Your agents are more than config files

If you've spent time building out your AI agent setup, you know the value isn't just in the config. It's in the memories your agents have accumulated, the personality you've shaped in SOUL.md, the tools and workflows they've learned, the conversation history that gives them context. Losing all that to a hard drive failure or a botched OS upgrade would be painful.

ClawManager ships with a full backup and restore system built right into the app. You can export your entire setup (encrypted, with all secrets included), export individual agents as portable archives, or export your full agent team as a blueprint. And because the backup format is cross-platform, you can move your agents between Linux, macOS, and Windows without breaking anything.

This guide walks through every option.

Where your agent data actually lives

Before diving into backups, it helps to know what you're backing up. Everything ClawManager and OpenClaw manage lives in a single folder on your machine:

~/.openclaw

Inside that folder you'll find:

Agent workspaces with SOUL.md, IDENTITY.md, MEMORY.md, AGENTS.md, and daily memory journals
openclaw.json with your full gateway config (model providers, channels, agent definitions)
Credentials with API keys, OAuth tokens, and auth profiles for connected services
Session data with conversation history and compaction state

Backing up that folder backs up everything. The tools in ClawManager just make it safer and easier to do.

Option 1: Full encrypted backup

ClawManager ships with a full backup and restore system built right into the app.

This is the recommended approach for complete protection. It captures your entire OpenClaw installation, including all secrets (API keys, bot tokens, OAuth credentials, .env files), and encrypts everything with AES-256-GCM before writing it to disk. The unencrypted data never touches your filesystem.

How to export

Open ClawManager and go to Backup & Restore in the Global > Home Category.
Under Full Config Backup / Restore, click Set up export
Choose a strong password (minimum 12 characters). A strength meter shows you how secure your choice is
Confirm the password and check the acknowledgement box
Click Export encrypted backup

ClawManager packages everything into a .clawpack.enc file and saves it to your exports folder. The progress bar shows you what's happening in real time: scanning files, building the archive, encrypting, and writing to disk.

Important: If you lose the password, the backup cannot be recovered. There is no reset or recovery mechanism. Store the password somewhere safe.

✅What's included

All agent workspaces (every .md file, every memory journal, every custom file)
Your full openclaw.json config (unredacted)
All credentials and auth profiles
.env files
Session data and logs

❌What's excluded

node_modules, .git, .next, dist (heavy, reproducible directories)
Previous backup exports (avoids recursive backups eating your disk)

How to restore

In Backup & Restore, scroll to the Import section
Select your .clawpack.enc file
ClawManager detects it's encrypted and prompts for your password
Enter the password and review the options:

Overwrite: Required. This replaces your current ~/.openclaw entirely
Backup existing: Creates a timestamped copy of your current setup before overwriting (recommended)
Stop gateway: Stops the OpenClaw gateway before restoring (recommended)

Click Decrypt & restore

ClawManager decrypts the backup in memory (never writes unencrypted secrets to disk), restores all files to ~/.openclaw, and if needed, rewrites any hardcoded paths from the original machine to match your current one.

Option 2: Export a single agent

Sometimes you don't need a full backup. Maybe you want to share a specific agent with a colleague, or save a snapshot of one agent before making big changes to it.

How to export

Go to Backup & Restore and scroll to Export an Agent
Select the agent you want to export from the dropdown
Click Export

This downloads a .zip archive containing the agent's complete workspace: SOUL.md, IDENTITY.md, MEMORY.md, TOOLS.md, AGENTS.md, memory journals, and any custom files in that agent's workspace directory.

Note: Single agent exports do not include secrets or API keys. They're safe to share. The exported agent will need to be connected to a provider (API key) on whatever machine it's imported to.

How to import

On the target machine, go to Backup & Restore
Under Import , click Choose .zip file and select the archive
ClawManager previews the contents: agent name, emoji, file count, and model
Choose an Agent ID for the imported agent (or keep the suggested one)
Click Import Agent

The agent's workspace files are unpacked into your local OpenClaw installation. The agent appears in ClawManager immediately.

Moving agents between machines

This is one of the most practical uses of the backup system. Your agent setup works the same regardless of operating system: an agent built on a Linux desktop can be restored on a MacBook or a Windows PC without modification.

The workflow

On the source machine: Create a full encrypted backup (Option 1 above)
Transfer the file: Copy the .clawpack.enc file to the target machine. USB drive, cloud storage, AirDrop, scp, whatever works for you
On the target machine: Install ClawManager and OpenClaw (the setup wizard handles this)
Import: Open Backup & Restore, select the .clawpack.enc file, enter your password, and restore

What happens during cross-platform restore

ClawManager handles the differences automatically:

Path rewriting: If you backed up on /home/dan/.openclaw and you're restoring to /Users/dan/.openclaw, ClawManager detects this from the backup manifest and rewrites every hardcoded path in every config and memory file. You'll see a blue notice showing exactly what's being changed
Version checking: If the OpenClaw version on the target machine differs from the source, you'll see a warning. It's best to run the same version on both machines
Provider re-authentication: If the backup was exported with provider scrubbing enabled, you'll need to re-enter your API keys on the new machine. This is intentional for security: you might not want your Anthropic key from your work machine showing up on your personal laptop

Example scenarios

Linux server to MacBook: You've been running agents on a home server and want the same setup on your laptop for travel. Export encrypted, transfer, restore. Done.
Windows to Linux: Switching your daily driver. Your agents, their memories, your config, everything comes along.
Sharing with a team member: Export a single agent (Option 2) and send them the .zip. They import it and have the same agent personality, memory, and workspace files. They just add their own API key.

Best practices

Use encrypted backups for anything with secrets. The unencrypted export deliberately strips API keys and credentials. If you want a complete, restorable backup, always use the encrypted option.
Back up before major changes. About to refactor an agent's SOUL.md? Changing model providers? Upgrading OpenClaw? Take a quick backup first. It takes seconds.
Store backups off-machine. A backup sitting on the same drive it's protecting isn't much help if the drive dies. Copy your .clawpack.enc files to cloud storage or an external drive.
Use a strong, memorable password. The encryption is AES-256-GCM. There is no backdoor. If you forget the password, the backup is gone. Consider a password manager.
Test your restores. A backup you've never tested is a backup you can't trust. Try restoring to a second machine (or a fresh OpenClaw install) to make sure everything works.

Wrapping up

Your agents are an investment. The personality you've built, the memories they've accumulated, the workflows you've configured: that all has value. ClawManager's backup system makes it straightforward to protect that investment and to take it with you wherever you go.

Full encrypted backups for complete protection. Single agent exports for sharing and snapshots. Cross-platform restore with automatic path rewriting. It all works from the Backup & Restore page in ClawManager.

Download ClawManager at clawmanager.ai and back up your agents today.