OpenClaw Dream

Automatic memory consolidation for OpenClaw agents. Cleans, deduplicates, and organizes memory files (MEMORY.md + memory/*.md) like human REM sleep consolida...

Security Scan

The skill's code and runtime instructions are internally consistent with its stated purpose (consolidating local memory files); it reads and updates only memory files and generates logs, with no unrelated credential requests or remote downloads.

Purpose & Capability

Name/description match behavior: SKILL.md, README and scripts focus on scanning memory/*.md, MEMORY.md and self-improving JSONL and updating MEMORY.md/dream-log and .last_dream. No unrelated credentials, binaries, or install steps are requested.

Instruction Scope

Instructions explicitly read and modify memory files, rebuild a local index (openclaw memory index), and write a dream-log. Safety rules state not to touch source code or delete daily notes. One minor mismatch: design.md mentions session transcript JSONL as a possible data source, but SKILL.md and scripts do not instruct reading session transcripts by default.

Install Mechanism

Instruction-only skill with one small shell helper script (dream-check.sh). No install spec or remote downloads; no archives or third-party package installs declared.

Credentials

No required environment variables, no credentials, and no config paths requested. The skill operates on workspace files located under the user workspace; requested access is proportional to the stated functionality.

Persistence & Privilege

always:false and user-invocable:true. The skill spawns a sub-agent for background work (sessions_spawn) which is consistent with its design. Autonomous invocation is allowed by default for skills on the platform, but here it is not given elevated always-on privileges.

Assessment

This skill appears coherent and limited to local memory consolidation, but take these precautions before installing or enabling automatic runs: (1) Backup your MEMORY.md and memory/ directory so you can recover if edits are unexpected. (2) Run the included preflight script (bash skills/openclaw-dream/scripts/dream-check.sh) to see what it would operate on. (3) Prefer a dry-run or manual invocation first — SKILL.md describes rules but I did not find an implemented dry-run enforcement. (4) Confirm you are comfortable with the agent sending memory file contents to the model during analysis (the sub-agent will read your memory files and may transmit their contents to the model provider), which could expose sensitive data. (5) Verify the skill source (README suggests a GitHub repo) before cloning or trusting future updates. (6) If you have platform-wide secrets or source code in the workspace, ensure those files are not stored in memory/ or MEMORY.md; the skill promises not to touch source files but you should validate that by inspection. If you want higher assurance, inspect and run the skill in an isolated workspace and check generated dream-log before allowing automatic cron schedules.

Automatic memory consolidation — turn scattered daily notes into clean, organized long-term memory.

Overview

Memory files accumulate noise over time: relative dates lose meaning, contradictory entries confuse the agent, duplicates waste context, and stale information causes hallucinations. Dream fixes this by running a structured consolidation pass.

When to Run

• Manual: User says "dream", "整理记忆", "consolidate memory"
• Cron: Schedule via openclaw cron add for daily execution (recommended: 3-4 AM)
• Heartbeat: Add to HEARTBEAT.md as a periodic task (every 3-5 days)
• Condition check: Only run if memory/.last_dream is older than 24h AND new daily notes exist since last dream

Execution

Always run as a sub-agent to avoid blocking the main session:

sessions_spawn:
  task: "Run openclaw-dream consolidation. Read the skill at skills/openclaw-dream/SKILL.md first."
  mode: run
  model: sonnet  # use a cheaper model

For manual triggers in the main session, spawn the sub-agent, reply to user "开始整理记忆，稍后汇报结果", then yield.

Four-Phase Consolidation

Phase 1: Scan

1. Read MEMORY.md — note current line count, section headers, last-updated date
2. Read all memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md files from the last 14 days
3. Read memory/self-improving/*.jsonl if it exists (error/correction/best_practice/decision logs)
4. Read .last_dream timestamp to know what's already been processed
5. Build a mental map: what topics exist, what's fresh, what's stale

Phase 2: Analyze

Scan all content for these problems:

Relative dates — Find phrases like "yesterday", "today", "last week", "recently", "刚才", "昨天", "上周". Cross-reference with the file's date to compute the absolute date.

Contradictions — Same topic with conflicting conclusions across different files. Examples:

• "API uses Express" in one file, "migrated to Fastify" in another
• Different pricing numbers for the same product on different dates

Duplicates — Same fact recorded in multiple daily notes. Example:

• Three different files all note the same build command or deployment step

Stale entries — Information about things that no longer exist:

• References to deleted files or deprecated APIs
• Completed tasks still marked as "in progress"
• Resolved issues still listed as open

Unprocessed JSONL patterns — High-frequency errors or corrections in self-improving logs that should become rules in MEMORY.md

Important events not yet in MEMORY.md — Significant decisions, lessons, or changes in daily notes that deserve long-term retention

Phase 3: Consolidate

Execute fixes in this order:

1. Date absolutization: Replace relative dates with absolute dates

   • "Yesterday we decided X" (in 2026-03-15.md) → "2026-03-14: decided X"
   • Preserve the original meaning; only change the date reference

2. Contradiction resolution: Keep the most recent entry, remove or mark the old one

   • Add [superseded by YYYY-MM-DD] to the old entry if in a daily note
   • In MEMORY.md, simply update to the latest fact

3. Duplicate merging: Consolidate into one canonical entry

   • Keep the most complete/detailed version
   • Note the date range if relevant ("first noted YYYY-MM-DD")

4. Stale cleanup: Remove or archive entries about things that no longer exist

   • Mark completed projects as done with completion date
   • Remove references to deleted files/configs

5. JSONL distillation: Extract patterns from self-improving logs

   • Errors appearing ≥2 times → add rule to MEMORY.md "经验教训" section
   • Important decisions → add to appropriate MEMORY.md section
   • Update memory/self-improving/.last_distill timestamp

6. Daily notes → MEMORY.md promotion: Identify significant items worth keeping long-term

   • Major decisions, architectural changes, new integrations
   • People/relationships updates
   • Lessons learned
   • Do NOT promote routine operational logs

Phase 4: Write

1. Update MEMORY.md:

   • Apply all changes from Phase 3
   • Keep total line count under 250 lines (warn if approaching)
   • Update the *最后更新* date at the bottom
   • Preserve existing section structure (don't reorganize unless necessary)

2. Rebuild vector index:

   openclaw memory index --force
   

3. Generate dream log at memory/dream-log-YYYY-MM-DD.md:

   # Dream Log YYYY-MM-DD
   
   ## Changes Made
   - [date-fix] 3 relative dates converted to absolute
   - [contradiction] Removed stale Express reference (superseded by Fastify migration)
   - [duplicate] Merged 2 duplicate build command entries
   - [stale] Marked ChatClaw Phase 2 as completed
   - [promote] Added RhinoRank order tracking to MEMORY.md
   - [distill] Added 1 new rule from error logs
   
   ## MEMORY.md Stats
   - Lines: 119 → 128
   - Sections: 8 (unchanged)
   
   ## Skipped
   - 5 daily notes with only routine operational logs (no action needed)
   

4. Update timestamp:

   date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ > memory/.last_dream
   

Safety Rules

• Never delete daily note files — only modify MEMORY.md and generate dream-log
• Never modify source code, configs, or non-memory files
• Preserve all 📌 pinned entries in MEMORY.md (lines starting with 📌 are never removed)
• When uncertain about a contradiction, keep both entries and flag in dream-log as "needs human review"
• Dream-log is append-only — never modify past dream logs

Configuration

Users can create DREAM.md in workspace root to customize behavior:

# DREAM.md

## Settings
- max_memory_lines: 250
- lookback_days: 14
- min_hours_between_dreams: 24

## Protected Sections
<!-- These MEMORY.md sections are never auto-pruned -->
- 经验教训
- 关于 River
- Agent 网络

## Custom Rules
<!-- Additional consolidation rules -->
- Always keep pricing/billing related entries
- Merge duplicate API endpoint references

If DREAM.md doesn't exist, use defaults above.

Cron Setup Example

openclaw cron add \
  --id dream-nightly \
  --schedule "0 3 * * *" \
  --task "Run openclaw-dream memory consolidation. Read skills/openclaw-dream/SKILL.md and follow Phase 1-4." \
  --model sonnet \
  --isolated