ClawVault 🐘

An elephant never forgets. Structured memory for OpenClaw agents.

Built for OpenClaw — install via clawhub install clawvault

Install

npm install -g clawvault

Quick Setup

# Auto-discover OpenClaw memory folder and configure
clawvault setup

OpenClaw Hook Integration (Recommended)

ClawVault includes an OpenClaw hook for automatic context death resilience:

# Register the hook from clawvault package
openclaw hooks install clawvault
openclaw hooks enable clawvault

What the hook handles automatically:

• Gateway startup → Detects if previous session died, injects alert
• On /new command → Creates checkpoint before session reset

Manual commands still valuable for:

• clawvault wake — Full recap with projects and handoffs
• clawvault sleep — Detailed handoff with decisions and blockers
• clawvault checkpoint — Explicit save during heavy work

The hook is your safety net. Manual commands give richer context.

New in v1.4.1

• OpenClaw hook — automatic context death resilience
• clawvault wake — all-in-one session start (recover + recap)
• clawvault sleep — all-in-one session end (handoff + git commit)

New in v1.4.0

• qmd required — semantic search is now core functionality
• clawvault setup — auto-discovers OpenClaw's memory folder
• clawvault status — vault health, checkpoint age, qmd index
• clawvault template — list/create/add with 7 built-in templates
• clawvault link --backlinks — see what links to a file
• clawvault link --orphans — find broken wiki-links

Setup

# Initialize vault (creates folder structure + templates)
clawvault init ~/my-vault

# Or set env var to use existing vault
export CLAWVAULT_PATH=/path/to/memory

Core Commands

Store memories by type

# Types: fact, feeling, decision, lesson, commitment, preference, relationship, project
clawvault remember decision "Use Postgres over SQLite" --content "Need concurrent writes for multi-agent setup"
clawvault remember lesson "Context death is survivable" --content "Checkpoint before heavy work"
clawvault remember relationship "Justin Dukes" --content "Client contact at Hale Pet Door"

Quick capture to inbox

clawvault capture "TODO: Review PR tomorrow"

Search (requires qmd installed)

# Keyword search (fast)
clawvault search "client contacts"

# Semantic search (slower, more accurate)
clawvault vsearch "what did we decide about the database"

Context Death Resilience

Checkpoint (save state frequently)

clawvault checkpoint --working-on "PR review" --focus "type guards" --blocked "waiting for CI"

Recover (check on wake)

clawvault recover --clear
# Shows: death time, last checkpoint, recent handoff

Handoff (before session end)

clawvault handoff \
  --working-on "ClawVault improvements" \
  --blocked "npm token" \
  --next "publish to npm, create skill" \
  --feeling "productive"

Recap (bootstrap new session)

clawvault recap
# Shows: recent handoffs, active projects, pending commitments, lessons

Wake (all-in-one session start)

clawvault wake
# Combines: recover + recap + summary
# Shows context death status + recent handoffs + what you were working on

Sleep (all-in-one session end)

clawvault sleep "Finished PR review" \
  --next "merge after CI" \
  --blocked "waiting for approval" \
  --decisions "use strict mode" \
  --feeling "productive"
# Creates handoff, clears death flag, offers git commit

Auto-linking

Wiki-link entity mentions in markdown files:

# Link all files
clawvault link --all

# Link single file
clawvault link memory/2024-01-15.md

Folder Structure

vault/
├── .clawvault/           # Internal state
│   ├── last-checkpoint.json
│   └── dirty-death.flag
├── decisions/            # Key choices with reasoning
├── lessons/              # Insights and patterns
├── people/               # One file per person
├── projects/             # Active work tracking
├── handoffs/             # Session continuity
├── inbox/                # Quick captures
└── templates/            # Document templates

Best Practices

1. Checkpoint every 10-15 min during heavy work
2. Handoff before session end — future you will thank you
3. Recover on wake — check if last session died
4. Use types — knowing WHAT you're storing helps WHERE to put it
5. Wiki-link liberally — [[person-name]] builds your knowledge graph

Integration with qmd

ClawVault uses qmd for search:

# Install qmd
bun install -g github:tobi/qmd

# Add vault as collection
qmd collection add /path/to/vault --name my-memory --mask "**/*.md"

# Update index
qmd update && qmd embed

Environment Variables

• CLAWVAULT_PATH — Default vault path (skips auto-discovery)

Links

• npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/clawvault
• GitHub: https://github.com/Versatly/clawvault
• Issues: https://github.com/Versatly/clawvault/issues