OpenClaw -> Hermes Migration

Use this skill when a user wants to move their OpenClaw setup into Hermes Agent with minimal manual cleanup.

CLI Command

For a quick, non-interactive migration, use the CLI command the agent-importers plugin provides:

hermes import-agent openclaw              # Full interactive migration
hermes import-agent openclaw --dry-run    # Preview what would be migrated
hermes import-agent openclaw --preset user-data   # Migrate without secrets
hermes import-agent openclaw --overwrite  # Overwrite existing conflicts
hermes import-agent openclaw --source /custom/path/.openclaw  # Custom source

The older spelling hermes claw migrate (same flags) still works, and hermes claw cleanup archives the leftover OpenClaw directory afterwards. The CLI command runs the same migration script described below. Use this skill (via the agent) when you want an interactive, guided migration with dry-run previews and per-item conflict resolution.

First-time setup: hermes setup offers to import from another agent (OpenClaw, Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor).

What this skill does

It uses scripts/openclaw_to_hermes.py to:

• import SOUL.md into the Hermes home directory as SOUL.md
• transform OpenClaw MEMORY.md and USER.md into Hermes memory entries
• merge OpenClaw command approval patterns into Hermes command_allowlist
• migrate Hermes-compatible messaging settings such as TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS, and map OpenClaw workspace settings to Hermes working-directory configuration
• copy OpenClaw skills into ~/.hermes/skills/openclaw-imports/
• optionally copy the OpenClaw workspace instructions file into a chosen Hermes workspace
• mirror compatible workspace assets such as workspace/tts/ into ~/.hermes/tts/
• archive non-secret docs that do not have a direct Hermes destination
• produce a structured report listing migrated items, conflicts, skipped items, and reasons

Path resolution

The helper script lives next to this SKILL.md, inside the agent-importers plugin:

• scripts/openclaw_to_hermes.py (relative to this skill's directory)

This skill ships with the plugin; it is not copied into the Hermes skills directory, so do not look for it there.

Before running the helper:

1. Resolve the script relative to the absolute path of this SKILL.md (the directory skill_view reports for it), and call it by that absolute path.
2. Only use find as a fallback if that path is missing (for example, the plugin was moved manually).
3. When calling the terminal tool, do not pass workdir: "~". Use an absolute directory such as the user's home directory, or omit workdir entirely.

With --migrate-secrets, it will also import a small allowlisted set of Hermes-compatible secrets, currently:

• TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN

Default workflow

1. Inspect first with a dry run.
2. Present a simple summary of what can be migrated, what cannot be migrated, and what would be archived.
3. If the clarify tool is available, use it for user decisions instead of asking for a free-form prose reply.
4. If the dry run finds imported skill directory conflicts, ask how those should be handled before executing.
5. Ask the user to choose between the two supported migration modes before executing.
6. Ask for a target workspace path only if the user wants the workspace instructions file brought over.
7. Execute the migration with the matching preset and flags.
8. Summarize the results, especially:
   • what was migrated
   • what was archived for manual review
   • what was skipped and why

User interaction protocol

Hermes CLI supports the clarify tool for interactive prompts, but it is limited to:

• one choice at a time
• up to 4 predefined choices
• an automatic Other free-text option

It does not support true multi-select checkboxes in a single prompt.

For every clarify call:

• always include a non-empty question
• include choices only for real selectable prompts
• keep choices to 2-4 plain string options
• never emit placeholder or truncated options such as ...
• never pad or stylize choices with extra whitespace
• never include fake form fields in the question such as enter directory here, blank lines to fill in, or underscores like _____
• for open-ended path questions, ask only the plain sentence; the user types in the normal CLI prompt below the panel

If a clarify call returns an error, inspect the error text, correct the payload, and retry once with a valid questions array and clean choices.

When clarify is available and the dry run reveals any required user decision, your next action must be a clarify tool call. Do not end the turn with a normal assistant message such as:

• "Let me present the choices"
• "What would you like to do?"
• "Here are the options"

If a user decision is required, collect it via clarify before producing more prose. If multiple unresolved decisions remain, do not insert an explanatory assistant message between them. After one clarify response is received, your next action should usually be the next required clarify call.

Treat workspace-agents as an unresolved decision whenever the dry run reports:

• kind="workspace-agents"
• status="skipped"
• reason containing No workspace target was provided

In that case, you must ask about workspace instructions before execution. Do not silently treat that as a decision to skip.

Because of that limitation, use this simplified decision flow:

1. For SOUL.md conflicts, use clarify with choices such as:
   • keep existing
   • overwrite with backup
   • review first
2. If the dry run shows one or more kind="skill" items with status="conflict", use clarify with choices such as:
   • keep existing skills
   • overwrite conflicting skills with backup
   • import conflicting skills under renamed folders
3. For workspace instructions, use clarify with choices such as:
   • skip workspace instructions
   • copy to a workspace path
   • decide later
4. If the user chooses to copy workspace instructions, ask a follow-up open-ended clarify question requesting an absolute path.
5. If the user chooses skip workspace instructions or decide later, proceed without --workspace-target.
6. For migration mode, use clarify with these 3 choices:
   • user-data only
   • full compatible migration
   • cancel
7. user-data only means: migrate user data and compatible config, but do not import allowlisted secrets.
8. full compatible migration means: migrate the same compatible user data plus the allowlisted secrets when present.
9. If clarify is not available, ask the same question in normal text, but still constrain the answer to user-data only, full compatible migration, or cancel.

Execution gate:

• Do not execute while a workspace-agents skip caused by No workspace target was provided remains unresolved.
• The only valid ways to resolve it are:
  • user explicitly chooses skip workspace instructions
  • user explicitly chooses decide later
  • user provides a workspace path after choosing copy to a workspace path
• Absence of a workspace target in the dry run is not itself permission to execute.
• Do not execute while any required clarify decision remains unresolved.

Use these exact clarify payload shapes as the default pattern:

• {"question":"Your existing SOUL.md conflicts with the imported one. What should I do?","choices":["keep existing","overwrite with backup","review first"]}
• {"question":"One or more imported OpenClaw skills already exist in Hermes. How should I handle those skill conflicts?","choices":["keep existing skills","overwrite conflicting skills with backup","import conflicting skills under renamed folders"]}
• {"question":"Choose migration mode: migrate only user data, or run the full compatible migration including allowlisted secrets?","choices":["user-data only","full compatible migration","cancel"]}
• {"question":"Do you want to copy the OpenClaw workspace instructions file into a Hermes workspace?","choices":["skip workspace instructions","copy to a workspace path","decide later"]}
• {"question":"Please provide an absolute path where the workspace instructions should be copied."}

Decision-to-command mapping

Map user decisions to command flags exactly:

• If the user chooses keep existing for SOUL.md, do not add --overwrite.
• If the user chooses overwrite with backup, add --overwrite.
• If the user chooses review first, stop before execution and review the relevant files.
• If the user chooses keep existing skills, add --skill-conflict skip.
• If the user chooses overwrite conflicting skills with backup, add --skill-conflict overwrite.
• If the user chooses import conflicting skills under renamed folders, add --skill-conflict rename.
• If the user chooses user-data only, execute with --preset user-data and do not add --migrate-secrets.
• If the user chooses full compatible migration, execute with --preset full --migrate-secrets.
• Only add --workspace-target if the user explicitly provided an absolute workspace path.
• If the user chooses skip workspace instructions or decide later, do not add --workspace-target.

Before executing, restate the exact command plan in plain language and make sure it matches the user's choices.

Post-run reporting rules

After execution, treat the script's JSON output as the source of truth.

1. Base all counts on report.summary.
2. Only list an item under "Successfully Migrated" if its status is exactly migrated.
3. Do not claim a conflict was resolved unless the report shows that item as migrated.
4. Do not say SOUL.md was overwritten unless the report item for kind="soul" has status="migrated".
5. If report.summary.conflict > 0, include a conflict section instead of silently implying success.
6. If counts and listed items disagree, fix the list to match the report before responding.
7. Include the output_dir path from the report when available so the user can inspect report.json, summary.md, backups, and archived files.
8. For memory or user-profile overflow, do not say the entries were archived unless the report explicitly shows an archive path. If details.overflow_file exists, say the full overflow list was exported there.
9. If a skill was imported under a renamed folder, report the final destination and mention details.renamed_from.
10. If report.skill_conflict_mode is present, use it as the source of truth for the selected imported-skill conflict policy.
11. If an item has status="skipped", do not describe it as overwritten, backed up, migrated, or resolved.
12. If kind="soul" has status="skipped" with reason Target already matches source, say it was left unchanged and do not mention a backup.
13. If a renamed imported skill has an empty details.backup, do not imply the existing Hermes skill was renamed or backed up. Say only that the imported copy was placed in the new destination and reference details.renamed_from as the pre-existing folder that remained in place.

Migration presets

Prefer these two presets in normal use:

• user-data
• full

user-data includes:

• soul
• workspace-agents
• memory
• user-profile
• messaging-settings
• command-allowlist
• skills
• tts-assets
• archive

full includes everything in user-data plus:

• secret-settings

The helper script still supports category-level --include / --exclude, but treat that as an advanced fallback rather than the default UX.

Commands

Run the helper with Hermes' Python environment, which includes ruamel.yaml. For a standalone Python environment, install ruamel.yaml==0.18.17 first.

In the commands below, <skill-dir> is the absolute directory holding this SKILL.md (see Path resolution above).

Dry run with full discovery:

python <skill-dir>/scripts/openclaw_to_hermes.py

When using the terminal tool, prefer an absolute invocation pattern such as:

{"command":"python /absolute/path/to/openclaw-migration/scripts/openclaw_to_hermes.py","workdir":"/home/USER"}

Dry run with the user-data preset:

python <skill-dir>/scripts/openclaw_to_hermes.py --preset user-data

Execute a user-data migration:

python <skill-dir>/scripts/openclaw_to_hermes.py --execute --preset user-data --skill-conflict skip

Execute a full compatible migration:

python <skill-dir>/scripts/openclaw_to_hermes.py --execute --preset full --migrate-secrets --skill-conflict skip

Execute with workspace instructions included:

python <skill-dir>/scripts/openclaw_to_hermes.py --execute --preset user-data --skill-conflict rename --workspace-target "/absolute/workspace/path"

Do not use $PWD or the home directory as the workspace target by default. Ask for an explicit workspace path first.

Important rules

1. Run a dry run before writing unless the user explicitly says to proceed immediately.
2. Do not migrate secrets by default. Tokens, auth blobs, device credentials, and raw gateway config should stay out of Hermes unless the user explicitly asks for secret migration.
3. Do not silently overwrite non-empty Hermes targets unless the user explicitly wants that. The helper script will preserve backups when overwriting is enabled.
4. Always give the user the skipped-items report. That report is part of the migration, not an optional extra.
5. Prefer the primary OpenClaw workspace (~/.openclaw/workspace/) over workspace.default/. Only use the default workspace as fallback when the primary files are missing.
6. Even in secret-migration mode, only migrate secrets with a clean Hermes destination. Unsupported auth blobs must still be reported as skipped.
7. If the dry run shows a large asset copy, a conflicting SOUL.md, or overflowed memory entries, call those out separately before execution.
8. Default to user-data only if the user is unsure.
9. Only include workspace-agents when the user has explicitly provided a destination workspace path.
10. Treat category-level --include / --exclude as an advanced escape hatch, not the normal flow.
11. Do not end the dry-run summary with a vague “What would you like to do?” if clarify is available. Use structured follow-up prompts instead.
12. Do not use an open-ended clarify prompt when a real choice prompt would work. Prefer selectable choices first, then free text only for absolute paths or file review requests.
13. After a dry run, never stop after summarizing if there is still an unresolved decision. Use clarify immediately for the highest-priority blocking decision.
14. Priority order for follow-up questions:
    • SOUL.md conflict
    • imported skill conflicts
    • migration mode
    • workspace instructions destination
15. Do not promise to present choices later in the same message. Present them by actually calling clarify.
16. After the migration-mode answer, explicitly check whether workspace-agents is still unresolved. If it is, your next action must be the workspace-instructions clarify call.
17. After any clarify answer, if another required decision remains, do not narrate what was just decided. Ask the next required question immediately.

Expected result

After a successful run, the user should have:

• Hermes persona state imported
• Hermes memory files populated with converted OpenClaw knowledge
• OpenClaw skills available under ~/.hermes/skills/openclaw-imports/
• a migration report showing any conflicts, omissions, or unsupported data