|
| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +summary: "CLI reference for importing state from another agent system" |
| 3 | +read_when: |
| 4 | + - You want to migrate from Hermes or another agent system into OpenClaw |
| 5 | + - You are adding a plugin-owned migration provider |
| 6 | +title: "Migrate" |
| 7 | +--- |
| 8 | + |
| 9 | +# `openclaw migrate` |
| 10 | + |
| 11 | +Import state from another agent system through a plugin-owned migration provider. |
| 12 | + |
| 13 | +```bash |
| 14 | +openclaw migrate list |
| 15 | +openclaw migrate hermes --dry-run |
| 16 | +openclaw migrate hermes |
| 17 | +openclaw migrate apply hermes --yes |
| 18 | +openclaw migrate apply hermes --include-secrets --yes |
| 19 | +openclaw onboard --flow import |
| 20 | +openclaw onboard --import-from hermes --import-source ~/.hermes |
| 21 | +``` |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | +## Safety model |
| 24 | + |
| 25 | +`openclaw migrate` is preview-first. The provider returns an itemized plan before anything changes, including conflicts, skipped items, and sensitive items. JSON plans, apply output, and migration reports redact nested secret-looking keys such as API keys, tokens, authorization headers, cookies, and passwords. |
| 26 | + |
| 27 | +`openclaw migrate apply <provider>` previews the plan and prompts before changing state unless `--yes` is set. In non-interactive mode, apply requires `--yes`. With `--json` and no `--yes`, apply prints the JSON plan and does not mutate state. |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | +Apply creates and verifies an OpenClaw backup before applying the migration. If no local OpenClaw state exists yet, the backup step is skipped and the migration can continue. To skip a backup when state exists, pass both `--no-backup` and `--force`. |
| 30 | + |
| 31 | +Apply mode refuses to continue when the plan has conflicts. Review the plan, then rerun with `--overwrite` if replacing existing targets is intentional. Providers may still write item-level backups for overwritten files in the migration report directory. |
| 32 | + |
| 33 | +Secrets are never imported by default. Use `--include-secrets` to import supported credentials. |
| 34 | + |
| 35 | +## Hermes |
| 36 | + |
| 37 | +The bundled Hermes provider detects Hermes state at `~/.hermes` by default. Use `--from <path>` when Hermes lives elsewhere. |
| 38 | + |
| 39 | +The Hermes migration can import: |
| 40 | + |
| 41 | +- default model configuration from `config.yaml` |
| 42 | +- configured model providers and custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints from `providers` and `custom_providers` |
| 43 | +- MCP server definitions from `mcp_servers` or `mcp.servers` |
| 44 | +- `SOUL.md` and `AGENTS.md` into the OpenClaw agent workspace |
| 45 | +- `memories/MEMORY.md` and `memories/USER.md` by appending them to workspace memory files |
| 46 | +- memory config defaults for OpenClaw file memory, plus archive/manual-review items for external memory providers such as Honcho |
| 47 | +- skills with a `SKILL.md` file from `skills/<name>/` |
| 48 | +- per-skill config values from `skills.config` |
| 49 | +- supported API keys from `.env`, only with `--include-secrets` |
| 50 | + |
| 51 | +Archive-only Hermes state is copied into the migration report for manual review, but it is not loaded into live OpenClaw config or credentials. This preserves opaque or unsafe state such as `plugins/`, `sessions/`, `logs/`, `cron/`, `mcp-tokens/`, `auth.json`, and `state.db` without pretending OpenClaw can execute or trust it automatically. |
| 52 | + |
| 53 | +Supported Hermes `.env` keys include `OPENAI_API_KEY`, `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`, `OPENROUTER_API_KEY`, `GOOGLE_API_KEY`, `GEMINI_API_KEY`, `GROQ_API_KEY`, `XAI_API_KEY`, `MISTRAL_API_KEY`, and `DEEPSEEK_API_KEY`. |
| 54 | + |
| 55 | +After applying a migration, run: |
| 56 | + |
| 57 | +```bash |
| 58 | +openclaw doctor |
| 59 | +``` |
| 60 | + |
| 61 | +## Plugin contract |
| 62 | + |
| 63 | +Migration sources are plugins. A plugin declares its provider ids in `openclaw.plugin.json`: |
| 64 | + |
| 65 | +```json |
| 66 | +{ |
| 67 | + "contracts": { |
| 68 | + "migrationProviders": ["hermes"] |
| 69 | + } |
| 70 | +} |
| 71 | +``` |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | +At runtime the plugin calls `api.registerMigrationProvider(...)`. The provider implements `detect`, `plan`, and `apply`; core owns CLI orchestration, backup policy, prompts, JSON output, and conflict preflight. Core passes the reviewed plan into `apply(ctx, plan)`, and providers may rebuild the plan only when that argument is absent for compatibility. Provider plugins can use `openclaw/plugin-sdk/migration` for item construction and summary counts, plus `openclaw/plugin-sdk/migration-runtime` for conflict-aware file copies, archive-only report copies, and migration reports. |
| 74 | + |
| 75 | +Onboarding can also offer migration when a provider detects a known source. `openclaw onboard --flow import` and `openclaw setup --wizard --import-from hermes` use the same plugin migration provider and still show a preview before applying. Onboarding imports require a fresh OpenClaw setup; reset config, credentials, sessions, and the workspace first if you already have local state. Backup plus overwrite or merge imports are feature-gated for existing setups. |
0 commit comments