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init-openclaw-agent

Agents & models

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Updated 10-16 06:45

About this skill

Configure OpenClaw Agent

Configure OpenClaw agents from the real runtime layout, not from assumptions. The executor should always know which machine owns the runtime, which workspace belongs to the target agent, and which file controls each behavior.

Trigger boundary

Use this skill when the task involves:

  • Setting up a new OpenClaw agent workspace
  • Writing or revising workspace files such as AGENTS.md, SOUL.md, IDENTITY.md, USER.md, TOOLS.md, or memory files
  • Choosing a tool profile (full, coding, messaging, minimal) for an agent
  • Configuring tool allow/deny lists, provider-specific tool restrictions, or per-agent tool policy
  • Setting up skill loading, extra skill directories, skill env vars, or bundled-skill allowlists
  • Enabling memory tools or deciding where durable behavior should live in the workspace
  • Hardening exec approvals, sandboxing, elevated access, or tool-loop detection
  • Debugging why a tool is blocked, a skill is not loading, or the wrong workspace is active

Do NOT use this skill for:

  • General agent config for non-OpenClaw systems such as AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md outside OpenClaw
  • Building or optimizing an MCP server
  • Writing OpenClaw skills themselves
  • Runtime orchestration, node graphs, or cron workflow design
  • OpenClaw plugin development

Non-negotiable rules

  1. Find the real runtime first. Determine whether OpenClaw runs on the local host, a remote gateway host, or inside a container. Edit the real OpenClaw home for that runtime, not an assumed local copy.
  2. Keep workspace files separated by purpose. AGENTS.md and memory files hold operating rules, SOUL.md holds persona and boundaries, IDENTITY.md holds name/theme/emoji/avatar, and TOOLS.md is guidance only.
  3. Prefer agent-specific config in multi-agent setups. If the gateway hosts multiple agents, use agents.list[].workspace, agents.list[].tools, and agents.list[].sandbox for the target agent unless the user explicitly wants a global default.
  4. Start from the smallest working tool surface. Pick the narrowest profile that fits, then add only the missing tools.
  5. Deny always wins. Once a tool is denied at an earlier layer, a later allow cannot restore it.
  6. Treat host exec approvals as separate state. Tool policy lives in openclaw.json, but host exec approvals and allowlists live in exec-approvals.json on the execution host.

Canonical files and locations

  • OpenClaw state normally lives under ~/.openclaw on host installs
  • Inside the official container images, the same state lives at /home/node/.openclaw; edit the mounted host directory or the in-container path that maps there
  • Main runtime config is usually openclaw.json in that OpenClaw home and uses JSON5 syntax; if the CLI is available, confirm the active file with openclaw config file or the runtime's OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH
  • Host exec approvals live in exec-approvals.json in that same OpenClaw home on the machine that actually executes host commands
  • Default workspace path is agents.defaults.workspace and defaults to ~/.openclaw/workspace
  • Per-agent workspaces are set with agents.list[].workspace
  • Shared skills live at ~/.openclaw/skills; workspace-specific skills live at <workspace>/skills
  • New config should use agents.defaults and agents.list; legacy agent.* keys may still exist and can be migrated with openclaw doctor

If the gateway runs remotely, all of these paths refer to the gateway host, not the laptop you are currently using.

Decision tree

What part of the OpenClaw agent needs work?
|
+-- "Create or revise the agent workspace"
|   +-- Read references/workspace-files.md
|   +-- If name/theme/avatar only ---------- Read references/agent-identity.md
|   +-- Then follow: New Agent Setup workflow (below)
|
+-- "Choose or customize tool access"
|   +-- Read references/tool-profiles.md
|   +-- Need fine-grained restrictions? ---- Read references/tool-restrictions.md
|
+-- "Configure allow/deny lists"
|   +-- Global single-agent policy --------- tools.allow / tools.deny
|   +-- Multi-agent per-agent policy ------- agents.list[].tools.*
|   +-- Provider-specific limits ----------- tools.byProvider / agents.list[].tools.byProvider
|   +-- Read references/tool-restrictions.md
|
+-- "Set up skill loading"
|   +-- extraDirs / watch / allowBundled --- Read references/skills-loading.md
|   +-- Per-skill env or apiKey ------------ Read references/skills-loading.md
|   +-- Sandbox env mismatch? -------------- Read references/security-patterns.md
|
+-- "Configure memory or durable behavior"
|   +-- Workspace behavior files ----------- Read references/workspace-files.md
|   +-- memory_search / memory_get tools --- Read references/tool-profiles.md
|
+-- "Harden exec, sandbox, or loop safety"
|   +-- Host exec approvals ---------------- Read references/security-patterns.md
|   +-- Elevated mode ---------------------- Read references/security-patterns.md
|   +-- Sandbox boundaries ----------------- Read references/security-patterns.md
|   +-- Tool-loop detection ---------------- Read references/security-patterns.md
|
+-- "Debug config issues"
    +-- Tool blocked unexpectedly ---------- Read references/tool-restrictions.md
    +-- Skill not loading ------------------ Read references/skills-loading.md
    +-- Wrong workspace or agent ----------- Read references/workspace-files.md
    +-- Sandbox/elevated confusion --------- Read references/security-patterns.md

New Agent Setup workflow

Phase 0: Locate the target runtime and agent

Before you change anything:

  1. Determine where the gateway actually runs: local host, remote host, or container
  2. Confirm the active config path, then open the real openclaw.json for that runtime
  3. Identify whether the task targets:
    • agents.defaults.workspace for the default agent, or
    • a specific agents.list[] entry for a named agent
  4. Read the current workspace files that matter to the task:
    • AGENTS.md
    • SOUL.md
    • IDENTITY.md
    • USER.md
    • TOOLS.md
    • MEMORY.md and memory/ if durable memory is in scope
  5. If the task changes host exec approval behavior, read exec-approvals.json on the execution host too

If you cannot prove which runtime or workspace is active, stop and ask instead of inventing paths.

Phase 1: Understand the agent's job

Before drafting config, answer these questions:

  1. What does this agent do?
  2. Who interacts with it?
  3. Which behaviors must be durable across sessions?
  4. Which tools does it actually need?
  5. What must it never do?
  6. Is it one agent in a larger multi-agent gateway?

Phase 2: Shape the workspace files

Read references/workspace-files.md.

  • Put rules, priorities, and memory-handling instructions in AGENTS.md
  • Put persona, tone, and behavioral boundaries in SOUL.md
  • Put user-specific preferences in USER.md
  • Put identity metadata in IDENTITY.md
  • Put local tool conventions in TOOLS.md
  • Put durable facts or decisions in MEMORY.md or daily memory files

If the task is specifically about the agent's name, theme, emoji, or avatar, also read references/agent-identity.md.

Phase 3: Select the base tool profile

Read references/tool-profiles.md.

Use the smallest fitting base profile:

Profile Includes Best for
full no profile restriction highly trusted agents that truly need broad access
coding filesystem, runtime, sessions, memory, image developer-facing agents
messaging messaging plus session list/history/send/status communication-only agents
minimal session_status only agents that should start nearly tool-less

For a new local config, onboarding may write tools.profile: "coding" when unset. Do not assume that means coding is universally correct for the agent you are configuring.

Phase 4: Apply tool restrictions

Read references/tool-restrictions.md.

Choose the right scope before editing:

  1. Single-agent or global default policy: top-level tools.*
  2. One agent inside a multi-agent gateway: agents.list[].tools.*
  3. Provider-specific restrictions: tools.byProvider or agents.list[].tools.byProvider

Then apply the restriction model in this order:

  1. Base profile
  2. Provider profile override, if any
  3. Allow/deny lists
  4. Sandbox or sub-agent tool policy, if this runtime uses them

Phase 5: Configure skills loading

Read references/skills-loading.md.

  • Use skills.load.extraDirs for additional skill roots
  • Use skills.entries.<skillKey> for per-skill enabled, env, apiKey, and custom config
  • Use skills.allowBundled if bundled skills need an allowlist
  • Confirm the entry key matches the skill name or its metadata.openclaw.skillKey

If the agent runs inside a sandbox, do not assume skills.entries.*.env reaches the sandboxed skill process. Route sandbox env through the sandbox config or image instead.

Phase 6: Harden exec, sandbox, and loop safety

Read references/security-patterns.md.

At minimum, decide all of the following explicitly:

  1. Host exec policy in tools.exec.*
  2. Host exec approvals and allowlists in exec-approvals.json
  3. Whether tools.elevated is enabled and who may use it
  4. Whether the agent is sandboxed, and with what workspaceAccess
  5. Whether tools.loopDetection should be enabled for this agent

Phase 7: Validate the runtime change

After editing:

  1. Run openclaw doctor
  2. Run openclaw status
  3. If multi-agent routing is involved, run openclaw agents list --bindings
  4. If sandboxing or tool policy is involved, run openclaw sandbox explain
  5. Run a small canary task that proves the intended behavior:
    • expected workspace files are active
    • denied tools stay blocked
    • allowed tools are usable
    • expected skills load
    • sandbox or elevated behavior matches intent
  6. If the CLI is unavailable, stop after writing the draft and report runtime verification as blocked

Common pitfalls

Pitfall Fix
Writing persona, escalation rules, or tool policy in IDENTITY.md Put persona/boundaries in SOUL.md, operating rules in AGENTS.md, and tool policy in openclaw.json
Editing the local ~/.openclaw when the gateway runs elsewhere Edit the gateway host or the mounted container path that owns the runtime
Assuming minimal includes read or exec minimal starts with session_status only; allow extra tools explicitly
Using group:web to grant browser access browser and canvas live in group:ui; group:web is only web_search and web_fetch
Expecting skills.entries.*.env to reach sandboxed skills Use sandbox docker env or a custom sandbox image
Tightening tools.exec but leaving host approvals permissive Update both openclaw.json and exec-approvals.json
Restricting one agent by editing only global tools.* in a multi-agent gateway Put agent-specific restrictions in agents.list[].tools.*

Do this, not that

Do this Not that
Confirm the active runtime host and workspace before editing Assume ~/.openclaw on the current machine is authoritative
Keep workspace files split by purpose Turn one file into a dumping ground for persona, policy, and secrets
Start with a restrictive profile and add only the missing tools Use full for convenience and plan to tighten it later
Use agent-specific tool policy for named agents Mutate global defaults when only one agent should change
Keep secrets in runtime config or secret refs, not workspace files Put API keys in AGENTS.md, SOUL.md, or IDENTITY.md
Verify with doctor, status, and a canary task Assume a JSON edit took effect correctly

Reference routing

Read the smallest reference set that unblocks the current decision:

Need Reference
Workspace file roles, where durable behavior belongs, memory file layout references/workspace-files.md
Name/theme/emoji/avatar updates and identity sync references/agent-identity.md
Choosing a base tool profile references/tool-profiles.md
Allow/deny lists, tool groups, provider and agent precedence references/tool-restrictions.md
Skill precedence, extraDirs, skills.entries, sandbox env boundaries references/skills-loading.md
Exec approvals, elevated mode, sandboxing, loop detection, verification references/security-patterns.md

Guardrails

  • NEVER guess the runtime location or active workspace
  • NEVER put secrets in workspace bootstrap files
  • NEVER use IDENTITY.md as the place for rules or tool permissions
  • NEVER assume global tools.* is the right edit scope in a multi-agent gateway
  • ALWAYS update host exec approvals when host exec policy changes
  • ALWAYS verify blocked-tool and allowed-tool behavior after access changes
  • ALWAYS keep SKILL.md focused and push durable detail into the routed references