TELOS — Telic Evolution and Life Operating System#

User's personal life OS. 20-file system capturing who they are across missions, goals, beliefs, challenges, and wisdom. Read at session start. Updated through guided workflows.

Data Location#

• User data: $OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE/telos/ (defaults to ~/openclaw/telos/, never committed to git)
• Templates: assets/templates/ in this skill (20 files)
• References: references/onboarding.md, references/update-workflow.md

Context Loading#

Two modes depending on setup:

• With hook ( hooks/telos-context.js installed): MISSION.md + GOALS.md + BELIEFS.md are automatically pre-loaded at session start via agent:bootstrap. Additional files are injected on-demand when relevant topics are detected in your messages. This grants the hook persistent, automatic behavior — only install if you want this.
• Without hook (default): Files are loaded on-demand only — the AI reads SKILL.md instructions and loads the relevant files based on the context. Nothing is auto-injected.

⚠️ Persistence note: Installing the hook enables automatic context injection at every session start. This is intentional behavior — opt in only if you want TELOS context always available.

File Index#

Use this index to decide which files to read. Each file captures a different dimension of the user's life context:

FileContainsLoad when the conversation touches...MISSION.mdM# — ultimate life purposesdirection, meaning, "why am I doing this", major decisionsGOALS.mdG# — specific objectives with timelinesplanning, priorities, "should I do X", progress, deadlinesBELIEFS.mdB# — core convictions guiding decisionsvalues, principles, "what do you think about", worldviewCHALLENGES.mdC# — current obstaclesfrustration, being stuck, blockers, "I can't seem to"STRATEGIES.mdS# — approaches to challenges/goalshow to tackle something, methodology, "what's my plan for"PROBLEMS.mdP# — problems in the world to solveentrepreneurship, impact, "what problem should I work on"PROJECTS.mdActive initiativeswork, side projects, "what am I working on"NARRATIVES.mdN# — talking points, self-storypitching, introducing yourself, "how do I explain what I do"FRAMES.mdFR# — mental perspectivesreframing, alternative viewpoints, "how should I think about"MODELS.mdMO# — how things workdecision-making, analysis, cause-and-effect reasoningPREDICTIONS.mdFuture bets with confidence levelsforecasting, trends, "what do you think will happen"WISDOM.mdAccumulated principles and quotesadvice, life lessons, "what's your take on"LEARNED.mdSpecific lessons from experiencereflecting, "what have I learned about", mistakes madeWRONG.mdThings the user was wrong aboutintellectual humility, updating beliefs, "I changed my mind"BOOKS.mdInfluential booksreading, recommendations, "what should I read"MOVIES.mdInfluential filmsmedia, culture, recommendationsTRAUMAS.mdTR# — formative experiencesdeep personal context, patterns, "why do I always"IDEAS.mdI# — ideas worth capturingbrainstorming, "I just thought of", creative explorationSTATUS.mdCurrent life snapshot"where am I right now", life audit, quarterly reviewTELOS.mdMaster overview with all sections"show me my telos", full context needed, onboarding

Loading Rules#

1. Check if ~/clawd/telos/ exists. If not, skip silently.
2. Read the user's message. Identify which life dimensions it touches (use the "Load when" column).
3. Read only those files. Usually 1-3 files, rarely more than 4.
4. Absorb silently — use the context to inform your response without announcing it.
5. If a file is empty (only template content), skip it.
6. For major life decisions, load the core trio: MISSION.md + GOALS.md + BELIEFS.md.
7. If no telos directory exists and the user asks about personal topics, suggest "setup telos."

The goal: every response to a personal question should be informed by the user's own stated values, not generic advice. But unrelated conversations (coding, factual questions, etc.) should not trigger any telos loading.

Trigger → Action Map#

TriggerAction"setup telos" / "telos onboarding" / "引导我填"Run bun {baseDir}/scripts/init-telos.ts then see references/onboarding.md"update telos" / "add to telos"Run update script (see below) — respond conversationally, not mechanically"add book [title]"Acknowledge the book, reflect on the insight, then append to BOOKS.md"learned [X]" / "add to learned"Engage with the lesson first, then append to LEARNED.md"add to wisdom"Discuss the principle, then append to WISDOM.md"telos status"Read + summarize STATUS.md"my goals / beliefs / missions"Read relevant file, respond in context"I was wrong about [X]"Append to WRONG.md with date + lesson"backup telos"Run bun {baseDir}/scripts/backup-telos.ts backup"restore telos" / "restore telos from [name]"Run bun {baseDir}/scripts/backup-telos.ts restore <name>"list telos backups" / "telos snapshots"Run bun {baseDir}/scripts/backup-telos.ts list"telos history [file]" / "show beliefs history"Run bun {baseDir}/scripts/backup-telos.ts history <file>"restore beliefs from [version]"Run bun {baseDir}/scripts/backup-telos.ts restore-file <file> <ver>

Personal Analysis Context#

When user asks about personal decisions, investments, career, relationships, life priorities, or strategy — always check telos first:

1. If telos files exist → read relevant sections before responding
2. Frame advice against their Goals (G#) and Beliefs (B#)
3. Flag if a suggested action conflicts with their stated Missions (M#)
4. Reference their Challenges (C#) and Strategies (S#) when relevant

Example: user asks "should I take this opportunity?" → read M#, G#, B# → advise through that lens.

Numbering System#

M# Missions · G# Goals · C# Challenges · S# Strategies · B# Beliefs · FR# Frames · MO# Models · N# Narratives · P# Problems · TR# Traumas · I# Ideas

Hierarchy: M → G ← (blocked by) C ← (solved by) S | B guides all | P drives G

Update Workflow#

When updating telos, the conversation matters as much as the data. Follow this order:

1. Engage first — Acknowledge what the user shared. Reflect on the insight, ask a follow-up, or connect it to their existing telos context. This is a life framework, not a database — treat additions as meaningful moments.
2. Execute — Run the update script: bun {baseDir}/scripts/update-telos.ts <file> "<content>" "<description>"
3. Confirm briefly — Mention it's backed up and logged. Don't dump execution logs.
4. Suggest connections — After adding to one file, suggest related files that might benefit. ("This connects to your B0 about compounding — want to add a related strategy?")

Full format rules: references/update-workflow.md

The tone should feel like a thoughtful conversation partner recording insights together, not a CLI tool reporting status.

OpenClaw Hook Integration#

For deeper integration, the skill includes a hook that automatically injects TELOS context into conversations:

What it does:

• Session start ( agent:bootstrap): Loads MISSION.md + GOALS.md + BELIEFS.md so the AI knows your core context from the first message
• Every message ( message:preprocessed): Detects personal topics (career, decisions, investments, etc.) and injects only the relevant TELOS files before the AI responds

Install the hook (optional — enables automatic injection):

⚠️ Opt-in only: The hook injects your personal TELOS content (missions, goals, beliefs) into the system prompt at every session start and on relevant messages. This is persistent automatic behavior — only install if you explicitly want TELOS context always pre-loaded.

bash

cp {baseDir}/hooks/telos-context.js ~/.openclaw/hooks/

How it works:

• User asks about career → hook detects "career" keywords → injects MISSION + GOALS + BELIEFS + STRATEGIES
• User asks to add a book → hook detects "book" → injects BOOKS.md
• User asks a coding question → no personal keywords detected → nothing injected (zero overhead)
• Empty template files are automatically skipped (won't inject placeholder content)

Without the hook: The skill still works — the AI reads the SKILL.md instructions and loads TELOS files based on the File Index table above. The hook just makes it automatic and faster.

With the hook: Context is pre-injected before the AI even sees the message, so responses are personalized from the first token.