- name
- openclaw-startup
- version
- 1.0.3
- description
- >
- author
- Zye ⚡ (Don Zurbrick)
- license
- MIT
- metadata
- openclaw
- emoji
- 🚀
- requires
- bins
- ["bash", "mkdir", "date"]
- optionalBins
- ["openclaw", "clawhub"]
- platforms
OpenClaw Startup
First-run setup wizard for new OpenClaw agents. Interviews the user, generates tailored workspace files, scaffolds memory, installs operational crons, and recommends companion skills.
Use when
- setting up a new OpenClaw agent from scratch
- onboarding a new user who just installed OpenClaw
- resetting an agent workspace to a clean baseline
- someone says "set up my agent" or "help me get started"
Do not use when
- the agent is already configured and running (use
openclaw-guideinstead) - the user wants to change one specific config setting
- the task is skill authoring (use
skill-builder) - the task is security hardening of an existing agent (use
agent-hardening)
Phases
Run these in order. Each phase confirms with the user before proceeding.
Phase 1 — Identity Interview
Resuming a partial setup: Before starting the interview, check if any of SOUL.md, USER.md, or IDENTITY.md already exist. If they do, show the user what's already configured and ask: "Want to pick up where we left off, start fresh, or keep these and skip to memory setup?" Respect their choice.
Ask the user 8 questions to understand who they are and what the agent should do. Use the interview guide at references/interview-guide.md.
From the answers, generate:
SOUL.md— agent identity, personality, tone, boundariesUSER.md— human's key detailsIDENTITY.md— agent name, emoji, presentationAGENTS.md— customized fromassets/agents-template.mdwith principles
tailored to the user's main job (Q4) and communication style (Q5)
Show the user the generated files and ask for approval before writing.
Phase 2 — Memory Scaffolding
Run the install script to create the memory directory structure:
bash {baseDir}/scripts/install.shThis creates:
memory/directory with daily log structureMEMORY.md— durable fact indexACTIVE.md— current priorities trackermemory/FUTURE_INTENTS.md— commitments and deferred actions.learnings/— error and learning capture (agent-memory-loop)
Phase 3 — Operational Crons
Review recommended crons with the user. See references/cron-recipes.md.
If openclaw CLI is not available: Skip cron installation. Instead, show the user the recommended cron configs from references/cron-recipes.md and explain they can install them later once OpenClaw is set up. Proceed to Phase 4.
If openclaw CLI is available:
Always recommend:
- Heartbeat (configurable frequency)
- Workspace backup (daily)
Recommend if applicable:
- Weekly memory consolidation
- Session health watchdog
- Security monitoring
Install only what the user approves. Use the OpenClaw cron tool directly.
Phase 4 — Security Baseline
Walk through the security checklist at references/security-baseline.md.
Key items:
- Channel access controls (allowlist vs open)
- Injection defense rules in SOUL.md
- Escalation framework (green/yellow/red)
- Tool restrictions for sub-agents
Phase 5 — Companion Skills
Recommend installing these skills based on the user's needs:
| Skill | When to recommend | ClawHub |
|---|---|---|
cognition | Always — memory architecture | clawhub.com/skills/cognition |
summarize | Always — extract text/transcripts from URLs, videos, PDFs | clawhub.com/skills/summarize |
agent-hardening | If the agent handles sensitive data or external channels | clawhub.com/skills/agent-hardening |
openclaw-backup | If the user wants disaster recovery | clawhub.com/skills/openclaw-backup |
Install via ClawHub if available:
clawhub install <skill-name>Phase 6 — Verification
After setup, run a quick health check:
- Verify all generated files exist and are non-empty
- Verify crons are registered and have valid next-run times
- Verify the agent can respond to a basic prompt
- Show the user a summary of everything that was set up
Interview principles
- Ask one question at a time — don't dump all 8 at once
- Accept short answers — infer reasonable defaults from context
- Show what you're generating before writing it
- Never write to core files without user confirmation
- Keep the tone conversational, not bureaucratic
References
references/interview-guide.md— the 8 identity questions with guidancereferences/cron-recipes.md— recommended cron configurationsreferences/security-baseline.md— security checklist for new agentsreferences/placeholder-map.md— full mapping of interview answers → template placeholders + model recommendations
Assets (templates)
assets/soul-template.md— SOUL.md template with placeholdersassets/user-template.md— USER.md templateassets/identity-template.md— IDENTITY.md templateassets/agents-template.md— AGENTS.md starterassets/heartbeat-template.md— HEARTBEAT.md starter
Scripts
scripts/install.sh— creates memory scaffolding and .learnings directoryscripts/verify.sh— post-setup health check