OpenClaw Backup & Restore — Encrypted OpenClaw Snapshots

Backup and restore the .openclaw agent folder — encrypted snapshots pushed to a private GitHub repo. Use this skill whenever the user mentions backup, restor...

Snapshot — OpenClaw Backup & Restore

Encrypted backup and restore for the ~/.openclaw agent folder.
Backups are GPG-encrypted, chunked for GitHub's 100MB file limit, and pushed to a private repo.

How it works

• backup — tar.gz → GPG encrypt → split into ≤95MB chunks → push to GitHub
• restore — clone repo → pick version → reassemble chunks → verify checksum → decrypt → extract
• setup — install GPG, clone/init the GitHub transport repo

Each backup version lives in its own folder with a manifest:

backups/openclaw-{timestamp}/
├── manifest.json
├── part-000.gpg
├── part-001.gpg
└── ...

Last 10 backups are kept; older ones are auto-deleted.

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Prerequisites

Before running any command, verify:

1. GPG is installed. If not: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y gnupg gpg-agent
2. Credentials are configured (see below)
3. Setup has been run at least once on this workspace: python3 scripts/setup.py

Providing credentials

The scripts need these values: BACKUP_PASSWORD, GITHUB_PAT, GITHUB_USERNAME, and optionally REPO_NAME (defaults to openclaw-transport).

Provide them via any of these methods (checked in this order):

1. OpenClaw's env file (recommended): Add to ~/.openclaw/.env:

   BACKUP_PASSWORD=your-strong-password
   GITHUB_PAT=ghp_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
   GITHUB_USERNAME=YourGitHubUsername
   REPO_NAME=openclaw-transport
   

   Then in openclaw.json, just enable the skill:

   "skills": { "entries": { "snapshot": { "enabled": true } } }
   

2. Skill-local env file: Copy env-example.txt to .env in this skill's directory and fill in values. Useful for standalone usage outside OpenClaw.

3. Shell environment: Export the variables in your shell profile.

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Commands

All scripts live in the scripts/ subdirectory of this skill.

Take a backup

python3 <skill-path>/scripts/backup.py

Non-interactive. Compresses, encrypts, chunks if needed, pushes to GitHub.
Auto-deletes versions older than the most recent 10.

Restore a backup

# Restore the latest version (non-interactive, best for AI agents)
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/restore.py --latest

# Restore a specific version by timestamp
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/restore.py --version 20260227-120000

# List available versions without restoring
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/restore.py --list

# Interactive mode (prompts user to pick — use only in human-attended sessions)
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/restore.py

Run setup (first time or new workspace)

python3 <skill-path>/scripts/setup.py

Safe to run multiple times. Installs GPG if missing, clones or syncs the transport repo.

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Typical workflows

Always run setup.py before backup or restore. It's idempotent (safe to run every time) and ensures GPG is installed, the transport repo exists, and the local repo is synced with GitHub. This prevents issues like missing repos, stale local state, or remotely deleted backups not being reflected locally.

"Back up my agent"

1. Run python3 <skill-path>/scripts/setup.py
2. Run python3 <skill-path>/scripts/backup.py
3. Report the timestamp and size to the user

"Restore my agent" or "Load the latest backup"

1. Run python3 <skill-path>/scripts/setup.py
2. Run python3 <skill-path>/scripts/restore.py --latest
3. Tell the user it's done and suggest restarting: openclaw gateway restart

"Show me available backups"

1. Run python3 <skill-path>/scripts/setup.py
2. Run python3 <skill-path>/scripts/restore.py --list
3. Present the version list to the user

"Set up backups on this new workspace"

1. Confirm the user has a .env file with credentials (help them create one from env-example.txt if not)
2. Run python3 <skill-path>/scripts/setup.py

"Restore a specific version"

1. Run python3 <skill-path>/scripts/setup.py
2. Run python3 <skill-path>/scripts/restore.py --list to show available versions
3. Ask the user which timestamp they want
4. Run python3 <skill-path>/scripts/restore.py --version <timestamp>

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Important notes

• All .env files are excluded from backups — both ~/.openclaw/.env (OpenClaw root secrets) and the skill's own .env. Credentials never end up in encrypted archives.
• The transport repo (~/openclaw-transport/) lives outside .openclaw and is not backed up.
• The skill scripts themselves are backed up as part of .openclaw.
• WhatsApp sessions are excluded (workspace-specific). User must reconnect after restore.
• After restoring, the user should restart their agent: openclaw gateway restart