Memory Keeper#

Core goal: After /new, the AI picks up exactly where you left off — no re-explaining needed.

Part 0: First-Run Initialization#

Trigger: memory/tasks.md exists but is empty.

1. Tell the user: "Your tasks.md is empty. Let me scan your recent work history and build your memory from scratch."
2. Read MEMORY.md + most recent session history ( openclaw sessions list --limit 1)
3. Extract in-progress tasks, statuses, next steps
4. Present to user for confirmation — never write without approval
5. On confirmation → write to memory/tasks.md
6. If nothing found → ask user what they're working on

Post-Install Setup (one-time)#

See references/install-snippets.md for the three things to set up:

1. Append memory management section to AGENTS.md
2. Append daily journal check to HEARTBEAT.md
3. Initialize memory/tasks.md

These three configs form a complete memory loop: HEARTBEAT.md creates journals, AGENTS.md restores context on startup, tasks.md persists work state.

Part 1: Task State#

See references/formats.md for format specs, quality bar for "Next", and the 3-file rule.

When to update tasks.md — trigger immediately, don't wait:

TriggerActionMilestone reached (version published, bug fixed, module done)Update status/next, or move to CompletedPause signal ("that's it", "pause", "done for today")Self-check gaps → fill → update Next → tell user "State saved"

Don't trigger for: Pure Q&A, reviewing files, discussing plans without executing.

Multiple in-progress tasks: List all on startup, let user choose. Don't auto-select.

Part 2: Daily Journal#

See references/formats.md for journal template and when-to-write triggers.

• Group by topic, not chronological
• Skip empty sections entirely
• Watch List is the most important section

Part 3: Project Index#

See references/formats.md for MEMORY.md entry format.

Update immediately after: project added/removed, version released, Git remote/path changed.

Part 4: Dream Consolidation#

Version check (every heartbeat)#

text

openclaw --version

Parse version as YYYY.M.R:

• >= 2026.4.8: OpenClaw has native Dreaming — use it instead

  • Check if native Dream is enabled: look for plugins.entries.memory-core.config.dreaming.enabled: true in openclaw.json, or run openclaw memory promote --dry-run (exit 0 = active)

  • Already enabled → skip our Part 4 entirely, no message

  • Not enabled:

    • Check for upgrade from old version: memory/dream-state.json exists AND lastDream != "2000-01-01"
    • Upgrade detected → tell user: "检测到你升级到了 2026.4.8+，建议开启原生 Dreaming（ /dreaming on）。开启后旧 Dream 状态文件会自动清理。"
    • Fresh install (no upgrade) → tell user once: "OpenClaw v2026.4.8+ has built-in Dreaming. You can enable it with /dreaming on in any session."
    • After user enables native Dreaming → delete memory/dream-state.json

  • Then skip our Part 4

• < 2026.4.8: use our built-in Dream consolidation (see references/dream-guide.md)

Trigger conditions (only for < 2026.4.8)#

Run during heartbeat when both are true:

• lastDream > 7 days ago
• sessionsSinceLastDream >= 3

For full details — four phases, drift correction, state file — see references/dream-guide.md.

Rules#

• Never record secrets, tokens, or credentials in tasks.md or journals
• Keep project index at the top of MEMORY.md for fast scanning
• Absolute dates only: always YYYY-MM-DD — never "next week", "tomorrow"
• Archive journals by age: move journals older than 30 days to memory/archive/; startup loads last 7 days only
• MEMORY.md under 200 lines: Dream consolidation handles trimming — never hard-truncate