Quick map#

Safe to edit#

• ~/.openclaw/workspace/
  • Your working files
  • Notes, docs, project files
  • SOUL.md, USER.md, MEMORY.md, TOOLS.md, HEARTBEAT.md

Usually safe, but be careful#

• ~/.openclaw/workspace/.git/
  • Git metadata for the workspace
  • Edit only if you mean to manage git internals

Usually do not edit manually#

• ~/.openclaw/agents/

  • Agent-specific state
  • Session histories
  • Auth and model metadata

• ~/.openclaw/tasks/

  • Task run databases and task state

• ~/.openclaw/memory/

  • Internal memory index/database
  • Not the same as human-readable workspace/MEMORY.md

• ~/.openclaw/devices/

  • Device pairing state

• ~/.openclaw/credentials/

  • Sensitive tokens and provider credentials

• ~/.openclaw/logs/

  • Log files, usually fine to read but not ideal to hand-edit

Mental model#

• workspace/ = shared desk
• agents/ = per-agent brain/state folders
• sessions/ = conversation history for an agent
• tasks/ = background job records
• memory/ = internal searchable memory database

Rule of thumb#

• If it is in workspace/, it is generally meant to be worked on directly.
• If it is under OpenClaw internals, read it for debugging if needed, but avoid manual edits unless you know exactly why.