ContextQMD
Back to Openclaw

Migrate

docs/cli/migrate.md

2026.5.59.6 KB
Original Source

openclaw migrate

Import state from another agent system through a plugin-owned migration provider. Bundled providers cover Codex CLI state, Claude, and Hermes; third-party plugins can register additional providers.

<Tip> For user-facing walkthroughs, see [Migrating from Claude](/install/migrating-claude) and [Migrating from Hermes](/install/migrating-hermes). The [migration hub](/install/migrating) lists all paths. </Tip>

Commands

bash
openclaw migrate list
openclaw migrate claude --dry-run
openclaw migrate codex --dry-run
openclaw migrate codex --skill gog-vault77-google-workspace
openclaw migrate hermes --dry-run
openclaw migrate hermes
openclaw migrate apply codex --yes --skill gog-vault77-google-workspace
openclaw migrate apply codex --yes
openclaw migrate apply claude --yes
openclaw migrate apply hermes --yes
openclaw migrate apply hermes --include-secrets --yes
openclaw onboard --flow import
openclaw onboard --import-from claude --import-source ~/.claude
openclaw onboard --import-from hermes --import-source ~/.hermes
<ParamField path="<provider>" type="string"> Name of a registered migration provider, for example `hermes`. Run `openclaw migrate list` to see installed providers. </ParamField> <ParamField path="--dry-run" type="boolean"> Build the plan and exit without changing state. </ParamField> <ParamField path="--from <path>" type="string"> Override the source state directory. Hermes defaults to `~/.hermes`. </ParamField> <ParamField path="--include-secrets" type="boolean"> Import supported credentials. Off by default. </ParamField> <ParamField path="--overwrite" type="boolean"> Allow apply to replace existing targets when the plan reports conflicts. </ParamField> <ParamField path="--yes" type="boolean"> Skip the confirmation prompt. Required in non-interactive mode. </ParamField> <ParamField path="--skill <name>" type="string"> Select one skill copy item by skill name or item id. Repeat the flag to migrate multiple skills. When omitted, interactive Codex migrations show a checkbox selector and non-interactive migrations keep all planned skills. </ParamField> <ParamField path="--no-backup" type="boolean"> Skip the pre-apply backup. Requires `--force` when local OpenClaw state exists. </ParamField> <ParamField path="--force" type="boolean"> Required alongside `--no-backup` when apply would otherwise refuse to skip backup. </ParamField> <ParamField path="--json" type="boolean"> Print the plan or apply result as JSON. With `--json` and no `--yes`, apply prints the plan and does not mutate state. </ParamField>

Safety model

openclaw migrate is preview-first.

<AccordionGroup> <Accordion title="Preview before apply"> 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. 
`openclaw migrate apply <provider>` previews the plan and prompts before changing state unless `--yes` is set. In non-interactive mode, apply requires `--yes`.
</Accordion> <Accordion title="Backups"> 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`. </Accordion> <Accordion title="Conflicts"> Apply 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. </Accordion> <Accordion title="Secrets"> Secrets are never imported by default. Use `--include-secrets` to import supported credentials. </Accordion> </AccordionGroup>

Claude provider

The bundled Claude provider detects Claude Code state at ~/.claude by default. Use --from <path> to import a specific Claude Code home or project root.

<Tip> For a user-facing walkthrough, see [Migrating from Claude](/install/migrating-claude). </Tip>

What Claude imports

  • Project CLAUDE.md and .claude/CLAUDE.md into the OpenClaw agent workspace.
  • User ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md appended to workspace USER.md.
  • MCP server definitions from project .mcp.json, Claude Code ~/.claude.json, and Claude Desktop claude_desktop_config.json.
  • Claude skill directories that include SKILL.md.
  • Claude command Markdown files converted into OpenClaw skills with manual invocation only.

Archive and manual-review state

Claude hooks, permissions, environment defaults, local memory, path-scoped rules, subagents, caches, plans, and project history are preserved in the migration report or reported as manual-review items. OpenClaw does not execute hooks, copy broad allowlists, or import OAuth/Desktop credential state automatically.

Codex provider

The bundled Codex provider detects Codex CLI state at ~/.codex by default, or at CODEX_HOME when that environment variable is set. Use --from <path> to inventory a specific Codex home.

Use this provider when moving to the OpenClaw Codex harness and you want to promote useful personal Codex CLI assets deliberately. Local Codex app-server launches use per-agent CODEX_HOME and HOME directories, so they do not read your personal Codex CLI state by default.

Running openclaw migrate codex in an interactive terminal previews the full plan, then opens a checkbox selector for skill copy items before the final apply confirmation. All skills start selected; uncheck any skill you do not want copied into this agent. For scripted or exact runs, pass --skill <name> once per skill, for example:

bash
openclaw migrate codex --dry-run --skill gog-vault77-google-workspace
openclaw migrate apply codex --yes --skill gog-vault77-google-workspace

What Codex imports

  • Codex CLI skill directories under $CODEX_HOME/skills, excluding Codex's .system cache.
  • Personal AgentSkills under $HOME/.agents/skills, copied into the current OpenClaw agent workspace when you want per-agent ownership.

Manual-review Codex state

Codex native plugins, config.toml, and native hooks/hooks.json are not activated automatically. Plugins may expose MCP servers, apps, hooks, or other executable behavior, so the provider reports them for review instead of loading them into OpenClaw. Config and hook files are copied into the migration report for manual review.

Hermes provider

The bundled Hermes provider detects state at ~/.hermes by default. Use --from <path> when Hermes lives elsewhere.

What Hermes imports

  • Default model configuration from config.yaml.
  • Configured model providers and custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints from providers and custom_providers.
  • MCP server definitions from mcp_servers or mcp.servers.
  • SOUL.md and AGENTS.md into the OpenClaw agent workspace.
  • memories/MEMORY.md and memories/USER.md appended to workspace memory files.
  • Memory config defaults for OpenClaw file memory, plus archive or manual-review items for external memory providers such as Honcho.
  • Skills that include a SKILL.md file under skills/<name>/.
  • Per-skill config values from skills.config.
  • Supported API keys from .env, only with --include-secrets.

Supported .env keys

OPENAI_API_KEY, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, OPENROUTER_API_KEY, GOOGLE_API_KEY, GEMINI_API_KEY, GROQ_API_KEY, XAI_API_KEY, MISTRAL_API_KEY, DEEPSEEK_API_KEY.

Archive-only state

Hermes state that OpenClaw cannot safely interpret 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 without pretending OpenClaw can execute or trust it automatically:

  • plugins/
  • sessions/
  • logs/
  • cron/
  • mcp-tokens/
  • auth.json
  • state.db

After applying

bash
openclaw doctor

Plugin contract

Migration sources are plugins. A plugin declares its provider ids in openclaw.plugin.json:

json
{
  "contracts": {
    "migrationProviders": ["hermes"]
  }
}

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, cached config-runtime wrappers, and migration reports.

Onboarding integration

Onboarding can offer migration when a provider detects a known source. Both openclaw onboard --flow import and openclaw setup --wizard --import-from hermes use the same plugin migration provider and still show a preview before applying.

<Note> 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. </Note>