name: openclaw-backup
description: Backup and restore OpenClaw data. Use when user asks to create backups, set up automatic backup schedules, restore from backup, or manage backup rotation. Handles ~/.openclaw directory archiving with proper exclusions.

OpenClaw Backup

Backup and restore OpenClaw configuration, credentials, and workspace.

Create Backup

Run the backup script:

./scripts/backup.sh [backup_dir]

Default backup location: ~/openclaw-backups/

Output: openclaw-YYYY-MM-DD_HHMM.tar.gz

What Gets Backed Up

• openclaw.json — main config
• credentials/ — API keys, tokens
• agents/ — agent configs, auth profiles
• workspace/ — memory, SOUL.md, user files
• telegram/ — session data
• cron/ — scheduled tasks

Excluded

• completions/ — cache, regenerated automatically
• *.log — logs

Setup Daily Backup with Cron

Use OpenClaw cron for daily backups with notification:

{
  "name": "daily-backup",
  "schedule": {"kind": "cron", "expr": "0 3 * * *", "tz": "UTC"},
  "payload": {
    "kind": "agentTurn",
    "message": "Run ~/.openclaw/backup.sh and report result to user."
  },
  "sessionTarget": "isolated",
  "delivery": {"mode": "announce"}
}

Restore

See references/restore.md for step-by-step restore instructions.

Quick restore:

openclaw gateway stop
mv ~/.openclaw ~/.openclaw-old
tar -xzf ~/openclaw-backups/openclaw-YYYY-MM-DD_HHMM.tar.gz -C ~
openclaw gateway start

Rotation

Script keeps last 7 backups automatically.