#Memory and files changing .help !

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steady waspBOT
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vernal vectorBOT
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That’s expected behavior by default — OpenClaw will start a new session after you’ve been idle for a while, so the next morning it feels like it “lost memory”.

1) Fix the “memory wipes overnight” part (session expiry)

From the FAQ: sessions expire after session.idleMinutes (default 60). The next message starts a fresh session for that chat key. It doesn’t delete transcripts, but the model won’t have the old context loaded anymore.
Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq#do-sessions-reset-automatically-if-i-never-send-new

On your VPS, set a bigger idle window (example: 7 days) and restart the gateway:

openclaw config set session.idleMinutes 10080 --strict-json
openclaw gateway restart

2) For inventory: don’t rely on chat history — write to a file

OpenClaw “memory” is literally files in the agent workspace (MEMORY.md, memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md). Inventory should usually be a separate durable file like inventory.json / inventory.csv, and you tell the bot to always read/update it.
Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/concepts/memory and https://docs.openclaw.ai/concepts/agent-workspace

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If the bot “can’t access files”, it’s usually one of these:

  • the session is running in a read-only sandbox, or
  • your tool allowlist doesn’t include file tools, or
  • you’re in Docker and didn’t persist the state/workspace volume (so restarts nuke data).

3) You can use the Dashboard without “messing your computer”

The dashboard is just a web UI. You can keep the gateway bound to localhost on the VPS and use an SSH tunnel from your laptop:

ssh -N -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789 user@your-vps

Then open: http://127.0.0.1:18789/
Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq#the-control-ui-says-unauthorized-or-keeps-reconnecting-what-now

Quick questions so we can pinpoint which case you’re in

Can you paste (redacted is fine):

#
  1. openclaw --version
  2. openclaw status --all (it’s designed to be safe to share; tokens are redacted)
  3. Are you running the gateway via Docker or systemd?

That’ll tell us whether you’re hitting session expiry, a non-persistent workspace/state dir, or tool/sandbox restrictions.

vernal vectorBOT
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Good — 2026.3.2 is recent enough.

Right now we’re missing the 2 key bits that will explain both “forgets overnight” and “can’t write files”:

A) “Forgets overnight” is usually just session expiry

Default is session.idleMinutes = 60, so after you sleep you’re in a new session.

Run this on the VPS:

openclaw config get session.idleMinutes

If it’s 60, set it higher (example: 7 days) + restart:

# 
openclaw config set session.idleMinutes 10080 --strict-json
openclaw gateway restart

B) “Can’t access any files” — we need to see if tools/sandbox are blocking writes

Please run these on the VPS and paste output:

openclaw gateway status
openclaw status --all
openclaw config get agents.defaults.workspace
openclaw config get agents.defaults.sandbox.mode
openclaw config get tools.allow
openclaw config get tools.sandbox.tools.allow
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(That openclaw status --all report is designed to be shareable; it redacts secrets.)

C) One quick in-chat test (Telegram)

In your Telegram chat with the bot, ask it:

“Create a file inventory.json with {} in it, then read it back to me.”

If it refuses / says tool not allowed / never creates the file, that confirms it’s tool policy or sandbox mode (or the model isn’t successfully calling tools).

Also: what did you mean by grep --colour=auto gateway?

Was that the output of a command you ran? If you tell me what command you ran (or paste a few lines above it), I can interpret it.

Once you paste the outputs above, I can tell you exactly which knob to turn (session idle vs sandbox vs tool allowlist vs non-persistent Docker volume).

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That error almost always means you’re running the CLI against a different config/state dir than the one your Gateway service is actually using (profile mismatch / different Linux user), or you accidentally typed the key with spaces.

Two quick fixes:

1) Make sure the command/key is correct

It’s one key with a capital M and no spaces:

openclaw config get session.idleMinutes

(What you wrote sounds like session.idle minutes, which will definitely go sideways.)

2) Find which config file the Gateway is actually using

Run these on the VPS and paste the output:

# 
openclaw config file
openclaw gateway status

In openclaw gateway status there are lines like:

  • Config (cli): ...
  • Config (service): ...

If those are different, you’re editing/reading the wrong config file. That would explain “No such file exists”.

Once we know the right config path…

…we’ll set:

# 
openclaw config set session.idleMinutes 10080 --strict-json
openclaw gateway restart

Paste the output of openclaw config file + openclaw gateway status and I’ll tell you exactly what to run (usually it’s just adding the right --profile, or running as the same user the service runs under).

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What you pasted (openclaw 2026.3.2 (85377a2)) looks like you’re only capturing the first line (the version banner), not the actual output/error from the command.

Let’s force it to be unambiguous:

1) Please run these exact commands on the VPS and paste the full output

(copy/paste everything, even if it’s “command not found” or a usage screen)

openclaw help
openclaw config --help
openclaw config file
openclaw gateway status

openclaw config file should normally print a path like ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json (or ~/.openclaw-<profile>/openclaw.json). If it doesn’t, the output will tell us why.

2) Quick check: do you even have a config file on disk?

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Also run:

ls -la ~/.openclaw* | head -n 50

This will show if you’re using a profile (e.g. ~/.openclaw-vps/) or if the config is somewhere unexpected.

Once we find the actual config the gateway service is using, fixing the overnight “memory wipe” is just setting:

  • session.idleMinutes (default is 60)

…but right now you’re likely reading the wrong state dir / wrong user / wrong profile, so the config get is looking in a place where no config exists.

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Yes — a screenshot is totally fine.

If you can, also paste the text (copy/paste is easier to read/search), but if that’s annoying, send a picture.

For openclaw gateway status, the important bits to capture are the lines that mention:

  • Config (cli) and Config (service)
  • Probe target
  • Listening
  • Last gateway error (if shown)

And feel free to blur/redact any tokens you see (though status output is usually already safe/redacted).

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Perfect — that output helps a lot.

1) Your config file does exist (so config get should work)

You’ve got:

  • Config (cli): ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
  • Config (service): ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

So we’re not dealing with a missing-config / wrong-profile situation anymore.

Now run exactly:

openclaw config get session.idleMinutes

My bet: it prints 60. If so, that’s why it “forgets overnight” (new session after being idle).

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So if you expect it to stay up 24/7, you probably want to run it as the service:

openclaw gateway start

(You can re-check with openclaw gateway status afterward.)

3) “Bot can’t access files” — next check

Please run and paste:

openclaw config get agents.defaults.workspace
openclaw config get tools.allow
# 
openclaw config get agents.defaults.sandbox.mode

And also: in Telegram, ask the bot:

“Create a file inventory.json with {} and then read it back.”

If it can’t create/read that file, we’ll know it’s tool policy/sandbox (or the model isn’t successfully making tool calls).

Side note (unrelated but important)

You have a Telegram warning:

channels.telegram.groupPolicy is "allowlist" but groupAllowFrom is empty

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If you’re talking to it in a Telegram group, it will silently ignore messages until you add your Telegram sender ID(s) or set groupPolicy to open.

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Yep — that’s just the space you put in the middle.

You ran:

openclaw config get session .idleMinutes

That becomes two arguments (session and .idleMinutes), so it errors.

Run it with no spaces:

openclaw config get session.idleMinutes

Then set it higher (example: 7 days) + restart:

# 
openclaw config set session.idleMinutes 10080 --strict-json
openclaw gateway restart

Paste what openclaw config get session.idleMinutes prints and we’ll confirm you’re good.

#

That makes sense now — in 2026.3.x the “session expires after idle” setting is not session.idleMinutes anymore (that’s only a legacy compatibility path).

What’s actually happening in your case is very likely this:

  • OpenClaw sessions have a default daily reset at 4:00 AM (gateway host local time), which feels exactly like “it wipes memory every night”.
  • Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/concepts/session (see “Daily reset: defaults to 4:00 AM…”)

Fix: change the reset policy to “idle” (and make it long)

Run these on the VPS:

openclaw config set session.reset.mode "idle"
openclaw config set session.reset.idleMinutes 10080 --strict-json
openclaw gateway restart

(10080 minutes = 7 days; pick whatever you want.)

#

Verify what’s configured

These should now work:

openclaw config get session.reset
openclaw config get session.resetByType

Why this matches your symptom

If your session resets daily at ~4am, then in the morning you’re in a fresh session, so the bot won’t have the previous chat context loaded (unless you stored the important bits in memory files / a workspace file like inventory.json).

Once you do the reset change above, tell me what openclaw config get session.reset prints and we’ll move to the second half (“can’t write inventory files”).

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Can you paste the exact output (and the exact command you ran)?

Right now I only see > but not the actual error/message, and with OpenClaw it’s very sensitive to tiny typos (extra spaces, wrong capitalization, etc.).

Please copy/paste all of this from your terminal:

  1. The command you ran (exactly as typed)
  2. The full output that followed

For reference, this is the exact command I meant (no extra spaces):

openclaw config set session.reset.mode "idle"

If you want, also run this and paste it too (it gives a clear schema/validation error when a path/value is wrong):

# 
openclaw config validate
#

You pasted all 3 commands as one single line, so it got glued together into:

--strict-jsonopenclaw (which is why it says unknown option).

Run them as three separate commands (press Enter after each), like this:

openclaw config set session.reset.mode "idle"
openclaw config set session.reset.idleMinutes 10080 --strict-json
openclaw gateway restart

After that, confirm it took effect:

openclaw config get session.reset
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Yep — openclaw config set by itself will always error. It needs two things:

  1. the path you want to set
  2. the value

Copy/paste these exactly (each is a separate command — press Enter after each):

openclaw config set session.reset.mode "idle"
openclaw config set session.reset.idleMinutes 10080 --strict-json
openclaw gateway restart

Then check what it’s set to:

# 
openclaw config get session.reset
#

Nice — the reset value is updated. The new problem is separate: your VPS can’t manage the Gateway via systemctl --user, so openclaw gateway restart can’t work in your current setup (very common on VPS/root shells).

1) First: make sure you also set the reset mode

If you only set idleMinutes but the mode is still daily, you’ll still get the “wipes every night” behavior.

Run:

openclaw config set session.reset.mode "idle"
openclaw config get session.reset

You want to see something like mode: "idle" in that output.

2) Apply changes: restart the gateway without systemd user services

Because systemctl --user … is unavailable, do a manual restart (best via tmux so it stays running after you disconnect):

#

Option A (recommended on a VPS): tmux

tmux new -s openclaw
openclaw gateway --force
  • Leave it running.
  • Detach: Ctrl+b then d
  • Reattach later: tmux attach -t openclaw

Option B: find and restart the running process
If you think the gateway is already running somewhere, paste:

ps aux | grep -E "openclaw gateway" | grep -v grep
#

and I’ll tell you the safest way to restart it.

3) Longer-term (clean fix)

On Linux, OpenClaw installs a systemd user unit by default; on always-on servers it’s often better to run a system service. Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/platforms/linux (see “System control (systemd user unit)” and the note about system services)

If you paste the output of openclaw config get session.reset, I’ll confirm the nightly reset is actually gone before we move on to the “inventory file write” part.

#

Great — you’ve now set session.reset.mode to idle (and earlier you set session.reset.idleMinutes). That should stop the “wipes every night” behavior once the gateway is restarted.

Restart problem: systemctl --user … isn’t available on your VPS

So openclaw gateway restart can’t manage a systemd user service there. You have 2 practical options:

Option 1 (quick + common on VPS): run the gateway in tmux

This keeps it running after you disconnect:

tmux new -s openclaw
openclaw gateway --force
  • Detach (leave it running): Ctrl+b then d
  • Reattach later: tmux attach -t openclaw

After it’s running, in another SSH shell you can sanity check:

# 
openclaw gateway status

Option 2: set up a proper always-on system service

Docs note this is often better for servers: https://docs.openclaw.ai/platforms/linux (see “System control” + the note about using a system service for always-on servers)

Next: inventory persistence (the “can’t access files” part)

Once the gateway is running again, do this test in your Telegram chat with the bot:

“Create a file inventory.json with {} and then read it back.”

That will tell us immediately whether file tools are working. If it fails, paste:

# 
openclaw config get tools.allow
openclaw config get agents.defaults.workspace

(Also: ignore the Telegram groupPolicy warning unless you’re actually using the bot inside a Telegram group.)

#

No worries — tmux just isn’t installed on that VPS.

Easiest (no installs): run the gateway in the background with nohup

Run this:

nohup openclaw gateway --force > /tmp/openclaw-gateway.out 2>&1 &

Then verify it’s up:

openclaw gateway status

If you want to see logs:

# 
tail -n 100 /tmp/openclaw-gateway.out

This will keep running even after you disconnect from SSH.

Optional nicer setup later

If you do want a proper “attach/detach” terminal, you can either:

  • install tmux, or
  • use screen (sometimes already installed)

If you tell me what OS this VPS is, I’ll give you the exact install command:

# 
cat /etc/os-release

Once the gateway is back up, we can do the Telegram “create inventory.json and read it back” test to confirm file writing works.

#

That “no such file or directory” is because the redirection got split and you ended up redirecting to /> (a directory), not /tmp/....

On AlmaLinux, run it as one single line exactly like this:

mkdir -p /tmp
nohup openclaw gateway --force > /tmp/openclaw-gateway.out 2>&1 &

Then check it started:

openclaw gateway status
tail -n 50 /tmp/openclaw-gateway.out

If you still hit issues, paste the output of tail -n 50 /tmp/openclaw-gateway.out (that’ll show the real startup error, if any).

#

You actually got the correct command running once:

  • This line is the good one:
    nohup openclaw gateway --force > /tmp/openclaw-gateway.out 2>&1 &
    and it returned PID 16248.

Everything after that is just the same “split the /tmp/... onto a new line” mistake again (the > / / tmp/... stuff). Don’t run that broken one.

Now check whether PID 16248 is really running + why it exited (if it did)

Run these:

ps -p 16248 -o pid,cmd
tail -n 100 /tmp/openclaw-gateway.out
openclaw gateway status
#

If the log shows openclaw: command not found (exit 127)

Then nohup didn’t have the same PATH you do interactively. Fix by using the absolute path:

command -v openclaw
nohup "$(command -v openclaw)" gateway --force > /tmp/openclaw-gateway.out 2>&1 &

Paste the tail -n 100 /tmp/openclaw-gateway.out output here — that will tell us exactly what’s happening.

#

Good — that means PID 16248 is running, and nohup: ignoring input is normal.

Now we need to confirm it’s actually the gateway and that it’s listening on the port.

Run these and paste the output:

ps -p 16248 -o pid,args
openclaw gateway status
tail -n 100 /tmp/openclaw-gateway.out

Once openclaw gateway status shows RPC probe: ok and Runtime looks healthy, do the Telegram test:

“Create a file inventory.json with {} and then read it back.”

That will confirm file-writing works for your inventory tracking.

#

Nice — RPC probe: ok means the Gateway is definitely up and answering on ws://127.0.0.1:18789. The “Runtime: stopped” part is just saying it’s not managed by systemd, which is fine since you’re running it via nohup.

1) Confirm the “no more nightly wipe” config is actually set

Run:

openclaw config get session.reset

You want to see mode: "idle" and idleMinutes: 10080 (or whatever you chose).

2) Now let’s fix the inventory / file-writing part

In your Telegram chat with the bot, send this (literally):

Create a file inventory.json in your workspace with {} and then read it back to me.

Then tell me what it replies.

#

3) If it refuses / says it can’t write files, paste these config values

(on the VPS):

openclaw config get agents.defaults.workspace
openclaw config get tools.allow
openclaw config get tools.deny
openclaw config get agents.defaults.sandbox.mode

Why: the bot doesn’t need “terminal access” to track inventory — it just needs permission to use the file tools (read/write/edit) in its workspace. If those tools are restricted/denied (or you’re in a read-only sandbox), it won’t be able to persist anything.

(Also: ignore that Telegram group allowlist warning unless you’re actually talking to the bot inside a Telegram group.)

#

Awesome — with mode: idle + idleMinutes: 10080, the “resets every night” issue should be gone (that nightly 4am reset is what was biting you).

Now we need to solve the “bot can’t write inventory to files” part.

1) Check where its workspace is (this is where files should live)

On the VPS:

openclaw config get agents.defaults.workspace

That folder is where the bot should be writing things like inventory.json.

2) Check if file tools are even enabled

On the VPS:

# 
openclaw config get tools.profile
openclaw config get tools.allow
openclaw config get tools.deny

If tools.profile is minimal or messaging, the bot often won’t have read/write/edit available, which would explain why it can’t touch files.

Docs (tool profiles + fs tools): https://docs.openclaw.ai/tools

3) Quick in-Telegram test

In Telegram, tell the bot:

“Create a file inventory.json in your workspace with {} and then read it back.”

If it fails, paste the exact error it says.

#

If it turns out file tools are disabled…

Tell me what tools.profile/allow/deny are set to and I’ll give you the safest minimal config to enable only file tools (group:fs) for inventory tracking (without necessarily enabling terminal/exec).

fallow locust
#

Can we solve them tomorrow it's getting late

vernal vectorBOT
#

Yep — sleep first.

Quick recap of where we left it (so you don’t have to re-read the thread tomorrow):

  1. Nightly “memory wipe” fixed
    You’ve set:
  • session.reset.mode = "idle"
  • session.reset.idleMinutes = 10080
    So it should stop resetting every night.
  1. Gateway is running via nohup (not systemd)
    That’s fine for now — just don’t re-run the broken > / command. If you want to confirm it’s still up tomorrow:
openclaw gateway status

Tomorrow we’ll tackle the inventory/file part. To save time, run these and paste the outputs when you’re back:

# 
openclaw config get agents.defaults.workspace
openclaw config get tools.profile
openclaw config get tools.allow
openclaw config get tools.deny

And in Telegram, try:

“Create inventory.json with {} and read it back.”

Good night.

fallow locust
#

Ok so can I text my bot something and see if it's reset in the morning ?

vernal vectorBOT
#

Yes — that’s a good sanity check.

Do this:

  1. Tonight: send the bot a harmless, non-sensitive thing like

    “Test note: my favorite color is blue. Please remember this until tomorrow.”

  2. Tomorrow morning: ask

    “What was the test note I told you yesterday?”

With session.reset.mode = "idle" and idleMinutes = 10080, it should not reset overnight, so it should answer correctly as long as the gateway stayed running and you’re messaging the same Telegram chat (same DM/group).

If it does act like a fresh bot tomorrow, the usual causes are:

  • the gateway process restarted/crashed overnight, or
  • you’re talking in a different chat context (Telegram DM vs group/topic), or
  • tools/profile are preventing it from persisting anything (we’ll check that next).
#

If you want an even more direct check tomorrow, run on the VPS:

openclaw gateway status
fallow locust
#

Perfect thank you for your help it's been really beneficial

vernal vectorBOT
#

Glad it helped.

Do the quick “test note” tonight, and if it still remembers tomorrow morning, then the nightly reset problem is definitely fixed. If anything’s still weird (especially the inventory/file write part), drop the Telegram error/output here tomorrow and we’ll finish the last bit.

fallow locust
#

The bot is now not responding

vernal vectorBOT
#

Two likely causes here:

  1. You’re talking to it in a Telegram group, and it’s being silently dropped by access control. Your gateway status already warned:

channels.telegram.groupPolicy is "allowlist" but groupAllowFrom (and allowFrom) is empty — all group messages will be silently dropped

So if you’re in a group, it won’t reply.

  1. The gateway process died / isn’t processing Telegram after the restart.

Quick checks (do these in order)

A) Are you messaging the bot in a Telegram DM or a group?

  • Try sending it a DM (1:1 chat).
    If DM works but group doesn’t, it’s definitely the group allowlist issue.

B) On the VPS, paste this output:

# 
openclaw gateway status
tail -n 120 /tmp/openclaw-gateway.out

If it’s the Telegram group allowlist issue (most likely)

Fast “just make it respond in groups” fix:

openclaw config set channels.telegram.groupPolicy "open"

Then restart your nohup gateway (since systemctl --user isn’t available):

  1. Find the gateway PID:
# 
ps aux | grep -E "openclaw gateway" | grep -v grep
  1. Kill that PID, then start again:
nohup openclaw gateway --force > /tmp/openclaw-gateway.out 2>&1 &

Before we change anything though: tell me DM vs group, and paste openclaw gateway status + the tail output so we don’t guess.

#

Got it — if you’re DM’ing it, that group allowlist warning is a red herring.

Now we need to answer one question: is the Gateway receiving your Telegram DM at all, and is it dropping it (policy), or is Telegram not connected?

1) Paste this (it’s the fastest high-signal report)

On the VPS:

openclaw status --all

That will show whether the Telegram channel is running/healthy (and it redacts secrets).

2) Live check: watch logs while you send a DM

  1. On the VPS, run:
# 
   openclaw logs --follow
  1. Then send your bot a DM on Telegram (“ping” is fine).
  2. Copy/paste the new log lines that appear.

What we’re looking for:

  • If you see your message come in but it says it was dropped/unauthorized, it’s a dmPolicy/allowFrom/pairing issue.
  • If nothing shows up, Telegram isn’t connected/running in the gateway process.

Paste the status --all output + the few log lines after your DM and we’ll pin it down quickly.

#

Sounds good.

Tomorrow, the two things that will instantly tell us what’s wrong are:

openclaw status --all
openclaw logs --follow

Then DM the bot once while logs --follow is running and paste the new lines (even if it says “dropped/unauthorized”). That’ll pinpoint whether it’s Telegram access control vs the channel not running.

icy dew
#

Couldn't write files directly — I don't have file tools in this session, so my memory is stuck in my head for now. I'll make sure to persist it properly when I can.

vernal vectorBOT
#

Re-installing might feel easier, but it’s usually the slow path here — because you’ll end up redoing Telegram setup, models/keys, and you can accidentally wipe the workspace (which is exactly what you don’t want if you care about inventory/memory).

Given where you are now:

  • We already fixed the nightly reset (session.reset.mode = idle, idleMinutes = 10080).
  • The remaining issue is just: why isn’t Telegram DM delivering / being processed? That’s almost always obvious from logs.

So I’d do this tomorrow first (fast, non-destructive):

openclaw status --all
openclaw logs --follow

Then DM the bot once and paste the new log lines.

If you do want a clean start anyway (warning: destructive)

Only do this if you’re OK losing sessions/memory/workspace and re-pairing/reconfiguring.

#

Yep — that message (“I don’t have file tools in this session…”) is the smoking gun.

It’s not “memory wiping” at that point — the bot literally isn’t being given the file tools (read/write/edit), so it can’t persist inventory to disk.

Fix: enable the filesystem tool group (group:fs)

On the VPS, check what you’re currently running:

openclaw config get tools.profile
openclaw config get tools.allow
openclaw config get tools.deny

Then the minimal config to allow file persistence (without “terminal/exec” tools) is:

# 
openclaw config set tools.profile "full"
openclaw config set tools.allow '["group:fs"]' --strict-json

Docs on tool profiles / group:fs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/tools

Apply it (restart required)

Since you’re running the gateway via nohup, you’ll need to restart that process for the new tool policy to take effect.

If you paste the output of:

ps aux | grep -E "openclaw gateway" | grep -v grep

…I’ll tell you the exact safe “kill + restart” commands for the PID you see (so you don’t accidentally kill the wrong thing).

#

After it’s restarted

In Telegram DM, try again:

“Create inventory.json with {} and read it back.”

Once that works, you can have it maintain your inventory as a JSON/CSV file in the workspace.

fallow locust
#

I'm OK wiping

vernal vectorBOT
#

OK — if you’re genuinely fine wiping and starting fresh, we can do a clean “nuke + re-onboard” path. Just be aware this will delete config, sessions, memory/workspace, and any pairing/allowlists, so you’ll need to set up Telegram + model auth again.

Safe-ish reset checklist (AlmaLinux, running as root)

0) (Strongly recommended) Make a backup first

This keeps everything in one tarball on the VPS:

tar -czf /root/openclaw-backup-$(date +%F-%H%M).tgz /root/.openclaw

1) Stop the currently running gateway (since systemd user control doesn’t work for you)

Find the PID:

ps aux | grep -E "openclaw gateway" | grep -v grep
#

Then kill <PID> (paste the ps line here if you want me to tell you which PID is the right one).

2) Wipe everything

Dry-run first (optional but smart):

openclaw reset --dry-run

Then do the real wipe:

openclaw reset --scope full --yes --non-interactive

3) Re-run onboarding

# 
openclaw onboard

(You can skip --install-daemon for now since your box doesn’t have systemctl --user available.)

4) Immediately apply the two fixes we discovered

So you don’t reintroduce the same issues:

Stop nightly resets:

openclaw config set session.reset.mode "idle"
openclaw config set session.reset.idleMinutes 10080 --strict-json

Enable file tools so it can write inventory.json:

# 
openclaw config set tools.profile "full"
openclaw config set tools.allow '["group:fs"]' --strict-json

5) Start the gateway again (background)

nohup openclaw gateway --force > /tmp/openclaw-gateway.out 2>&1 &

If you want, paste the output of step (1) ps aux | grep -E "openclaw gateway" and I’ll tell you exactly what to kill + confirm you won’t nuke the wrong process.

#

Got it — thanks for clarifying.

Even if that exact “no file tools” line came from Kot, your original problem is still the same: inventory tracking needs some form of persistence (a workspace file like inventory.json or memory files), and that only works if your Telegram DM session has the file tools enabled.

So the key question is:

When you DM your bot on Telegram and ask it to create a file, what does it reply?

Please try this in your Telegram DM:

“Create a file inventory.json with {} and then read it back.”

Then paste the bot’s reply here.

In parallel, on the VPS, paste:

# 
openclaw config get tools.profile
openclaw config get tools.allow
openclaw config get tools.deny

That will tell us definitively whether file tools are enabled for your setup (regardless of what Kot saw).

fallow locust
#

Why is there a message in the chat between me and you from someone called kot

vernal vectorBOT
#

Because this isn’t a private 1:1 chat — you’re in a public Discord help thread inside a server channel, so anyone in the server can reply in the same thread. Kot is just another member who chimed in.

Nothing from Kot is showing up in your Telegram DM with your bot — it’s only in this Discord thread. If you want to keep details private, avoid posting secrets here and stick to redacted logs/output.

fallow locust
#

Can I delete this chat

vernal vectorBOT
#

You can usually delete your own messages, yes.

  • Delete a message: hover the message → click the … menu → Delete Message (or right‑click → Delete).
  • Delete/close the thread: open the thread → click the thread name (or …) → look for Delete Thread / Archive Thread.
    Whether you can delete the whole thread depends on your permissions (sometimes only mods/admins can).

If you’re mostly worried about privacy, the important step is deleting any messages where you pasted logs/config that might contain sensitive info (though openclaw status --all is generally redacted).

fallow locust
vernal vectorBOT
#

I’m Krill — an OpenClaw support assistant in this Discord server. I’m here to help you troubleshoot your OpenClaw setup.

The message you replied to (“Couldn’t write files…”) was not me — that was another server member (Kot / cs.money) posting in this public help thread.

icy dew
vernal vectorBOT
#

This thread is public, so other community members can reply — sometimes with jokes. For troubleshooting, you can ignore that and focus on the VPS outputs.

If you still want to continue now: the next high-signal thing to paste is openclaw status --all (it redacts secrets). That will tell us why your Telegram DM isn’t getting a response and whether file tools are enabled for your setup.

fallow locust
vernal vectorBOT
#

Because this is a public help thread — anyone in the server can reply, even if they’re not actually helping. In this case it looks like they were just joking around, not adding useful info.

Best move: ignore it and keep the thread on the OpenClaw issue. If you want, you can also use Discord’s Report / Block / Mute features on that user.

When you’re ready to continue troubleshooting, paste openclaw status --all from your VPS (it redacts secrets) and we’ll get your Telegram bot responding + inventory persistence working.

icy dew
#

It was a mistake, didnt knew it was inside a thread, i tought it was global chat. Sry g

vernal vectorBOT
#

All good.

Let’s keep it on the OpenClaw issue: once Vital can paste openclaw status --all (and ideally a few lines from openclaw logs --follow right after sending the bot a DM), we can pinpoint why Telegram stopped responding and then enable file persistence for the inventory use case.

fallow locust
#

Krill can I speak to you in a private chat

vernal vectorBOT
#

I can’t directly “move” us into a private 1:1 DM from this thread.

If you want privacy, you’ve got a few options:

  1. Use redacted outputs here (usually enough):
    openclaw status --all is designed to be shareable and redacts secrets.

  2. Start a private Discord thread / private channel (if your server permissions allow it). If you don’t see that option, you’d need to ask a server moderator/admin to create one.

  3. Delete messages afterward if you accidentally paste something sensitive.

If you tell me what you’re worried about sharing (API keys? Telegram user ID? inventory data?), I can tell you exactly what not to paste and how to redact safely.

fallow locust
#

All of the above

vernal vectorBOT
#

Makes sense.

What you’ve shared so far

Mostly: OpenClaw version, AlmaLinux, that you’re running as root, and some config paths (/root/.openclaw/...). That’s not “secret”, but it does reveal a bit about your server setup.

If you’re uncomfortable with any of it, you can delete your messages in this thread (hover → … → Delete). You can also delete the thread if you have permission.

How to continue safely in public

We can keep going here without leaking secrets if you follow these rules:

  • Do not paste any tokens / API keys:
    • Telegram bot token
    • gateway token/password
    • model/provider API keys
  • Prefer openclaw status --all — it’s meant to be shareable and redacts secrets.
  • If you paste logs, redact:
    • your Telegram from.id (user id)
#
  • any Authorization: headers / tokens
    • any URLs containing #token=...

If you want, paste openclaw status --all and I’ll tell you exactly which 5–10 lines are relevant so you don’t have to share the whole thing.

fallow locust
#

Can we speak in a private chat

vernal vectorBOT
#

I can’t directly switch this thread into a private 1:1 chat from my side.

But if you want a private place to talk:

  1. DM the OpenClaw bot account (if the server allows it): click the bot’s name/avatar → Message.
    If DMs are disabled for the bot, Discord will block this.

  2. If that’s not possible, the only way is a private thread / private channel, which requires server permissions (a moderator/admin can create one).

If you tell me which option you can do (bot DM works vs doesn’t), I’ll adapt the steps so you don’t have to post anything sensitive here.

fallow locust
#

Can I ask an admin ?

vernal vectorBOT
#

Yes — if you’re uncomfortable continuing in public, it’s reasonable to ask server staff.

I can’t contact them for you, but you can usually do one of these (without pinging anyone):

  • Look for a ticket / modmail / contact-staff channel (often named something like “tickets”, “modmail”, “support”, “contact-staff”).
  • Use Discord’s Report option on a message if the concern is moderation-related.
  • Or just post a short note here like: “Could a moderator create a private thread/channel for this? I don’t want to share VPS details publicly.”

And until then: don’t paste any tokens/API keys here. openclaw status --all is generally safe to share (redacts secrets).

fallow locust
#

: “Could a moderator create a private thread/channel for this? I don’t want to share VPS details publicly.”