOT="${CLAWDBOT_BACKUP_DIR:-$HOME/clawdbot-backups}"
CLAUDE_DIR="$HOME/.claude"
MAX_BACKUPS=10  # Keep last N backups
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)

# Colors
RED='\033[0;31m'
GREEN='\033[0;32m'
YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
NC='\033[0m'

log_info() { echo -e "${GREEN}[INFO]${NC} $1"; }
log_warn() { echo -e "${YELLOW}[WARN]${NC} $1"; }
log_error() { echo -e "${RED}[ERROR]${NC} $1"; }

# Check if ClawdBot directory exists
check_claude_dir() {
    if [ ! -d "$CLAUDE_DIR" ]; then
        log_error "ClawdBot directory not found: $CLAUDE_DIR"
        exit 1
    fi
}

# Create backup
create_backup() {
    local backup_type="${1:-full}"
    local backup_name="clawdbot_${backup_type}_${TIMESTAMP}"
    local backup_path="$BACKUP_ROOT/$backup_name.tar.gz"
    
    mkdir -p "$BACKUP_ROOT"
    
    log_info "Creating $backup_type backup..."
    
    case $backup_type in
        full)
            tar -czvf "$backup_path" \
                -C "$HOME" \
                .claude/skills \
                .claude/commands \
                .claude/settings.json \
                .claude/settings.local.json \
                .claude/projects.json \
                .claude/mcp \
                .claude/contexts \
                .claude/templates \
                2>/dev/null || true
            ;;
        skills)
            tar -czvf "$backup_path" \
                -C "$HOME" \
                .claude/skills \
                .claude/commands \
                2>/dev/null || true
            ;;
        settings)
            tar -czvf "$backup_path" \
                -C "$HOME" \
                .claude/settings.json \
                .claude/settings.local.json \
                .claude/mcp \
                2>/dev/null || true
            ;;
        *)
            log_error "Unknown backup type: $backup_type"
            exit 1
            ;;
    esac
    
    if [ -f "$backup_path" ]; then
        local size=$(du -h "$backup_path" | cut -f1)
        log_info "Backup created: $backup_path ($size)"
    else
        log_error "Backup failed!"
        exit 1
    fi
}

# List backups
list_backups() {
    log_info "Available backups in $BACKUP_ROOT:"
    echo ""
    
    if [ -d "$BACKUP_ROOT" ]; then
        ls -lh "$BACKUP_ROOT"/*.tar.gz 2>/dev/null | \
            awk '{print $9, $5, $6, $7, $8}' || \
            echo "No backups found."
    else
        echo "Backup directory doesn't exist."
    fi
}

# Restore backup
restore_backup() {
    local backup_file="$1"
    
    if [ -z "$backup_file" ]; then
        log_error "Please specify backup file"
        list_backups
        exit 1
    fi
    
    if [ ! -f "$backup_file" ]; then
        # Try relative path in backup dir
        backup_file="$BACKUP_ROOT/$backup_file"
    fi
    
    if [ ! -f "$backup_file" ]; then
        log_error "Backup file not found: $backup_file"
        exit 1
    fi
    
    log_warn "This will overwrite existing configuration!"
    read -p "Continue? (y/N) " confirm
    
    if [ "$confirm" != "y" ] && [ "$confirm" != "Y" ]; then
        log_info "Restore cancelled."
        exit 0
    fi
    
    log_info "Restoring from: $backup_file"
    tar -xzvf "$backup_file" -C "$HOME"
    log_info "Restore complete!"
}

# Clean old backups
cleanup_backups() {
    log_info "Cleaning old backups (keeping last $MAX_BACKUPS)..."
    
    cd "$BACKUP_ROOT" 2>/dev/null || return
    
    local count=$(ls -1 *.tar.gz 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
    
    if [ "$count" -gt "$MAX_BACKUPS" ]; then
        local to_delete=$((count - MAX_BACKUPS))
        ls -1t *.tar.gz | tail -n "$to_delete" | xargs rm -v
        log_info "Removed $to_delete old backup(s)"
    else
        log_info "No cleanup needed ($count backups)"
    fi
}

# Show backup stats
show_stats() {
    log_info "ClawdBot Backup Statistics"
    echo ""
    
    echo "=== Directory Sizes ==="
    du -sh "$CLAUDE_DIR"/skills 2>/dev/null || echo "Skills: N/A"
    du -sh "$CLAUDE_DIR"/commands 2>/dev/null || echo "Commands: N/A"
    du -sh "$CLAUDE_DIR"/mcp 2>/dev/null || echo "MCP: N/A"
    du -sh "$CLAUDE_DIR" 2>/dev/null || echo "Total: N/A"
    
    echo ""
    echo "=== Skills Count ==="
    find "$CLAUDE_DIR/skills" -name "SKILL.md" 2>/dev/null | wc -l | xargs echo "Skills:"
    find "$CLAUDE_DIR/commands" -name "*.md" 2>/dev/null | wc -l | xargs echo "Commands:"
    
    echo ""
    echo "=== Backup Directory ==="
    if [ -d "$BACKUP_ROOT" ]; then
        du -sh "$BACKUP_ROOT"
        ls -1 "$BACKUP_ROOT"/*.tar.gz 2>/dev/null | wc -l | xargs echo "Backup files:"
    else
        echo "No backups yet"
    fi
}

# Usage
usage() {
    cat << EOF
ClawdBot Backup Tool

Usage: $(basename $0) <command> [options]

Commands:
    backup [type]   Create backup (types: full, skills, settings)
    restore <file>  Restore from backup file
    list            List available backups
    cleanup         Remove old backups (keep last $MAX_BACKUPS)
    stats           Show backup statistics
    help            Show this help

Examples:
    $(basename $0) backup              # Full backup
    $(basename $0) backup skills       # Skills only
    $(basename $0) restore latest.tar.gz
    $(basename $0) list
    $(basename $0) cleanup

Environment:
    CLAWDBOT_BACKUP_DIR    Backup directory (default: ~/clawdbot-backups)

EOF
}

# Main
main() {
    check_claude_dir
    
    case "${1:-help}" in
        backup)
            create_backup "${2:-full}"
            ;;
        restore)
            restore_backup "$2"
            ;;
        list)
            list_backups
            ;;
        cleanup)
            cleanup_backups
            ;;
        stats)
            show_stats
            ;;
        help|--help|-h)
            usage
            ;;
        *)
            log_error "Unknown command: $1"
            usage
            exit 1
            ;;
    esac
}

main "$@"

Save and Use

bash

# Save script
cat > ~/.local/bin/clawdbot-backup << 'SCRIPT'
# Paste script content here
SCRIPT

chmod +x ~/.local/bin/clawdbot-backup

# Usage
clawdbot-backup backup          # Full backup
clawdbot-backup backup skills   # Skills only
clawdbot-backup list            # List backups
clawdbot-backup restore <file>  # Restore

Git Version Control

Initialize Git Repo

bash

cd ~/.claude

# Initialize git
git init

# Create .gitignore
cat > .gitignore << 'EOF'
# Machine-specific settings
settings.local.json

# Cache and temp files
cache/
*.tmp
*.log

# Large files
*.tar.gz
*.zip

# Sensitive data (if any)
*.pem
*.key
credentials/
EOF

# Initial commit
git add .
git commit -m "Initial ClawdBot configuration backup"

Push to Remote

bash

# Add remote (GitHub, GitLab, etc)
git remote add origin git@github.com:username/clawdbot-config.git

# Push
git push -u origin main

Daily Workflow

bash

# After making changes to skills/settings
cd ~/.claude
git add .
git commit -m "Updated skill: trading-bot"
git push

Auto-Commit Script

bash

#!/bin/bash
# auto-commit-claude.sh - Auto commit changes

cd ~/.claude || exit 1

# Check for changes
if git diff --quiet && git diff --staged --quiet; then
    echo "No changes to commit"
    exit 0
fi

# Get changed files for commit message
CHANGED=$(git status --short | head -5 | awk '{print $2}' | tr '\n' ', ')

git add .
git commit -m "Auto-backup: $CHANGED ($(date +%Y-%m-%d))"
git push 2>/dev/null || echo "Push failed (offline?)"

Sync Between Devices

Method 1: Git Sync

bash

# On new device
git clone git@github.com:username/clawdbot-config.git ~/.claude

# Pull latest changes
cd ~/.claude && git pull

# Push local changes
cd ~/.claude && git add . && git commit -m "Update" && git push

Method 2: Rsync

bash

# Sync to remote server
rsync -avz --delete \
    ~/.claude/ \
    user@server:~/clawdbot-backup/

# Sync from remote server
rsync -avz --delete \
    user@server:~/clawdbot-backup/ \
    ~/.claude/

Method 3: Cloud Storage

bash

# Backup to cloud folder (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc)
CLOUD_DIR="$HOME/Dropbox/ClawdBot"

# Sync skills
rsync -avz ~/.claude/skills/ "$CLOUD_DIR/skills/"
rsync -avz ~/.claude/commands/ "$CLOUD_DIR/commands/"

# Copy settings
cp ~/.claude/settings.json "$CLOUD_DIR/"

Sync Script

bash

#!/bin/bash
# sync-clawdbot.sh - Sync ClawdBot config between devices

SYNC_DIR="${CLAWDBOT_SYNC_DIR:-$HOME/Dropbox/ClawdBot}"
CLAUDE_DIR="$HOME/.claude"

sync_to_cloud() {
    echo "Syncing to cloud..."
    mkdir -p "$SYNC_DIR"
    
    rsync -avz --delete "$CLAUDE_DIR/skills/" "$SYNC_DIR/skills/"
    rsync -avz --delete "$CLAUDE_DIR/commands/" "$SYNC_DIR/commands/"
    rsync -avz "$CLAUDE_DIR/mcp/" "$SYNC_DIR/mcp/" 2>/dev/null
    cp "$CLAUDE_DIR/settings.json" "$SYNC_DIR/" 2>/dev/null
    
    echo "Sync complete!"
}

sync_from_cloud() {
    echo "Syncing from cloud..."
    
    rsync -avz "$SYNC_DIR/skills/" "$CLAUDE_DIR/skills/"
    rsync -avz "$SYNC_DIR/commands/" "$CLAUDE_DIR/commands/"
    rsync -avz "$SYNC_DIR/mcp/" "$CLAUDE_DIR/mcp/" 2>/dev/null
    
    # Don't overwrite local settings by default
    if [ ! -f "$CLAUDE_DIR/settings.json" ]; then
        cp "$SYNC_DIR/settings.json" "$CLAUDE_DIR/" 2>/dev/null
    fi
    
    echo "Sync complete!"
}

case "$1" in
    push) sync_to_cloud ;;
    pull) sync_from_cloud ;;
    *)
        echo "Usage: $0 {push|pull}"
        echo "  push - Upload local config to cloud"
        echo "  pull - Download cloud config to local"
        ;;
esac

Automated Backups

Cron Job (Linux/Mac)

bash

# Edit crontab
crontab -e

# Add daily backup at 2 AM
0 2 * * * /home/user/.local/bin/clawdbot-backup backup full

# Add weekly cleanup on Sundays
0 3 * * 0 /home/user/.local/bin/clawdbot-backup cleanup

# Add git auto-commit every 6 hours
0 */6 * * * cd ~/.claude && git add . && git commit -m "Auto-backup $(date +\%Y-\%m-\%d)" && git push 2>/dev/null

Systemd Timer (Linux)

bash

# Create service: ~/.config/systemd/user/clawdbot-backup.service
cat > ~/.config/systemd/user/clawdbot-backup.service << 'EOF'
[Unit]
Description=ClawdBot Backup

[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=/home/user/.local/bin/clawdbot-backup backup full
EOF

# Create timer: ~/.config/systemd/user/clawdbot-backup.timer
cat > ~/.config/systemd/user/clawdbot-backup.timer << 'EOF'
[Unit]
Description=Daily ClawdBot Backup

[Timer]
OnCalendar=daily
Persistent=true

[Install]
WantedBy=timers.target
EOF

# Enable
systemctl --user enable clawdbot-backup.timer
systemctl --user start clawdbot-backup.timer

Launchd (macOS)

bash

# Create plist: ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.clawdbot.backup.plist
cat > ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.clawdbot.backup.plist << 'EOF'
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.clawdbot.backup</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>/Users/username/.local/bin/clawdbot-backup</string>
        <string>backup</string>
        <string>full</string>
    </array>
    <key>StartCalendarInterval</key>
    <dict>
        <key>Hour</key>
        <integer>2</integer>
        <key>Minute</key>
        <integer>0</integer>
    </dict>
</dict>
</plist>
EOF

# Load
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.clawdbot.backup.plist

Migration Guide

Migrate to New Machine

bash

# === On OLD machine ===

# 1. Create full backup
clawdbot-backup backup full

# 2. Copy backup file to new machine
scp ~/clawdbot-backups/clawdbot_full_*.tar.gz newmachine:~/

# Or use git
cd ~/.claude
git add . && git commit -m "Pre-migration backup"
git push


# === On NEW machine ===

# Method A: From backup file
tar -xzvf ~/clawdbot_full_*.tar.gz -C ~

# Method B: From git
git clone git@github.com:username/clawdbot-config.git ~/.claude

# 3. Verify
ls -la ~/.claude/skills/

Export Single Skill

bash

# Export one skill for sharing
SKILL_NAME="my-awesome-skill"
tar -czvf "${SKILL_NAME}.tar.gz" -C ~/.claude/skills "$SKILL_NAME"

# Import skill
tar -xzvf "${SKILL_NAME}.tar.gz" -C ~/.claude/skills/

Export All Skills for Sharing

bash

# Create shareable skills bundle (no personal settings)
tar -czvf clawdbot-skills-share.tar.gz \
    -C ~/.claude \
    skills \
    --exclude='*.local*' \
    --exclude='*personal*'

Backup Verification

Verify Backup Integrity

bash

# Test backup without extracting
tar -tzvf backup.tar.gz > /dev/null && echo "Backup OK" || echo "Backup CORRUPT"

# List contents
tar -tzvf backup.tar.gz

# Verify specific file exists
tar -tzvf backup.tar.gz | grep "skills/my-skill/SKILL.md"

Compare Backup to Current

bash

# Extract to temp dir
TEMP_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
tar -xzf backup.tar.gz -C "$TEMP_DIR"

# Compare
diff -rq ~/.claude/skills "$TEMP_DIR/.claude/skills"

# Cleanup
rm -rf "$TEMP_DIR"

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

bash

# Issue: Permission denied
chmod -R u+rw ~/.claude

# Issue: Backup too large
# Exclude cache and logs
tar --exclude='cache' --exclude='*.log' -czvf backup.tar.gz ~/.claude

# Issue: Restore overwrote settings
# Keep settings.local.json for machine-specific config
# It won't be overwritten if using proper backup

# Issue: Git conflicts after sync
cd ~/.claude
git stash
git pull
git stash pop
# Resolve conflicts manually if needed

Recovery from Corruption

bash

# If ~/.claude is corrupted

# 1. Move corrupted dir
mv ~/.claude ~/.claude.corrupted

# 2. Restore from backup
clawdbot-backup restore latest.tar.gz

# 3. Or restore from git
git clone git@github.com:username/clawdbot-config.git ~/.claude

# 4. Compare and recover anything missing
diff -rq ~/.claude ~/.claude.corrupted/

Quick Reference

Essential Commands

bash

# Backup
tar -czvf ~/clawdbot-backup.tar.gz -C ~ .claude/skills .claude/commands .claude/settings.json

# Restore
tar -xzvf ~/clawdbot-backup.tar.gz -C ~

# List backup contents
tar -tzvf ~/clawdbot-backup.tar.gz

# Git backup
cd ~/.claude && git add . && git commit -m "Backup" && git push

# Git restore
cd ~/.claude && git pull

Backup Checklist

text

Before major changes:
□ Create backup
□ Verify backup integrity
□ Note what you're changing

Regular maintenance:
□ Weekly full backup
□ Daily git commits (if using)
□ Monthly cleanup of old backups
□ Test restore procedure quarterly

Resources

Related Skills

text

- skill-creator - Create new skills
- mcp-builder - Configure MCP servers
- dotfiles - General dotfile management

Documentation

text

- ClawdBot Docs: docs.clawdbot.com
- Skills Guide: docs.clawdbot.com/skills
- MCP Setup: docs.clawdbot.com/mcp

Tip: Always test your backup restoration process before you actually need it. A backup you can't restore is worthless!

Clawdbot Backup

Install

ClawdBot Backup Skill

Overview

ClawdBot Directory Structure

Key Locations

What to Backup

Quick Backup Commands

Full Backup

Quick Skills-Only Backup

Restore from Backup

Backup Script

Full-Featured Backup Script

Save and Use

Git Version Control

Initialize Git Repo

Push to Remote

Daily Workflow

Auto-Commit Script

Sync Between Devices

Method 1: Git Sync

Method 2: Rsync

Method 3: Cloud Storage

Sync Script

Automated Backups

Cron Job (Linux/Mac)

Systemd Timer (Linux)

Launchd (macOS)

Migration Guide

Migrate to New Machine

Export Single Skill

Export All Skills for Sharing

Backup Verification

Verify Backup Integrity

Compare Backup to Current

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Recovery from Corruption

Quick Reference

Essential Commands

Backup Checklist

Resources

Related Skills

Documentation

Related skills