Session Rename

Rename OpenClaw chat sessions by updating the session history store or calling the built-in sessions.rename backend path. Use when the user asks to rename, retitle, relabel, or rename the current or another OpenClaw session and no first-class chat tool exists for it.

Rename sessions by targeting the correct session_history.displayName record.

Quick rules

• Determine which OpenClaw instance owns the session before changing anything.
• Prefer the product path when available:
  • backend method: sessions.rename
  • storage field: session_history.displayName
• If the UI/browser path is unavailable, update the DB directly.
• Update only the intended row. Do not bulk-rename all rows for a sessionKey unless the user explicitly wants that.

How rename works in OpenClaw

The canonical storage is the SQLite table:

• table: session_history
• key: sessionId
• display field: displayName

Backend implementation:

• src/gateway/server-methods/sessions.ts → sessions.rename
• src/config/sessions/history-db.ts → updateSessionName(db, sessionId, name)

The backend ultimately runs SQL equivalent to:

sql

UPDATE session_history
SET displayName = ?, updatedAt = ?
WHERE sessionId = ?;

Workflow

1. Identify which instance owns the session.
2. Find the active row in that instance's history.db.
3. Prefer the row with:
   • matching sessionKey
   • status='active'
   • most recent updatedAt
4. Set displayName to the requested title.
5. Confirm by reading the updated row back.
6. Tell the user to refresh the Sessions view if the UI does not update immediately.

Direct DB rename pattern

Use a surgical SQLite update against the target instance's session history DB.

Typical query flow:

bash

python3 - <<'PY'
import sqlite3, time
p='/path/to/history.db'
conn=sqlite3.connect(p)
cur=conn.cursor()
row=cur.execute("select sessionId from session_history where sessionKey=? and status='active' order by updatedAt desc limit 1", ('agent:main:main',)).fetchone()
if not row:
    row=cur.execute("select sessionId from session_history where sessionKey=? order by updatedAt desc limit 1", ('agent:main:main',)).fetchone()
if not row:
    raise SystemExit('No session row found')
cur.execute(
    "update session_history set displayName=?, updatedAt=? where sessionId=?",
    ('New Session Title', int(time.time()*1000), row[0]),
)
conn.commit()
print(cur.execute("select sessionId, sessionKey, displayName, status from session_history where sessionId=?", (row[0],)).fetchone())
conn.close()
PY

Finding the right DB

Typical path shape:

text

~/.openclaw/agents/<agent-id>/sessions/history.db

If the location is unknown, search for SQLite DBs containing a session_history table before writing.

Safety notes

• Confirm the correct instance before writing.
• Do not overwrite labels in unrelated archived rows unless explicitly asked.
• Preserve sessionId; only change displayName and updatedAt.
• If multiple active candidates exist, inspect before writing.

UI caveat

A successful DB write may still require a UI refresh to show the new title. If the rename does not appear immediately, refresh the Sessions view or reconnect the UI.