OpenClaw Backup

Encrypted backup and restore for OpenClaw agents. Creates two-tier archives: cloud-safe operational backups plus optional age-encrypted secrets for local recovery. Use when setting up disaster recovery, backing up your agent, verifying backup integrity, restoring from backup, or pushing safe archives to GitHub.

Use this skill for backup, verify, restore, and disaster-recovery workflows for an OpenClaw workspace.

Use when

• setting up backup and restore for an OpenClaw agent or workspace
• creating a cloud-safe operational backup
• creating an encrypted secrets backup for local recovery
• verifying a backup set before trusting it
• dry-running or executing a restore
• pushing an operational backup archive to GitHub

Do not use when

• the user wants general file sync or generic backup advice unrelated to OpenClaw
• you only need a one-off copy of a few files
• secrets would be pushed or shared without encryption
• the restore target or archive path is unclear

Default workflow

1. Identify the job Choose one lane:

   • backup
   • verify
   • restore
   • push operational archive to GitHub
   • schedule / drill / pre-change snapshot

2. Start with the core path Use the main scripts first:

   • bash {baseDir}/scripts/backup.sh
   • bash {baseDir}/scripts/verify.sh --manifest <path>/manifest.json --archive <path>/backup.tar.gz
   • bash {baseDir}/scripts/restore.sh --manifest <path>/manifest.json --archive <path>/backup.tar.gz --dry-run
   • bash {baseDir}/scripts/push-to-github.sh --manifest <path>/manifest.json --archive <path>/backup.tar.gz

3. Keep the archive model straight Default to operational-only backups for cloud storage. Secrets are opt-in and must stay encrypted with age.

4. Use dry-run before restore Restore is high-blast-radius. Prefer --dry-run before a real restore.

5. Load references only as needed

   • references/restore-guide.md — full disaster recovery walkthrough
   • references/what-to-backup.md — file coverage and rationale
   • references/retention-policy.md — retention guidance
   • references/workflows.md — weekly verify, monthly drill, pre-change snapshot, CI

Archive model

Tier	Contents	Cloud safe?	Encrypted?
Operational	Workspace, redacted config, crons	Yes	No (no secrets)
Secrets	.env, agent auth profiles	No	Required (age)

Default: operational only. Secrets are opt-in via --include-secrets.

Prerequisites

• age for secrets encryption
• gh for GitHub push (optional)

Configuration

Set encryption via environment or flags:

export AGE_RECIPIENT="age1your_public_key"
export AGE_PASSPHRASE_FILE="/path/to/passphrase"

bash {baseDir}/scripts/backup.sh --include-secrets --age-recipient age1...

Safety rules

• Never push secrets unless they are encrypted
• Prefer verify before restore, and dry-run before live restore
• Treat restore as destructive until proven otherwise
• If paths or archive contents are ambiguous, stop and clarify

References

• {baseDir}/references/restore-guide.md
• {baseDir}/references/what-to-backup.md
• {baseDir}/references/retention-policy.md
• {baseDir}/references/workflows.md