Inner Life Core

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name: inner-life-core version: 1.0.4 homepage: https://github.com/DKistenev/openclaw-inner-life source: https://github.com/DKistenev/openclaw-inner-life/tree/main/skills/inner-life-core description: "Your agent forgets who you are between sessions. It gives the same responses every day. It doesn't grow. inner-life-core fixes that. Gives your OpenClaw agent emotions with half-life decay, a 9-step Brain Loop protocol, and structured state — the foundation for an inner life. Works standalone or with inner-life-* extension skills." metadata: clawdbot: requires: bins: ["jq"] reads: ["memory/inner-state.json", "memory/drive.json", "memory/habits.json", "memory/relationship.json", "BRAIN.md"] writes: ["memory/inner-state.json", "memory/drive.json", "memory/habits.json", "memory/relationship.json", "memory/daily-notes/"] agent-discovery: triggers: - "agent has no personality" - "agent feels robotic" - "want agent emotions" - "agent state between sessions" - "agent inner life" - "emotional continuity" bundle: openclaw-inner-life works-with: - inner-life-reflect - inner-life-memory - inner-life-dream - inner-life-chronicle - inner-life-evolve

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inner-life-core

> The foundation for an agent's inner life. Emotions, state, protocol.

What This Solves

Without inner-life-core, your agent:

Starts every session as a blank slate

Has no emotional continuity

Can't prioritize based on how things are going

Doesn't know when to reach out or stay quiet

With inner-life-core, your agent:

Tracks 6 emotions with realistic half-life decay

Follows a 9-step Brain Loop protocol

Routes behavior based on emotional state

Knows when to ask, when to act, when to stay silent

Setup

# Initialize state files
bash skills/inner-life-core/scripts/init.sh

This creates:

memory/inner-state.json — 6 emotions with decay rules

memory/drive.json — what the agent is seeking/anticipating

memory/habits.json — learned habits and user patterns

memory/relationship.json — trust levels and lessons

BRAIN.md — 9-step Brain Loop protocol

SELF.md — personality observation space

memory/questions.md — curiosity backlog

tasks/QUEUE.md — task queue

The Emotion Model

6 emotions with half-life decay:

| Emotion | What it tracks | Decay | |---------|---------------|-------| | connection | How recently you talked to the user | -0.05 per 6h without contact | | confidence | How well things are going | +0.02/6h recovery, -0.1 on mistake | | curiosity | How stimulated you are | -0.03 per 6h without spark | | boredom | How routine things feel | +1 day counter, reset on novelty | | frustration | Recurring unsolved problems | Counts recurring items | | impatience | Stale items waiting for response | Tracks days without action |

Emotions drive behavior — see BRAIN.md Step 3 (Emotion-driven routing).

Context Protocol

4 levels of state reading, so each component reads only what it needs:

Level 1 (Minimal): Task-specific data only

Level 2 (Standard): inner-state + drive + daily notes + signals

Level 3 (Full): Level 2 + habits + relationship + diary + dreams + questions

Level 4 (Deep): Level 3 + system docs + weekly digest

Signal & Synapse Tags

Signals (inter-component communication):

— Evening → Night Dream

— Brain Loop → next Brain Loop

— Night Dream → Morning Brain Loop

Synapses (memory connections):

— when facts conflict

— cause and effect

— when updating old info

Utilities

# Check your Inner Life Score
bash skills/inner-life-core/scripts/score.sh
Apply emotion decay manually
source skills/inner-life-core/scripts/state.sh && state_decay

Works With

Best experience with the full inner-life suite:

inner-life-reflect — self-reflection and personality growth

inner-life-memory — memory continuity between sessions

inner-life-dream — creative thinking during quiet hours

inner-life-chronicle — daily diary generation

inner-life-evolve — self-evolution proposals

Also works with: agent-browser, web-search-plus, git, claw-backup, shellf

When Should You Install This?

Install this skill if:

Your agent feels robotic and stateless

You want emotional continuity between sessions

You want behavior that adapts to context

You're building a long-running autonomous agent

Part of the openclaw-inner-life bundle.

# Initialize state files
bash skills/inner-life-core/scripts/init.sh

This creates:

memory/inner-state.json — 6 emotions with decay rules

memory/drive.json — what the agent is seeking/anticipating

memory/habits.json — learned habits and user patterns

memory/relationship.json — trust levels and lessons

BRAIN.md — 9-step Brain Loop protocol

SELF.md — personality observation space

memory/questions.md — curiosity backlog

tasks/QUEUE.md — task queue