Install
openclaw skills install how-to-use-agentUse when improving an agent's own memory, skills, prompts, runtime rules, tool policies, AGENTS.md/agent.md files, or when adapting ideas from other agent pr...
openclaw skills install how-to-use-agentUse this skill to help an agent improve itself without turning self-modification into a reckless rewrite. The goal is durable learning: research becomes architecture, architecture becomes a small rollout, and the result becomes a manual the next agent can find.
Before changing agent-owned rule or memory surfaces, stop and ask the user for explicit approval.
Agent-owned surfaces include:
AGENTS.md, agent.md, .agent/AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, GEMINI.md,
QWEN.md, or equivalent agent instruction filesWhen approval is needed, show:
I need to modify agent-owned data.
Files/surfaces:
- ...
Why:
- ...
Risk:
- ...
Rollback:
- ...
Do you approve these changes?
Do not treat a vague "continue" as consent. Do not delete or rewrite memory without naming what will be lost.
external signal
-> source-level research
-> adaptation memo
-> architecture archive
-> ordered discussion
-> risk / reward review
-> progressive rollout
-> freeze adjacent systems
-> first small landing
-> verification
-> work manual
-> indexed archive path
Study external projects for patterns, not code to copy.
Return an adaptation memo:
If the change touches memory, tools, prompts, runtime behavior, startup, restart, routing, delegation, or persistence, treat it as architecture work.
Write an architecture note before implementation. It should include:
Do not implement every attractive idea at once. Walk the user through the plan one section or phase at a time.
Use direct language:
For risky agent changes, compare:
Prefer progressive rollout when old and new behavior can coexist or when rollback would be hard to reason about.
During a migration, pause unrelated work on neighboring systems. For example, if the task is changing tool routing, do not also redesign long-term memory unless it is required for the routing change.
Focus is a safety mechanism.
Implementation rules:
After landing a phase, write a short manual next to the architecture note.
Include:
The task is not complete when files are edited. It is complete when the next agent can find and reuse the result.
Closure checklist:
Deeply study [external project A] and [external project B].
Do not copy them directly. Extract what can improve our agent under our
current constraints.
If this is a major architecture change, archive the design first.
Then we will discuss it step by step.
Before implementing the most attractive option, compare direct switching
against progressive rollout. Name the risks and benefits.
During the migration, freeze adjacent subsystems unless this phase requires
touching them.
Start phase one. Reuse existing logic where possible. Be careful.
If you need to modify AGENTS.md, agent.md, memory, skills, prompt rules, or
other agent-owned data, explain the files, risk, and rollback first, then ask
for my approval.
After the change, write a work manual next to the architecture design so the
next agent can continue without rediscovering the plan.
AGENTS.md, memory, prompts, or skills without explicit consent.