OpenClaw Backup

Use this skill as the unified backup and restore entrypoint for ~/.openclaw.

Main commands

Create a backup bundle:

bash scripts/create_backup.sh

List existing bundles:

bash scripts/list_backups.sh

Show current configuration and effective values:

bash scripts/show_config.sh

Change the default backup directory:

bash scripts/set_backup_dir.sh /absolute/path

Select a bundle, audit it, extract it, and print the restore command:

bash scripts/select_and_restore.sh

Bundle format

Each backup is a self-contained tar.gz bundle with this structure:

occt7pkbak-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS/
├── .openclaw/
├── restore.sh
├── manifest.txt
└── SHA256SUMS

The bundled restore.sh is the primary restore path.

Public defaults vs local overrides

Public default path:

~/backups/openclaw-snapshots

Local/private setups can override that path in two ways:

• environment variable: OPENCLAW_SNAPSHOT_DIR
• local config file: config.env

Configuration model

This skill keeps long-term local defaults in config.env.

Current configurable values:

• OPENCLAW_SNAPSHOT_DIR
• OPENCLAW_SNAPSHOT_PREFIX
• OPENCLAW_SNAPSHOT_KEEP

Priority order is:

• command-line flags
• skill config file (config.env)
• OPENCLAW_SNAPSHOT_* environment variables
• built-in defaults

Important: in the current design, values stored in config.env override same-name environment variables. If you want a one-off override, prefer command-line flags such as --out-dir.

show_config.sh shows stored config values, environment values, and final effective values.

CLI notes

Primary CLI flag for backup location:

• --out-dir

Compatibility alias still accepted:

• --backup-dir

Safety model

• integrity verification is mandatory during restore
• symbolic links and special files are rejected
• tar entries are audited before extraction, including hard-link rejection
• dangerous target paths are rejected
• the restore target basename must match the bundled source basename, normally .openclaw
• the bundle is portable across environments; restore uses the current runtime target path rather than a build-time HOME lock
• do not rename the extracted bundle root before running restore.sh