OpenClaw Integration

Why

OpenClaw writes memory files (markdown) which are a solid foundation for long-term memory. But flat files aren't enough to reliably recall what's happening, what needs follow-up, or to build a continuous improvement loop.

Keep includes OpenClaw hooks that add three things:

Context injection (before_agent_start) — at the start of every agent turn, keep injects current intentions, similar notes, and open commitments. The agent starts each turn knowing what matters.
Episodic knowledge (after_compaction) — when OpenClaw compacts context, keep indexes the memory files and turns them into searchable, tagged, versioned knowledge. Not just "what was said" but the structure within it.
Reflection (cron with keep prompt reflect) — a nightly review that asks: did the outcomes match the intentions? What patterns are forming? What could we do better? This is the learning loop that flat files can't provide.

Install keep

uv tool install keep-skill                    # API providers included
# Or: uv tool install 'keep-skill[local]'    # Local models, no API keys needed

Install the Plugin

openclaw plugins install -l $(keep config openclaw-plugin)
openclaw plugins enable keep
openclaw gateway restart

This installs the lightweight plugin from keep's package data directory.

What Gets Installed

Protocol block — AGENTS.md in your OpenClaw workspace gets the keep protocol block appended automatically (on any keep command, if AGENTS.md exists in the current directory).

Plugin hooks:

Hook	Event	What it does
`before_agent_start`	Agent turn begins	Runs `keep now -n 10`, injects output as prepended context
`after_agent_stop`	Agent turn ends	Runs `keep now 'Session ended'` to update intentions
`after_compaction`	Context compacted	Indexes `memory/` dir + `MEMORY.md` into keep via `keep put`

The agent starts each turn knowing its current intentions, similar items, open commitments, and recent learnings.

After compaction, workspace memory files are automatically indexed into keep. This uses the file-stat fast-path (mtime+size check) — unchanged files are skipped without reading. Safe to run on every compaction.

Reinstall / Upgrade

After upgrading keep, reinstall the plugin:

openclaw plugins install -l $(keep config openclaw-plugin)
openclaw gateway restart

The plugin source lives at $(keep config openclaw-plugin) — this resolves to the openclaw-plugin/ directory inside the installed keep package.

Recommended: Daily Reflection Cron

For automatic deep reflection with document analysis, create a cron job:

openclaw cron add \
  --name keep-reflect \
  --cron "0 21 * * *" --tz "America/New_York" \
  --session isolated \
  --agent-turn "Daily memory sync and reflection.

1. Index memory files with analysis: run \keep put /path/to/workspace/memory/ --analyze\
2. Reflect: run \keep prompt reflect\ and follow the practice.

This is the deeper review — not just what happened, but what it means."

This runs nightly in an isolated session. Step 1 indexes workspace memory files — the --analyze flag finds themes within each document; with v0.42.4+'s smart skip, unchanged files cost nothing. Step 2 renders the reflection prompt with current context injected, guiding the agent through the full practice.

Three-layer integration:

Layer	Trigger	Command	Purpose
Hook	After compaction	`keep put memory/`	Index files (cheap, hash-skip)
Cron	Daily (e.g. 9pm)	`keep put memory/ --analyze`	Find themes, deep reflection
Practice	Manual	`keep put`, `keep now`	Intentional capture

Provider Configuration

keep auto-detects AI providers from environment variables. Set one and go:

export OPENAI_API_KEY=...      # Simplest (handles both embeddings + summarization)
# Or: GEMINI_API_KEY=...       # Also does both
# Or: VOYAGE_API_KEY=... and ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=...  # Separate services

If Ollama is running locally, it's auto-detected with no configuration needed.

For local-only operation (no API keys): uv tool install 'keep-skill[local]'

See QUICKSTART.md for full provider options, model configuration, and troubleshooting.