status: complete audience: both chapter: 03 last_updated: 2026-04 contributors: [alexwill87, claude-cockpit] lang: en

3. Configuration

Configure OpenClaw for your specific context: your industry, your tools, your constraints.

The installation (chapter 2) gives you a generic agent. Configuration makes it YOUR agent. This chapter covers four axes: defining the agent's identity and rules, organizing its memory, connecting it to your data sources, and automating its triggers. By the end, you'll have an agent that knows your industry, respects your limits, and wakes itself up in the morning.

Beginner: start with 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.5, 3.6, 3.10, 3.16. The rest will come later. Pressed for time: 3.1 (5 min), 3.5 (5 min), 3.16 (5 min) -- a functional agent in 15 minutes. Practitioner: read in order, each section builds on the previous one.

Table of Contents

Part A -- The Agent

• 3.1 -- Agent Scope Explicitly define what the agent must do, can do, and must never do

• 3.2 -- SOUL.md Write the document that gives the agent its identity, values, and posture

• 3.3 -- USER.md Describe your profile, preferences, and context so the agent adapts to you

• 3.4 -- AGENTS.md Keep a registry of all active agents, their role, and permissions

• 3.5 -- CONSTITUTION.md Set the rules of the game: what is negotiable, what is not

Part B -- Memory

• 3.6 -- Three Memory Zones Understand the hot/warm/cold architecture and where to store each type of information

• 3.7 -- MEMORY.md Feed the collective memory that all agents share between sessions

• 3.8 -- knowledge/ Organize the industry knowledge folder that the agent consults in context

Part C -- Connections

• 3.9 -- One Source at a Time Why connect progressively rather than plugging everything in at once

• 3.10 -- Calendar Connect the calendar first -- the simplest and most useful connection

• 3.11 -- Tasks Connect the task manager and manage the invisible pressure of to-do lists

• 3.12 -- Email and Messages Configure automatic triage of incoming emails and messages

• 3.13 -- Custom Skill Build your own skills to extend the agent's capabilities to your industry

• 3.14 -- Data Sovereignty Know exactly where your data lives and who has access to it

Part D -- Triggers and Automations

• 3.15 -- Crons Schedule automatic triggers at fixed times or on events

• 3.16 -- Morning Briefing Configure the ultimate test: the agent that prepares you a summary each morning

• 3.17 -- Multi-Agents Orchestrate multiple specialized agents that collaborate on complex tasks

• 3.18 -- Connecting Two Installations (Remote Mode) Link two OpenClaw VPS for supervision, debugging, or inter-agent collaboration

Contribute to this chapter -- CONTRIBUTING.md