openclaw-backup

What This Skill Does

The openclaw-backup skill provides an essential disaster recovery mechanism for the OpenClaw ecosystem. It automates the process of packaging critical configuration files, user data, and workspace states into compressed archives. By targeting the ~/.openclaw directory, the skill ensures that your API credentials, agent definitions, SOUL.md files, and local memory are preserved. It intelligently excludes temporary cache directories like 'completions/' and system logs to minimize archive size while focusing on high-value data. The skill includes built-in rotation logic that retains the seven most recent backups, preventing your storage from bloating over time. It effectively bridges the gap between manual file management and automated system maintenance.

Installation

To integrate this backup functionality into your environment, use the OpenClaw hub command: clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/alex3alex/openclaw-backup Once installed, ensure your environment has execution permissions for the scripts found in the base directory. It is recommended to check that your user account has read/write access to the default ~/openclaw-backups/ directory.

Use Cases

• Proactive Maintenance: Setting up daily automated backups during off-peak hours to ensure data integrity without manual intervention.
• Version Control & Migration: Creating a fresh snapshot before updating OpenClaw components or migrating your workspace to a different machine.
• Disaster Recovery: Providing a clear, documented path to restore services using the provided archive files in the event of an accidental configuration error or system crash.
• Routine Housekeeping: Managing long-term retention of historical data through the built-in rotation policy.

Example Prompts

1. "OpenClaw, please trigger a full backup of my current configuration and workspace right now."
2. "I need to automate my backups; can you help me set up a cron job to run this daily at 3:00 AM UTC?"
3. "I accidentally corrupted my settings. What are the exact steps to restore my system from the backup I created yesterday?"

Tips & Limitations

Always verify the integrity of your backup files periodically. While the script handles automatic rotation, it is good practice to occasionally move older backups to cold storage or off-site cloud storage to ensure multi-layer protection. Note that restoration requires a temporary shutdown of the OpenClaw gateway to prevent file locking conflicts, so schedule your restoration procedures during maintenance windows. Be aware that sensitive information like API tokens is included in the backup, so ensure your backup storage location has restricted file system permissions.