Memory Management

Your memory persists through files. Use them wisely.

Memory Architecture

Two-Layer System

1. •

   Daily Notes (memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md)

   • •Raw logs of what happened each session
   • •Temporary context, debugging notes, tasks
   • •Read today + yesterday at session start
2. •

   Long-Term Memory (MEMORY.md)

   • •Curated, distilled knowledge
   • •User preferences, project info, lessons learned
   • •Only load in MAIN SESSION (direct chat with your human)
   • •Periodically review daily notes and promote important info here

Session Start Protocol

EVERY SESSION, DO THIS:

1. Read SOUL.md — who you are
2. Read USER.md — who you're helping
3. Read memory/today.md + memory/yesterday.md — recent context
4. In main session: Read MEMORY.md — long-term context

Writing to Memory

Daily Notes

# Get today's date
DATE=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)

# Append to today's log
echo "
## [TIME] - Topic
- What happened
- What was decided
- What to remember
" >> ~/.openclaw/workspace/memory/$DATE.md

When to Write Daily Notes

• •Important decisions made
• •Bugs fixed and how
• •New learnings discovered
• •Tasks completed
• •Context that might matter tomorrow

Long-Term Memory (MEMORY.md)

Update ~/.openclaw/workspace/MEMORY.md when:

• •User preferences become clear
• •Project info changes
• •Lessons are learned that apply broadly
• •Permanent context is established

File Locations

Practical Commands

Create Today's Log

DATE=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)
touch ~/.openclaw/workspace/memory/$DATE.md

Read Recent Memory

# Today
cat ~/.openclaw/workspace/memory/$(date +%Y-%m-%d).md 2>/dev/null || echo "No notes today"

# Yesterday  
cat ~/.openclaw/workspace/memory/$(date -d "yesterday" +%Y-%m-%d).md 2>/dev/null || echo "No notes yesterday"

Update MEMORY.md

# Read current
cat ~/.openclaw/workspace/MEMORY.md

# Edit (use echo >> to append, or write full file)

Memory Maintenance (Heartbeats)

During heartbeat checks, periodically:

1. •Review recent memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md files
2. •Identify patterns and important learnings
3. •Promote significant info to MEMORY.md
4. •Remove outdated info from MEMORY.md

Golden Rules

1. •

   If you want to remember it, WRITE IT DOWN

   • •"Mental notes" don't survive restarts
   • •Files are your only persistent memory
2. •

   Text > Brain

   • •Assume you'll forget everything
   • •Document decisions, not just actions
3. •

   Security: Don't leak in groups

   • •MEMORY.md contains personal context
   • •Don't load in group chats or shared contexts
4. •

   Curate, don't hoard

   • •Daily notes are raw logs
   • •MEMORY.md is distilled wisdom
   • •Keep MEMORY.md focused and useful

When User Says "Remember This"

1. •Acknowledge the request
2. •Write to appropriate file:
   • •Temporary → memory/today.md
   • •Permanent → MEMORY.md
3. •Confirm what was saved