OpenClaw Self Backup & Restore

Backup and restore OpenClaw agent configuration, skills, memory, and workspace files. Use when asked to "backup", "backup yourself", "create a restore point"...

Security Scan

The skill's code and instructions match its stated purpose (local backup and restore of the OpenClaw agent) and do not contain obvious network exfiltration or unrelated privileges, but it will collect sensitive files (API credentials, credential directories) so backups must be secured.

Purpose & Capability

Name/description say 'backup & restore OpenClaw agent state' and the scripts explicitly read and archive OpenClaw configuration, skills, memory, identity files and credential directories — all coherent with the stated purpose.

Instruction Scope

Instructions direct running the included Python scripts and optionally scheduling via OpenClaw cron. The scripts read many sensitive files (e.g., ~/.openclaw/.env, ~/.openclaw/credentials/) and create a local archive in ~/backups; this is expected for a full backup but is sensitive by design. The SKILL.md suggests using cron with '--announce --channel telegram', which could broadcast backup results depending on the cron system — the skill scripts themselves do not perform network calls or externally transmit archived data.

Install Mechanism

No install spec; skill is instruction-plus-scripts. The scripts are Python and run locally; nothing is downloaded from arbitrary URLs or installed automatically by the skill. Low installation risk.

Credentials

The skill requests no environment variables, which is consistent. However it explicitly includes API credential files and credential directories in backups, so it will aggregate secrets into local archives. This is proportionate for a backup tool but increases risk if backup storage is not protected or if cron/announce features broadcast status to external channels.

Persistence & Privilege

always is false and the skill does not request persistent elevated privileges or modify other skills. It operates on user files under the home directory and creates backups under ~/backups; no indication of modifying system-wide configs or other skills.

Assessment

This skill appears to do what it says: create and restore local backups of OpenClaw configuration, skills, memory and credential files. Before using it, consider the following: (1) Backups include sensitive data (e.g., ~/.openclaw/.env and credentials/) — store backups with strong filesystem permissions and/or encrypt them (e.g., gpg, age, encrypted archive). (2) If you enable automated cron/announce, verify what the OpenClaw cron 'announce' and channel behavior sends — avoid broadcasting secrets or full manifest to external channels. (3) Do a test restore on a disposable environment to confirm the restore flow and file ownerships/permissions. (4) Keep the backups directory (~/backups) on a secure volume; if you store backups off-host (cloud), use client-side encryption. (5) Avoid running restore as root; run as the same user to preserve expected paths. If you want stronger guarantees, ask the author for an option to encrypt backups or to exclude credential files by default.

Self Backup & Restore

Backup and restore your OpenClaw agent's complete state, including: configuration, skills, memory, and workspace files.

What Gets Backed Up

Category	Path	Priority
OpenClaw config	~/.openclaw/openclaw.json	⭐⭐⭐ Required
API credentials	~/.openclaw/.env	⭐⭐⭐ Required
Skills	~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/	⭐⭐⭐ Required
Memory files	~/.openclaw/workspace/memory/	⭐⭐⭐ Required
Identity files	MEMORY.md SOUL.md IDENTITY.md USER.md	⭐⭐⭐ Required
Config files	AGENTS.md TOOLS.md HEARTBEAT.md	⭐⭐ Important
Cron jobs	~/.openclaw/cron/jobs.json	⭐⭐ Important
Credentials	~/.openclaw/credentials/	⭐⭐ Important

What's NOT Backed Up

• ~/.openclaw/logs/ — logs, not needed
• ~/.openclaw/media/ — media cache, too large
• ~/.openclaw/workspace/.venv-*/ — Python envs, can be rebuilt
• ~/.openclaw/completions/ — history cache

---

Run Backup

python3 ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/self-backup/scripts/backup.py

Output: ~/backups/openclaw-backup-YYYY-MM-DD_HHMM.tar.gz

Run Restore

python3 ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/self-backup/scripts/restore.py ~/backups/openclaw-backup-YYYY-MM-DD_HHMM.tar.gz

List Backups

python3 ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/self-backup/scripts/backup.py --list

Setup Weekly Auto-Backup (via OpenClaw cron)

openclaw cron add \
  --name "weekly-self-backup" \
  --cron "0 2 * * 0" \
  --tz "Asia/Shanghai" \
  --message "Run backup: python3 ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/self-backup/scripts/backup.py and report result" \
  --session isolated \
  --announce \
  --channel telegram

---

After Restore: Rebuild Steps

1. Reinstall OpenClaw (fresh machine only)

   npm install -g openclaw
   

2. Restore backup

   python3 restore.py openclaw-backup-YYYY-MM-DD.tar.gz
   

3. Rebuild Python environment (not included in backup)

   cd ~/.openclaw/workspace
   python3 -m venv .venv-stock
   source .venv-stock/bin/activate
   pip install yfinance pandas numpy pandas-ta ta ddgs tavily-python requests beautifulsoup4
   

4. Re-login ClawHub

   clawhub auth login --token <YOUR_TOKEN> --no-browser
   

5. Verify

   openclaw status && openclaw doctor