Workspace Guardian

Enforce workspace structure, file placement, naming conventions, memory lifecycle, and safety for AI project organization and cleanup tasks.

Enforce workspace discipline — consistent structure, naming, memory lifecycle, and safety boundaries.

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Quick Reference

text

workspace/
├── projects/   YYYYNNNN_name     — source code only
├── knowledge/  topics|articles|research|assets — knowledge files only
├── output/     wechat|docs|slides|preview — final deliverables
├── memory/     YYYY-MM-DD.md → archive/ (14d+) — never deleted
├── logs/       run-time logs
├── .temp/      temporary files — delete after use
└── slides/     presentations

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Core Rules (6 Tenets)

1. System Files Stay Outside

No workspace files in OpenClaw's own directories (~/.openclaw/ except workspace/, ~/.openclaw/canvas/, etc.).

2. Workspace Is the Only Writable Zone

All AI-generated files → workspace/ subtree only. Never write to Desktop/, Downloads/, ~/, or system paths.

3. Scattered Files → Immediate Redirect

Any file not in its designated directory → move to correct location, not delete.

4. One Config Backup Only

Configuration or .json-based projects keep one archived/expired backup, not piles of timestamps.

5. Temp Files → Never Overnight

.temp/ files: delete after task completion. >7 days stale → cleanup on next session start.

6. Skills Source Separation

ClawHub-installed skills in skills/. User-built local skills also in skills/. No double installation.

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File Routing Rules

Content Type	Destination
Source code/projects	projects/YYYYNNNN_name/
Knowledge/research	`knowledge/topics
WeChat articles	output/wechat/
Word/PDF docs	output/docs/
Presentations	output/slides/
Preview files	output/preview/ (delete after publish)
Daily logs	memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md
Temp work	.temp/temp_* (delete after use)

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Naming Standards

Rule	Pattern
Project dirs	YYYYNNNN_project-name
Output files	{description}_v1|v2|final.{ext}
Avoid	spaces, Chinese characters in dir names
Use	- (hyphen) as separator
Temp files	temp_{description}_{uuid}.{ext}

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Authorization Levels

Level	Action
✅ Autonomous	File reads, scheduling, memory updates, knowledge base management
⚠️ Need Auth	External sends (email/social), destructive ops (delete/move/cleanup), sub-agent creation
🚫 Never	System security changes, private data leaks, impersonation

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Red Lines

• No private data leaks
• No destructive commands without explicit confirmation
• No external sends without authorization
• No safety settings modification

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Scripts

• scripts/workspace-cleanup.py — Scan and clean temp/stale files
• scripts/validate-workspace.py — Validate workspace structure against these rules

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References

• references/naming-conventions.md — Detailed naming rules
• references/memory-tiering.md — Memory lifecycle management
• references/safety-boundaries.md — Detailed safety rules