OpenClaw Memory Management: Complete Guide

Memory management is one of the most common pain points for OpenClaw newcomers. This guide compiles best practices from dozens of Reddit discussions.

The Problem

"It forgets what you are talking about mid-sentence"

Unlike ChatGPT which warns about losing context, OpenClaw automatically compacts and forgets. This is a feature, not a bug—but requires proper setup.

Basic Memory Setup

Key prompt:

Enable memory flush before compaction
Set compaction.memoryFlush.enabled to true
Set memorySearch.experimental.sessionMemory to true

Memory Rules

1. Before training — /compact

   • Run /compact BEFORE any new task
   • This clears context for fresh information

2. After training — commit

   • Ask: "Commit this to memory"
   • Then: "Repeat back what you committed"
   • Verify everything is correct

3. Before new task — recall

   • Ask: "Check memory for related tasks"
   • Agent loads relevant context

File Structure

.openclaw/
├── memory/
│   ├── YYYY-MM-DD.md    # Daily logs
│   └── ...
├── MEMORY.md            # Long-term memory
├── HEARTBEAT.md         # Periodic tasks
└── TOOLS.md             # Tool configuration

Supermemory.ai Integration

Why:

• Memory backup outside the agent
• Recovery after failures
• Structured storage

Setup:

• Connect API
• Configure automatic backup (every 6 hours)
• Use tags: project-{name}, decision, action-item

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Solution
No /compact	Always before new task
Forgets after restart	Configure memory flush
Mixes old and new	Commit more often
Loses project context	Use Supermemory

---

Memory management is not optional—it's essential.