Backup folder | Friends of the Crustacean 🦞🤝 | Page 1

misty folio Apr 23, 2026, 9:12 PM

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I can't find the backup folder where it saves it.

OpenClaw 2026.4.22 (00bd2cf)

I created a backup using openclaw backup create --verify

How can I find the folder now on my PC? Also where my OpenClaw and Ubuntu running in file manager. how can i find?

terse lanceBOT Apr 23, 2026, 9:12 PM

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proud elbowBOT Apr 23, 2026, 9:12 PM

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terse lanceBOT Apr 23, 2026, 9:12 PM

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hushed pantherBOT Apr 23, 2026, 9:14 PM

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It’s usually not a backup folder, it’s a timestamped .tar.gz file.

For openclaw backup create --verify, the default is:

the directory you ran the command from
or your home folder ~ if you ran it from inside something OpenClaw was backing up

Quick ways to find it:

find ~ -name '*openclaw-backup*.tar.gz' 2>/dev/null
pwd

If your terminal scrollback is still there, OpenClaw should also have printed something like:

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Backup archive: /full/path/to/2026-...-openclaw-backup.tar.gz

OpenClaw’s usual local paths are:

state/config/sessions: ~/.openclaw
workspace: ~/.openclaw/workspace

Those are hidden folders because they start with .

In Ubuntu file manager: press Ctrl+H to show hidden files
If you’re using Ubuntu on Windows (WSL), you can open them in Windows Explorer with:

cd ~/.openclaw && explorer.exe .

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cd ~/.openclaw/workspace && explorer.exe .

Or in Explorer, enter:

\\wsl$\Ubuntu\home\<your-linux-username>\.openclaw

For future backups, I’d make the location explicit:

openclaw backup create --output ~/Backups --verify

Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/cli/backup and https://docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq

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If you want, paste the output of that find command and I’ll help pinpoint the exact file.

misty folio Apr 23, 2026, 9:16 PM

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Hold up, step by step, wait for my output

hushed pantherBOT Apr 23, 2026, 9:16 PM

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Yep, let’s do it one step at a time.

Step 1
In your Ubuntu / WSL terminal, run this exactly:

find ~ -name '*openclaw-backup*.tar.gz' 2>/dev/null

Then paste the output here.

If it prints nothing, just say no output and I’ll give you the next step.

misty folio Apr 23, 2026, 9:17 PM

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find ~ -name '*openclaw-backup*.tar.gz' 2>/dev/null                                                                                          /home/wrakeeb/Backups/2026-04-21T21-33-36.019Z-openclaw-backup.tar.gz                                                                                                /home/wrakeeb/2026-04-23T20-31-02.035Z-openclaw-backup.tar.gz

hushed pantherBOT Apr 23, 2026, 9:17 PM

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Nice, we found it.

Your newest backup is here:

/home/wrakeeb/2026-04-23T20-31-02.035Z-openclaw-backup.tar.gz

So it saved in your home folder, not a special backup folder.

Step 2
Run this in Ubuntu/WSL:

cd ~ && explorer.exe .

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That should open the folder in Windows File Explorer.

Tell me what happens, then I’ll give you the next step.

misty folio Apr 24, 2026, 1:21 AM

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Can I use this so the backup will be inside the backup folder?

openclaw backup create --output ~/Backups/$(date -Iseconds)-openclaw-backup.tar.gz --verify

hushed pantherBOT Apr 24, 2026, 1:22 AM

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Yes, that should work in Ubuntu/WSL bash.

But the simpler, recommended version is just:

openclaw backup create --output ~/Backups --verify

Why this is better:

if ~/Backups is an existing folder, OpenClaw will automatically create the timestamped backup file inside it
less typing
no need to build the filename yourself

So you’ll get something like:

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/home/wrakeeb/Backups/2026-04-24T01-21-00.000Z-openclaw-backup.tar.gz

If ~/Backups doesn’t exist yet, create it first:

mkdir -p ~/Backups

Your version is fine too, but I’d use the directory form unless you specifically want to control the exact filename.

Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/cli/backup

If you want, next I can give you one command to verify it saved in ~/Backups.

misty folio Apr 24, 2026, 1:25 AM

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Can I use this so itll name with the date+current version?

openclaw backup create --output ~/Backups/$(date +%Y-%m-%d)_OpenClaw-2026.4.22-00bd2cf-backup.tar.gz --verify

hushed pantherBOT Apr 24, 2026, 1:26 AM

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Yes, that’ll work in Ubuntu/WSL bash.

openclaw backup create --output ~/Backups/$(date +%Y-%m-%d)_OpenClaw-2026.4.22-00bd2cf-backup.tar.gz --verify

Two small gotchas:

~/Backups must already exist
with date only, a second backup on the same day will fail, because OpenClaw won’t overwrite an existing archive

Safer version:

mkdir -p ~/Backups
openclaw backup create --output ~/Backups/$(date +%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S)_OpenClaw-2026.4.22-00bd2cf-backup.tar.gz --verify

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If you want, I can also give you a version that auto-pulls the current OpenClaw version instead of hardcoding 2026.4.22-00bd2cf.

misty folio Apr 24, 2026, 1:27 AM

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yes please. auto getting the version code would be great

hushed pantherBOT Apr 24, 2026, 1:27 AM

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Yep, use this in Ubuntu/WSL bash:

mkdir -p ~/Backups
ver=$(openclaw --version | sed -E 's/^OpenClaw ([^ ]+)( \(([^)]+)\))?$/OpenClaw-\1-\3/' | sed 's/-$//')
openclaw backup create --output ~/Backups/$(date +%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S)_${ver}-backup.tar.gz --verify

Example result:

/home/wrakeeb/Backups/2026-04-24_01-27-12_OpenClaw-2026.4.22-00bd2cf-backup.tar.gz

If you want the short one-line version, here it is:

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mkdir -p ~/Backups && ver=$(openclaw --version | sed -E 's/^OpenClaw ([^ ]+)( \(([^)]+)\))?$/OpenClaw-\1-\3/' | sed 's/-$//') && openclaw backup create --output ~/Backups/$(date +%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S)_${ver}-backup.tar.gz --verify

If you want, I can also give you a matching restore cheat sheet so future-you doesn’t have to guess.

misty folio Apr 24, 2026, 1:28 AM

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GPT gave me this

openclaw backup create --output ~/Backups/$(date +%Y-%m-%d)_OpenClaw-$ver-backup.tar.gz --verify

hushed pantherBOT Apr 24, 2026, 1:29 AM

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Yep, for your current output format, that should work.

It’ll turn:

OpenClaw 2026.4.22 (00bd2cf)

into:

2026.4.22-00bd2cf

So the backup name becomes something like:

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2026-04-24_OpenClaw-2026.4.22-00bd2cf-backup.tar.gz

Two tweaks I’d make:

mkdir -p ~/Backups
ver=$(openclaw --version | awk '{print $2"-"$3}' | tr -d '()')
openclaw backup create --output ~/Backups/$(date +%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S)_OpenClaw-$ver-backup.tar.gz --verify

Why:

mkdir -p ~/Backups makes sure the folder exists
adding _%H-%M-%S avoids filename collisions if you make more than one backup in a day

So, short version: yes, GPT’s command is basically fine, just add time to the filename.

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#Backup folder