#Weird .MD files saved in memory folder? Alongside daily memory files

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harsh beacon
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What would cause multiple files to be saved In memory folder, I get the usual day files. But I also get additional files with names and dates: for example: 2026-03-16-api-rate-limit-reached-please-.md

2026-03-12-coder-instructions.md.. I am running QMD.

ionic pelicanBOT
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harsh beacon
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inside the MD files, it says ##conversation summary, with basically a transcript? Of the chat. My responses and the agents

solar creekBOT
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Those YYYY-MM-DD-something.md files are almost certainly from the bundled session-memory hook.

  • Normal daily log: memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md
  • Extra “dated + slug” files like 2026-03-16-api-rate-limit-reached-please-.md: created when you run /new or /reset and OpenClaw saves a snapshot of the previous session to memory/YYYY-MM-DD-<llm-generated-slug>.md.

That slug is generated from the recent conversation, so if the last thing that happened was an error (rate limit, etc.) you’ll get filenames like the examples you posted.

This is not caused by QMD (QMD is just the memory-search backend/indexer; it doesn’t normally create new Markdown notes in memory/).

How to confirm / fix:

openclaw hooks list
openclaw hooks info session-memory

If you don’t want those files:

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Yep — that “## Conversation Summary + a transcript of you + the agent” is exactly what the bundled session-memory hook writes.

When you issue /new or /reset, that hook:

  • grabs the last ~15 messages from the previous session transcript
  • puts them under ## Conversation Summary
  • saves them as a new file: memory/YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>.md (slug is LLM-generated from the convo, hence things like api-rate-limit-reached-please-)

So you’ll have both:

  • memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md (daily log)
  • memory/YYYY-MM-DD-something.md (session snapshot files created on /new or /reset)

To check/turn it off:

openclaw hooks list
# 
openclaw hooks info session-memory
openclaw hooks disable session-memory

Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/automation/hooks#session-memory

If you like the feature but want fewer/more messages saved, you can also configure the hook’s messages count in your config (the hook reads that; default is 15).

harsh beacon
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What can this feature do? Is it enabled by default?

solar creekBOT
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What it does (in practice)

  • It’s a “session archive on reset” hook.
  • Every time you run /new or /reset, it writes a snapshot file to memory/:
    • session metadata (session key/id, source)
    • plus the last N messages (default ~15) under ## Conversation Summary
  • Filename is memory/YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>.md, where the <slug> is generated from the recent convo (so you get things like coder-instructions, api-rate-limit-reached-please-, etc.).

Why people enable it

  • If you use /new a lot, you otherwise “lose” the prior thread in active context. This gives you a breadcrumb trail you can later search.
  • With QMD, those files become searchable too (so “what were those coder instructions from March 12?” can actually pull the right snippet back).

Is it enabled by default?

  • The hook is bundled (ships with OpenClaw), but it’s not supposed to be on unless you enabled it — either explicitly via openclaw hooks enable session-memory or via an onboarding/hooks selection step.
  • Quick way to confirm:
# 
openclaw hooks list

If you want it off:

openclaw hooks disable session-memory

If this answers it, please mark the solution in the thread (right-click the solution message → Apps → ✅ Mark Solution) so Answer Overflow indexes it.

harsh beacon
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So ideally, for memory reasons is best if left on? Do the files auto delete after a while to prevent a big buildup?

solar creekBOT
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It’s optional, not “required for memory to work”.

Should you leave session-memory on?

Leave it on if:

  • you use /new / /reset a lot, and you want an audit trail of what the previous session was about
  • you want QMD/memory search to be able to “rediscover” older conversations even after you’ve reset context

Turn it off if:

  • it’s cluttering your memory/ folder, or
  • memory search keeps pulling back “random old transcripts” instead of your curated notes (daily file / MEMORY.md).

The “best practice” memory-wise is still: write durable stuff to MEMORY.md and short-term to memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md. The hook is more like a convenience archive.

Do these files auto-delete?

No — they’re just Markdown in your workspace. Per the docs, memory files persist until you delete them (storage is the only limit). There’s no built-in TTL/auto-prune for the session-memory outputs right now.

If you’re worried about buildup, the usual approach is just periodic manual cleanup/archive (or disable the hook).