openclaw-workspace

# OpenClaw Workspace Skill

## Overview

OpenClaw workspace files form the agent's "soul and memory" — they are injected into the system prompt on every turn (or on relevant turns), giving the agent its identity, behavioral rules, environmental knowledge, and long-term memory. Managing these files well is critical: bloat wastes tokens, redundancy creates confusion, and stale content leads to bad decisions.

**Token budget:** 20,000 chars per file, ~150,000 chars total across all bootstrap files.

## File Inventory

| File | Purpose | Loaded When | Sub-agents? |
|------|---------|-------------|-------------|
| `AGENTS.md` | Boot sequence, checklists, behavioral rules | Every turn (all agents) | Yes |
| `SOUL.md` | Persona, tone, values, continuity philosophy | Every turn (all agents) | Yes |
| `TOOLS.md` | Env-specific notes (SSH, TTS, cameras, devices) | On-demand reference (part of bootstrap set) | Yes |
| `USER.md` | Human profile, preferences, relationship context | Every turn (all agents) | Yes |
| `IDENTITY.md` | Name, emoji, avatar, self-description | Every turn | Yes |
| `HEARTBEAT.md` | Periodic check tasks and health routines | Every heartbeat turn | Depends |
| `BOOT.md` | Startup actions (requires `hooks.internal.enabled`) | On gateway startup | No |
| `BOOTSTRAP.md` | First-time onboarding script — delete after use | New workspaces only | No |
| `MEMORY.md` | Long-term curated facts and iron-law rules | Main sessions only | No |
| `memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md` | Daily session logs | Loaded per AGENTS.md boot sequence | No |
| `checklists/*.md` | Step-by-step ops guides | Referenced in AGENTS.md, loaded on demand | No |

**Security rule:** MEMORY.md must NEVER be loaded in group chats or sub-agent sessions — it contains private context that should not leak.

For full details on each file's design, anti-patterns, and section structure, see [references/workspace-files.md](references/workspace-files.md).

## Workspace Paths

| Path | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| `~/.openclaw/workspace/` | Default workspace for main agent |
| `~/.openclaw/workspace-<profile>/` | Per-profile workspace (multiple agents) |
| `~/.openclaw/workspace/vendor/OpenClaw-Memory/` | Vendor-managed base files (synced from upstream) |
| `~/.openclaw/workspace/checklists/` | Checklist files referenced from AGENTS.md |
| `~/.openclaw/workspace/memory/` | Daily session logs |
| `~/.openclaw/workspace/docs/` | On-demand documentation (NOT auto-loaded) |

Config key: `agents.defaults.workspace` or per-agent `agents.list[].workspace`.

## Workflow: Audit Existing Workspace

Use when workspace files may be bloated, stale, or redundant.

1. **Read all active files** — AGENTS.md, SOUL.md, TOOLS.md, USER.md, IDENTITY.md, HEARTBEAT.md, BOOT.md, MEMORY.md
2. **Check character counts:**
   ```bash
   wc -c ~/.openclaw/workspace/AGENTS.md
   wc -c ~/.openclaw/workspace/SOUL.md
   wc -c ~/.openclaw/workspace/TOOLS.md
   wc -c ~/.openclaw/workspace/USER.md
   wc -c ~/.openclaw/workspace/IDENTITY.md
   wc -c ~/.openclaw/workspace/MEMORY.md
   # Or all at once:
   wc -c ~/.openclaw/workspace/*.md
   ```
3. **Flag files over 10,000 chars** — prime candidates for trimming or offloading to `docs/`
4. **Check for redundancy** — same fact in SOUL.md and AGENTS.md? Same tool note in TOOLS.md and MEMORY.md?
5. **Check for staleness** — outdated SSH hosts, old tool names, deprecated rules, historical context that's no longer needed
6. **Check MEMORY.md discipline** — should contain curated facts, lessons learned, decisions, and critical rules — not raw session summaries or task-specific notes
7. **Propose targeted edits** — trim, move to docs/, or restructure

See [references/optimization-guide.md](references/optimization-guide.md) for specific optimization strategies.

## Workflow: Set Up New Workspace

Use when creating a workspace for a new agent from scratch.

**File creation order** (matters for boot sequence to work):

1. `SOUL.md` — persona and values first; everything else follows from identity
2. `AGENTS.md` — boot sequence, safety rules, checklist table
3. `IDENTITY.md` — name, emoji, avatar
4. `USER.md` — human profile and preferences (main agent only)
5. `TOOLS.md` — environment-specific notes (add as you discover env details)
6. `MEMORY.md` — start minimal; only truly universal iron laws
7. `HEARTBEAT.md` — periodic health checks (optional, add when needed)
8. `BOOT.md` — startup hooks (optional, only if `hooks.internal.enabled = true`)
9. `BOOTSTRAP.md` — first-run onboarding (optional; delete after first successful startup)

**Minimal viable workspace:** AGENTS.md + SOUL.md + TOOLS.md. Everything else is optional.

**BOOTSTRAP.md note:** If creating a BOOTSTRAP.md, include a self-deletion instruction at the end:
```
## Final Step
Delete this file: exec `rm ~/.openclaw/workspace/BOOTSTRAP.md`
```

## Workflow: Memory Distillation

Use periodically (weekly or monthly) to keep MEMORY.md lean.

1. **Read all recent daily logs:** `memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md` files from the past period
2. **Identify candidates for promotion to MEMORY.md:**
   - Rules violated more than once (recurring mistakes)
   - Hard-won discoveries that aren't in skills docs
   - Env-specific facts that should always be in context (not left to memory_search recall)
3. **Check what's already in MEMORY.md** — avoid duplicates
4. **Draft additions** — use iron-law format: concise, action-oriented, unambiguous
5. **Archive old daily logs** — move files older than 30 days to `memory/archive/` or delete
6. **Check MEMORY.md total size** — keep under 10,000 chars; if larger, review for rules that are now stable enough to move to a skill's SKILL.md instead

**Do NOT put in MEMORY.md:**
- Long narratives or session summaries
- Things already covered in skill docs
- Anything specific to a single past task
- Episodic or task-specific memories (store those via memory_search/SQLite instead)

## Workflow: Add or Update a Checklist

Use when adding a new high-risk operation type o