Clawdbot Update Skill
Comprehensive backup, update, and restore workflow for Clawdbot installations.
Repository
- •GitHub: https://github.com/clawdbot/clawdbot
- •Upstream:
origin/main - •Local Clone:
~/code/clawdbot(default)
Description
This skill provides a complete, modular update workflow for Clawdbot with dynamic workspace detection:
- •Configuration files
- •Agent states and sessions
- •Credentials and auth tokens
- •All agent workspaces (auto-detected from config)
- •Cron jobs and sandboxes
- •Git repository state
Key Features
✅ Dynamic Workspace Detection - Reads workspace paths from config
✅ Multi-Agent Support - Handles multiple agents automatically
✅ Safe Rollback - Full restore capability
✅ Git Integration - Tracks versions and remotes
✅ Validation - Pre/post checks included
✅ Dry Run - Preview before backup
Files
- •
config.json- Skill configuration (repo URLs, paths) - •
backup-clawdbot-dryrun.sh- Dry run preview (no changes) - •
backup-clawdbot-full.sh- Dynamic full backup script - •
restore-clawdbot.sh- Dynamic restore script - •
validate-setup.sh- Pre/post update validation - •
check-upstream.sh- Check for available updates - •
UPDATE_CHECKLIST.md- Step-by-step update checklist - •
QUICK_REFERENCE.md- Quick command reference - •
SKILL.md- This file - •
README.md- Quick start guide
Dynamic Features
Both backup and restore scripts now:
- •Read workspace paths from
~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json - •Support any number of agents
- •Handle missing workspaces gracefully
- •Generate safe filenames from agent IDs
When to Use
Trigger this skill when asked to:
- •"update clawdbot"
- •"upgrade to latest version"
- •"backup clawdbot before update"
- •"restore clawdbot from backup"
- •"rollback clawdbot update"
Usage
1. Preview Backup (Dry Run)
~/.skills/clawdbot-update/backup-clawdbot-dryrun.sh
Shows:
- •What files would be backed up
- •Estimated backup size
- •Workspace detection results
- •Disk space availability
- •Files that would be skipped
No files are created or modified!
2. Create Full Backup
~/.skills/clawdbot-update/backup-clawdbot-full.sh
Backs up:
- •
~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json(config) - •
~/.clawdbot/sessions/(session state) - •
~/.clawdbot/agents/(multi-agent state) - •
~/.clawdbot/credentials/(auth tokens) - •
~/.clawdbot/cron/(scheduled jobs) - •
~/.clawdbot/sandboxes/(sandbox state) - •All agent workspaces (dynamically detected!)
- •Git commit and status
Output: ~/.clawdbot-backups/pre-update-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS/
3. Update Clawdbot
Follow the checklist:
cat ~/.skills/clawdbot-update/UPDATE_CHECKLIST.md
Key steps:
- •Create backup
- •Stop gateway
- •Pull latest code
- •Adjust config for breaking changes
- •Run doctor
- •Test functionality
- •Start gateway as daemon
4. Restore from Backup
~/.skills/clawdbot-update/restore-clawdbot.sh ~/.clawdbot-backups/pre-update-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS
Restores:
- •All configuration
- •All state files
- •All workspaces
- •Optionally: git version
Important Notes
Multi-Agent Setup
This skill is designed for multi-agent setups with:
- •Multiple agents with separate workspaces
- •Sandbox configurations
- •Provider routing (WhatsApp/Telegram/Discord/Slack/etc.)
Breaking Changes in v2026.1.8
CRITICAL:
- •DM Lockdown: DMs now default to
pairingpolicy instead of open - •Groups:
telegram.groupsandwhatsapp.groupsare now allowlists - •Sandbox: Default scope changed to
"agent"from implicit - •Timestamps: Now UTC format in agent envelopes
Backup Validation
After backup, always verify:
BACKUP_DIR=~/.clawdbot-backups/pre-update-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS cat "$BACKUP_DIR/BACKUP_INFO.txt" ls -lh "$BACKUP_DIR"
Should contain:
- •✅
clawdbot.json - •✅
credentials.tar.gz - •✅
workspace-*.tar.gz(one per agent)
Config Changes Required
Example: Switch WhatsApp to pairing:
jq '.whatsapp.dmPolicy = "pairing"' ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json | sponge ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json
Example: Set explicit sandbox scope:
jq '.agent.sandbox.scope = "agent"' ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json | sponge ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json
Workflow
Standard Update Flow
# 1. Check for updates ~/.skills/clawdbot-update/check-upstream.sh # 2. Validate current setup ~/.skills/clawdbot-update/validate-setup.sh # 3. Dry run ~/.skills/clawdbot-update/backup-clawdbot-dryrun.sh # 4. Backup ~/.skills/clawdbot-update/backup-clawdbot-full.sh # 5. Stop gateway cd ~/code/clawdbot pnpm clawdbot gateway stop # 6. Update code git checkout main git pull --rebase origin main pnpm install pnpm build # 7. Run doctor pnpm clawdbot doctor --yes # 8. Test pnpm clawdbot gateway start # foreground for testing # 9. Deploy pnpm clawdbot gateway stop pnpm clawdbot gateway start --daemon
Rollback Flow
# Quick rollback ~/.skills/clawdbot-update/restore-clawdbot.sh <backup-dir> # Manual rollback cd ~/code/clawdbot git checkout <old-commit> pnpm install && pnpm build cp <backup-dir>/clawdbot.json ~/.clawdbot/ pnpm clawdbot gateway restart
Testing After Update
Functionality Tests
- • Provider DMs work (check pairing policy)
- • Group mentions respond
- • Typing indicators work
- • Agent routing works
- • Sandbox isolation works
- • Tool restrictions enforced
New Features
pnpm clawdbot agents list pnpm clawdbot logs --tail 50 pnpm clawdbot providers list --usage pnpm clawdbot skills list
Monitoring
# Live logs pnpm clawdbot logs --follow # Or Web UI open http://localhost:3001/logs # Check status pnpm clawdbot status pnpm clawdbot gateway status
Troubleshooting
Common Issues
Gateway won't start:
pnpm clawdbot logs --grep error pnpm clawdbot doctor
Auth errors:
# OAuth profiles might need re-login pnpm clawdbot providers login <provider>
Sandbox issues:
# Check sandbox config
jq '.agent.sandbox' ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json
# Check per-agent sandbox
jq '.routing.agents[] | {name, sandbox}' ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json
Emergency Restore
If something goes wrong:
# 1. Stop gateway pnpm clawdbot gateway stop # 2. Full restore LATEST_BACKUP=$(ls -t ~/.clawdbot-backups/ | head -1) ~/.skills/clawdbot-update/restore-clawdbot.sh ~/.clawdbot-backups/$LATEST_BACKUP # 3. Restart pnpm clawdbot gateway start
Installation
Via ClawdHub
clawdbot skills install clawdbot-update
Manual
git clone <repo-url> ~/.skills/clawdbot-update chmod +x ~/.skills/clawdbot-update/*.sh
License
MIT - see LICENSE
Author
Pascal Schott (@pasogott)
Contribution for Clawdbot
https://github.com/clawdbot/clawdbot