OpenClaw Startup

First-run setup wizard for new OpenClaw agents. Interviews the user, generates tailored workspace files, scaffolds memory, installs operational crons, and recommends companion skills.

Use when

• setting up a new OpenClaw agent from scratch
• onboarding a new user who just installed OpenClaw
• resetting an agent workspace to a clean baseline
• someone says "set up my agent" or "help me get started"

Do not use when

• the agent is already configured and running (use openclaw-guide instead)
• the user wants to change one specific config setting
• the task is skill authoring (use skill-builder)
• the task is security hardening of an existing agent (use agent-hardening)

Phases

Run these in order. Each phase confirms with the user before proceeding.

Phase 1 — Identity Interview

Resuming a partial setup: Before starting the interview, check if any of SOUL.md, USER.md, or IDENTITY.md already exist. If they do, show the user what's already configured and ask: "Want to pick up where we left off, start fresh, or keep these and skip to memory setup?" Respect their choice.

Ask the user 8 questions to understand who they are and what the agent should do. Use the interview guide at references/interview-guide.md.

From the answers, generate:

• SOUL.md — agent identity, personality, tone, boundaries
• USER.md — human's key details
• IDENTITY.md — agent name, emoji, presentation
• AGENTS.md — customized from assets/agents-template.md with principles tailored to the user's main job (Q4) and communication style (Q5)

Show the user the generated files and ask for approval before writing.

Phase 2 — Memory Scaffolding

Run the install script to create the memory directory structure:

bash {baseDir}/scripts/install.sh

This creates:

• memory/ directory with daily log structure
• MEMORY.md — durable fact index
• ACTIVE.md — current priorities tracker
• memory/FUTURE_INTENTS.md — commitments and deferred actions
• .learnings/ — error and learning capture (agent-memory-loop)

Phase 3 — Operational Crons

Review recommended crons with the user. See references/cron-recipes.md.

If openclaw CLI is not available: Skip cron installation. Instead, show the user the recommended cron configs from references/cron-recipes.md and explain they can install them later once OpenClaw is set up. Proceed to Phase 4.

If openclaw CLI is available:

Always recommend:

• Heartbeat (configurable frequency)
• Workspace backup (daily)

Recommend if applicable:

• Weekly memory consolidation
• Session health watchdog
• Security monitoring

Install only what the user approves. Use the OpenClaw cron tool directly.

Phase 4 — Security Baseline

Walk through the security checklist at references/security-baseline.md.

Key items:

• Channel access controls (allowlist vs open)
• Injection defense rules in SOUL.md
• Escalation framework (green/yellow/red)
• Tool restrictions for sub-agents

Phase 5 — Companion Skills

Recommend installing these skills based on the user's needs:

Install via ClawHub if available:

clawhub install <skill-name>

Phase 6 — Verification

After setup, run a quick health check:

• Verify all generated files exist and are non-empty
• Verify crons are registered and have valid next-run times
• Verify the agent can respond to a basic prompt
• Show the user a summary of everything that was set up

Interview principles

• Ask one question at a time — don't dump all 8 at once
• Accept short answers — infer reasonable defaults from context
• Show what you're generating before writing it
• Never write to core files without user confirmation
• Keep the tone conversational, not bureaucratic

References

• references/interview-guide.md — the 8 identity questions with guidance
• references/cron-recipes.md — recommended cron configurations
• references/security-baseline.md — security checklist for new agents
• references/placeholder-map.md — full mapping of interview answers → template placeholders + model recommendations

Assets (templates)

• assets/soul-template.md — SOUL.md template with placeholders
• assets/user-template.md — USER.md template
• assets/identity-template.md — IDENTITY.md template
• assets/agents-template.md — AGENTS.md starter
• assets/heartbeat-template.md — HEARTBEAT.md starter

Scripts

• scripts/install.sh — creates memory scaffolding and .learnings directory
• scripts/verify.sh — post-setup health check