Backup OpenClaw Configuration

Overview

This skill provides automated backup and restore functionality for all OpenClaw configuration files. It creates timestamped archives containing your complete OpenClaw setup, including main configuration, workspace, skills, and user data.

What gets backed up:

• ~/.openclaw/ - Main configuration
• ~/.config/openclaw/ - System-level configuration
• ~/.local/share/openclaw/ - Local data
• ~/.openclaw/workspace/ - Workspace, skills, and memory

Quick Start

Backup Your Configuration

Run the backup script:

~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/backup-openclaw-config/scripts/backup_openclaw.sh [output-directory]

Example:

# Backup to default location ($HOME/backups/openclaw)
~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/backup-openclaw-config/scripts/backup_openclaw.sh

# Backup to custom location
~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/backup-openclaw-config/scripts/backup_openclaw.sh ~/my-backups

Output:

• Creates openclaw_backup_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.tar.gz archive
• Creates openclaw_backup_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.info metadata file
• Shows backup summary with file list and archive size
• Automatically deletes backups older than 15 days to manage disk space

Restore from Backup

Run the restore script:

~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/backup-openclaw-config/scripts/restore_openclaw.sh <backup-archive.tar.gz>

Example:

~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/backup-openclaw-config/scripts/restore_openclaw.sh \
  ~/backups/openclaw/openclaw_backup_20260306_095000.tar.gz

Process:

1. Shows backup information from .info file
2. Lists all files that will be restored
3. Requires confirmation before proceeding
4. Backs up existing files with .bak extension
5. Restores configuration to original locations

After restore:

# Restart OpenClaw Gateway to apply changes
systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway

Workflow

Backup Workflow

1. Check prerequisites

   • Verify backup directory exists or can be created
   • Check if OpenClaw directories exist

2. Create backup structure

   • Generate timestamp for unique backup name
   • Create temporary directory for staging

3. Copy configuration files

   • Backup ~/.openclaw/ (main config)
   • Backup ~/.config/openclaw/ (system config)
   • Backup ~/.local/share/openclaw/ (local data)
   • Skip directories that don't exist (with warning)

4. Create archive

   • Compress all files into .tar.gz archive
   • Create .info file with metadata (timestamp, hostname, user, size)

5. Report results

   • Show archive location and size
   • Display restore command
   • Warn if any directories were missing

Restore Workflow

1. Validate backup
   • Check if archive file exists
   • Display backup information from .info file
   • List contents of archive