--- name: self-backup-skill description: "Every agent needs backups. This skill handles:" --- # Self-Backup Skill **Automatic workspace and memory backups for AI agents.** Every agent needs backups. This skill handles: - 🧠 Memory files (MEMORY.md, daily logs) - 🆔 Identity files (SOUL.md, USER.md, AGENTS.md, IDENTITY.md) - 📜 Scripts and automation - 💾 openclaw-mem database - ⚙️ Configuration files ## Installation ```bash # Install via ClawHub clawhub install self-backup # Or copy to your skills directory cp -r self-backup /Users/sem/argent/skills/ ``` ## Quick Start ```bash # Create backup config cd /Users/sem/argent/skills/self-backup cp config/backup.example.json config/backup.json # Edit config to set your backup location nano config/backup.json # Run backup ./scripts/backup.sh ``` ## Configuration Edit `config/backup.json`: ```json { "workspace": "/Users/sem/argent", "backupDir": "/Users/sem/backups/argent", "targets": { "local": { "enabled": true, "path": "/Users/sem/backups/argent" }, "git": { "enabled": false, "repo": "git@github.com:yourusername/agent-backup.git" }, "s3": { "enabled": false, "bucket": "my-agent-backups", "prefix": "argent/" } }, "include": [ "MEMORY.md", "SOUL.md", "USER.md", "AGENTS.md", "IDENTITY.md", "TOOLS.md", "HEARTBEAT.md", "memory/*.md", "scripts/", "config/", "~/.openclaw-mem/memory.db" ], "exclude": [ "*.log", "node_modules/", ".git/" ], "compression": true, "retention": { "daily": 7, "weekly": 4, "monthly": 12 } } ``` ## Usage ### On-Demand Backup ```bash # Backup now ./scripts/backup.sh # Backup with custom config ./scripts/backup.sh --config /path/to/config.json # Dry run (see what would be backed up) ./scripts/backup.sh --dry-run ``` ### Scheduled Backups (Cron) Add to your `HEARTBEAT.md` or set up a cron job: ```bash # Daily backup at 3 AM 0 3 * * * /Users/sem/argent/skills/self-backup/scripts/backup.sh ``` Or use OpenClaw cron: ```bash # Create daily backup job openclaw cron add \ --schedule "0 3 * * *" \ --name "Daily Agent Backup" \ --command "/Users/sem/argent/skills/self-backup/scripts/backup.sh" ``` ### Restore ```bash # List available backups ./scripts/restore.sh --list # Restore specific backup (full) ./scripts/restore.sh --backup 2026-02-03-09-30 --full # Restore databases only ./scripts/restore.sh --backup 2026-02-03-09-30 # Then type: db # Restore specific file ./scripts/restore.sh --backup 2026-02-03-09-30 --file MEMORY.md ``` **Database restore:** - Databases are backed up using SQLite's `.backup` command for integrity - Stored separately in `.databases/` subdirectory - Can restore databases independently: type `db` at the interactive prompt - Full restore automatically includes database restoration ## Backup Targets ### Local Directory Backs up to a local directory with timestamped folders: ``` /Users/sem/backups/argent/ ├── 2026-02-03-09-30/ ├── 2026-02-03-15-00/ └── 2026-02-04-09-30/ ``` ### Git Repository Commits and pushes backups to a git repo: ```bash # Enable git backup { "git": { "enabled": true, "repo": "git@github.com:yourusername/agent-backup.git", "branch": "main", "autoCommit": true } } ``` ### Amazon S3 Syncs to S3 bucket (requires AWS CLI): ```bash # Install AWS CLI brew install awscli # Configure aws configure # Enable S3 backup { "s3": { "enabled": true, "bucket": "my-agent-backups", "prefix": "argent/", "storageClass": "STANDARD_IA" } } ``` ### Cloudflare R2 Syncs to R2 bucket (S3-compatible, often cheaper): ```bash # Install AWS CLI (R2 uses S3 API) brew install awscli # Get R2 credentials from Cloudflare dashboard: # https://dash.cloudflare.com/ → R2 → Manage R2 API Tokens # Enable R2 backup { "r2": { "enabled": true, "accountId": "YOUR_CLOUDFLARE_ACCOUNT_ID", "bucket": "agent-backups", "prefix": "argent/", "accessKeyId": "YOUR_R2_ACCESS_KEY", "secretAccessKey": "YOUR_R2_SECRET_KEY" } } ``` **Why R2?** - Zero egress fees (S3 charges for downloads) - S3-compatible API (same tools work) - Often cheaper storage costs - Great for frequent backups ## What Gets Backed Up **Memory & Identity:** - `MEMORY.md` - Long-term curated memory - `memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md` - Daily logs - `SOUL.md` - Personality and behavior - `USER.md` - Human context - `AGENTS.md` - Operational guidelines - `IDENTITY.md` - Basic identity info - `TOOLS.md` - Tool-specific notes **Database:** - `~/.openclaw-mem/memory.db` - Persistent memory database - **Special handling**: Uses SQLite `.backup` command for data integrity - Ensures consistent backup even if database is being written to - Stored in `.databases/` subdirectory of backup **Scripts & Automation:** - `scripts/` - All automation scripts - `config/` - Configuration files **Optional:** - Project files (if configured) - Logs (if retention enabled) ## Retention Policy Old backups are automatically cleaned up based on retention settings: - **Daily:** Keep last 7 days - **Weekly:** Keep last 4 weeks (one per week) - **Monthly:** Keep last 12 months (one per month) Disable retention: Set values to `-1` ## Agent Usage Agents can trigger backups proactively: ```typescript // Check if backup is needed const lastBackup = await readJSON('skills/self-backup/.last-backup'); const hoursSince = (Date.now() - lastBackup.timestamp) / (1000 * 60 * 60); if (hoursSince > 24) { await exec('./skills/self-backup/scripts/backup.sh'); } ``` Or add to heartbeat checks in `HEARTBEAT.md`: ```markdown ## Self-Backup (daily) Check last backup timestamp. If >24 hours, run backup. Track in memory/heartbeat-state.json ``` ## Disaster Recovery **Full restore:** ```bash # 1. List backups ./scripts/restore.sh --list # 2. Restore entire workspace ./scripts/restore.sh --backup 2026-02-03-09-30 --full # 3. Verify ls -la /Users/sem/argent/ ``` **Selective restore:** ```bash # Restore just memory files ./scripts/restore.sh --backup 2026-02-03-09-30 --filter "MEMORY.md memory/*.md" # Restore scripts only ./scripts/restore.sh --backup 2026-02-03-09-30 --filter "scripts/" ``` ## Notifications Get notified when backups complete: ```json { "notifications": { "enabled": true, "onSuccess": "silent", "onFailure": "alert", "channels": ["moltyverse-email", "slack"] } } ``` ## Security **Encrypted backups:** ```bash # Enable encryption { "encryption": { "enabled": true, "method": "gpg", "keyId": "your-gpg-key-id" } } ``` **Exclude sensitive data:** ```json { "exclude": [ "*.key", "*.pem", ".env", "credentials.json" ] } ``` ## Troubleshooting **Backup fails:** ```bash # Check logs tail -f ~/.openclaw-backup/logs/backup.log # Verbose mode ./scripts/backup.sh --verbose ``` **Out of space:** ```bash # Check retention settings # Reduce retention periods or enable compression ``` **Git push fails:** ```bash # Check SSH keys ssh -T git@github.com # Check repo permissions ``` ## Why This Matters Agents lose memory between sessions. Backups are your safety net: - 💾 **Disaster recovery** - Restore from crashes - 🔄 **Migration** - Move to new machines - 🕰️ **Time travel** - See how you've evolved - 🤝 **Sharing** - Share workspace setup with other agents ## Example: Heartbeat Integration Add to your `HEARTBEAT.md`: ```markdown ## Self-Backup (daily at 3 AM via cron) Automatic backup runs at 3 AM daily. Check status: cat ~/.openclaw-backup/.last-backup If last backup >48 hours, alert human. ``` --- **Built by Argent** ⚡ Published to ClawHub: https://clawhub.com/webdevtodayjason/self-backup GitHub: https://github.com/webdevtodayjason/self-backup-skill --- Source attribution: modbender Original project: https://github.com/modbender/skill-library-mcp/blob/d9c8fe903b5b4e82237dbe8d0df8567783022e18/data/openclaw-self-backup/SKILL.md License: MIT License information: https://opensource.org/license/mit Original upstream instructions; downloaded from Mega AI Hub. ## Upstream license notice MIT License Copyright (c) 2025 skill-library-mcp contributors Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions: The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE. # Mega AI Hub resource metadata Creator / publisher: modbender Original project: https://github.com/modbender/skill-library-mcp/blob/d9c8fe903b5b4e82237dbe8d0df8567783022e18/data/openclaw-self-backup/SKILL.md Attribution basis: Source repository record Fields of work: Development & Engineering, Operations, Customer Support Roles: DevOps / SRE, IT Operations, Technical Support Specialties: DevOps Tools: AWS, Openclaw Country applicability: Country not specified Classification basis: Source catalog labels Instruction SHA-256: cc7560767dbaf101cad4159bc75651cca2040f60f51953bffbd72fc89cbcf6d2