Workspace Review

Audit workspace structure and memory files against OpenClaw conventions. Use when asked to "review workspace", "audit files", "check structure", or during periodic self-maintenance. Helps catch drift

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skill

AI & Machine Learning

intermediate

Workspace Review

A self-audit process to verify workspace files follow OpenClaw conventions and haven't drifted into non-standard patterns.

When to Run

Periodically (weekly or after major changes)
When asked to "review", "audit", or "check" workspace
After bootstrap or significant reorganization
During heartbeat maintenance cycles

Review Process

1. Structure Check

Verify expected files exist in correct locations:

~/.openclaw/workspace/
├── AGENTS.md        ← Operating instructions (REQUIRED)
├── SOUL.md          ← Persona/tone (REQUIRED)
├── USER.md          ← User profile (REQUIRED)
├── IDENTITY.md      ← Agent name/vibe/emoji (REQUIRED)
├── TOOLS.md         ← Local tool notes (REQUIRED)
├── HEARTBEAT.md     ← Heartbeat checklist (optional)
├── MEMORY.md        ← Curated long-term memory (optional)
├── BOOT.md          ← Runs on gateway restart (optional, boot-md hook)
├── BOOTSTRAP.md     ← One-time first-run ritual (delete after use)
├── memory/          ← Daily logs + reference docs (vector-indexed)
│   └── YYYY-MM-DD.md
└── skills/          ← Workspace-specific skills (optional)

Note on BOOT.md vs BOOTSTRAP.md:

```
BOOT.md
```
— Persistent; runs every gateway restart (if
```
boot-md
```
hook enabled)
```
BOOTSTRAP.md
```
— One-time; agent follows it on first run, then deletes it

Check: Run

ls -la

on workspace root. Flag missing required files.

2. File Purpose Audit

Each file has ONE job. Check for scope creep:

File	Should Contain	Should NOT Contain
AGENTS.md	Operating instructions, memory workflow, behavior rules	Personal memories, daily logs, tool configs
SOUL.md	Persona, tone, boundaries, identity philosophy	Task lists, technical details, credentials
USER.md	User profile, preferences, how to address them	Agent memories, system config
IDENTITY.md	Name, emoji, vibe, external identities (wallets, handles)	Instructions, memories
TOOLS.md	Environment-specific notes (camera names, SSH hosts, voices)	Skill instructions, operating procedures
HEARTBEAT.md	Short checklist for periodic checks	Long procedures, full documentation
MEMORY.md	Curated lessons, key context, important people/projects	Daily logs, raw notes
memory/*.md	Daily logs, raw notes, session summaries	Long-term curated memories

Check: Skim each file. Flag content in wrong location.

3. Memory Hygiene

Daily files use
```
YYYY-MM-DD.md
```
or
```
YYYY-MM-DD-slug.md
```
format
Hook-generated session files (
```
session-memory
```
hook creates
```
YYYY-MM-DD-slug.md
```
) reviewed periodically
Reference docs use descriptive names (not dates):
```
project-notes.md
```
,
```
api-guide.md
```
MEMORY.md contains curated insights, not raw logs
No duplicate information across MEMORY.md and daily files
Old daily files reviewed and distilled to MEMORY.md periodically
No sensitive data (API keys, passwords) in memory files

Automatic Memory Flush: OpenClaw triggers a silent agent turn before session compaction to write durable memories. The agent receives a prompt to flush important context to

memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md

. This is automatic — no action needed, but be aware your context WILL be compacted after ~180k tokens.

4. Vector Search Alignment

Only
```
MEMORY.md
```
and
```
memory/**/*.md
```
are indexed by default
Daily logs use
```
YYYY-MM-DD.md
```
; reference docs use descriptive names
Files outside
```
memory/
```
can be indexed via
```
memorySearch.extraPaths
```
in config

Session Memory (Experimental): If

memorySearch.experimental.sessionMemory = true

, session transcripts are also indexed and searchable via

memory_search

5. Git Status

⚠️ This workspace is PRIVATE. Never push to GitHub or any public remote.

cd ~/.openclaw/workspace && git status

No remote configured (or only private backup)
No untracked files that should be tracked
No tracked files that should be gitignored
No uncommitted changes lingering for days
.gitignore excludes secrets (*.key, .pem, .env, secrets)

6. Rogue Files Check

Look for files that don't fit the standard layout:

ls -la ~/.openclaw/workspace/

Flag anything that:

Duplicates bootstrap file purposes (e.g., README.md alongside AGENTS.md)
Stores credentials in workspace (should be in ~/.openclaw/credentials/)
Creates non-standard directories without clear purpose

Note: Only

MEMORY.md

and

memory/**/*.md

are vector-indexed. Files outside

memory/

can be added via

memorySearch.extraPaths

in config.

7. Size Check

Bootstrap files should be lean (loaded every session):

AGENTS.md: < 500 lines ideal, < 1000 max
SOUL.md: < 200 lines ideal
USER.md: < 100 lines ideal
IDENTITY.md: < 50 lines ideal
HEARTBEAT.md: < 100 lines (token burn concern)

wc -l AGENTS.md SOUL.md USER.md IDENTITY.md HEARTBEAT.md TOOLS.md MEMORY.md 2>/dev/null

8. Skills Check

skills/

exists:

Each skill has SKILL.md with valid frontmatter (name, description)
No duplicate skills (workspace vs managed)
Skills follow progressive disclosure (lean SKILL.md, references for details)

Output Format

After review, report:

## Workspace Review — YYYY-MM-DD
✅ Passing

[list what's correct]

⚠️ Warnings

[list minor issues]

❌ Issues

[list things that need fixing]

📋 Recommendations

[specific actions to take]

References

references/openclaw-conventions.md — Full workspace file specifications
references/checklist.md — Quick-reference checklist

Workspace Review

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Workspace Review

When to Run

Review Process

1. Structure Check

2. File Purpose Audit

3. Memory Hygiene

4. Vector Search Alignment

5. Git Status

6. Rogue Files Check

7. Size Check

8. Skills Check

Output Format

✅ Passing

⚠️ Warnings

❌ Issues

📋 Recommendations

References

Quick Start

Manual Installation

TEAR & SHARE

Tags

Multi-Agent Patterns

Memory Systems Design

Context Degradation Detection

Context Optimization

Tool Design for Agents

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