Agent Migrate

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name: agent-migrate description: "Cross-platform agent migration and deployment. Use when: (1) migrating OpenClaw agent to new servers, (2) backing up and restoring agent state, (3) deploying agent configurations across environments, (4) syncing workspace between development and production. NOT for: general file backup, non-agent data migration."

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Agent Migration

Migrate OpenClaw agents across servers and platforms while preserving identity, memory, and configuration.

When to Use

✅ USE this skill when:

Moving agent from local machine to remote server

Cloning agent configuration to multiple environments

Backing up complete agent state for disaster recovery

Syncing workspace changes between dev/prod

Upgrading OpenClaw with full rollback capability

❌ DON'T use when:

Simple file copy operations → use cp/rsync directly

Database migrations → use database-specific tools

Non-OpenClaw application deployment

Core Concepts

Agent State Components

Agent State = Identity + Memory + Config + Skills + Extensions
├── workspace/           # Core identity files
│   ├── IDENTITY.md      # Who the agent is
│   ├── USER.md          # Who they serve
│   ├── SOUL.md          # Personality
│   ├── MEMORY.md        # Long-term memory
│   ├── AGENTS.md        # Operational rules
│   ├── TOOLS.md         # Environment notes
│   └── memory/          # Daily logs
├── .openclaw/
│   ├── openclaw.json    # Gateway config
│   ├── agents/          # Session data
│   └── extensions/      # Custom plugins
└── skills/              # Custom skills (if any)

Migration Workflows

#### 1. Export (Source Machine)

# Full agent export
./scripts/export-agent.sh [export-name]
Creates:
/tmp/agent-export-[name]/
  ├── manifest.json      # Export metadata
  ├── workspace.tar.gz   # Core files
  ├── config.tar.gz      # OpenClaw config
  └── restore.sh         # Self-contained restore

#### 2. Transfer

# Via SSH
scp -r /tmp/agent-export-[name] user@new-server:/tmp/
Via GitHub (recommended for versioned deployments)
Push to repo, clone on target

#### 3. Import (Target Machine)

# Run self-contained restore
cd /tmp/agent-export-[name] && ./restore.sh
Or manual:
./scripts/import-agent.sh /tmp/agent-export-[name]

Scripts

Export Agent

scripts/export-agent.sh [name] [--full]

Options:

name - Export identifier (default: timestamp)

--full - Include session history and logs

Import Agent

scripts/import-agent.sh  [--merge|--replace]

Options:

--merge - Merge with existing agent (default)

--replace - Wipe existing, clean install

Sync to GitHub

scripts/sync-github.sh  [--push|--pull]

Syncs agent state to GitHub for versioned deployment.

Platform-Specific Notes

Linux → Linux

Direct transfer, no conversion needed.

macOS → Linux

Check for macOS-specific paths in scripts

Update file watchers if used

Windows WSL → Native Linux

Line endings auto-handled

Verify executable permissions

Docker Deployment

See references/docker-deploy.md for containerized deployment.

Security Checklist

[ ] Sanitize openclaw.json (remove sensitive tokens before export)

[ ] Verify target machine permissions

[ ] Rotate any exposed credentials post-migration

[ ] Test agent functionality before production cutover

Rollback

Exports are immutable snapshots. To rollback:

# Re-import previous export
./scripts/import-agent.sh /path/to/previous-export --replace