Memory & Semantic Search — Setup & Configuration

## Step 1: Diagnose Your Memory Issue First, identify which type of memory issue you're experiencing: ``bash # Check gateway status (is it running?) openclaw gateway status # Check your OpenClaw version openclaw --version # Verify memory feature is enabled openclaw configure --get features.memory # Check memory directory exists and has correct permissions ls -la ~/.openclaw/memory/ df -h ~/.openclaw/

## Step 2: Fix Context Overflow Issues If you're seeing Context overflow: prompt too large for the model, try these fixes in order: Quick Fix - Reset the Session: ``bash # In Telegram/Discord, use the reset command /reset **Increase Context Limits:** json5 // In ~/.openclaw/config.json { "contextTokens": 400000, // Double your current limit "contextPruning": { "mode": "cache-ttl", "ttl": "24h", // Longer TTL "keepLastAssistants": 100 // Keep more history } } **Disable Aggressive Compaction:** json5 { "compaction": { "mode": "archive", // Preserves full conversation "memoryFlush": { "enabled": false // Disable aggressive flush } } } **Nuclear Option - Disable All Pruning:** json5 { "contextPruning": { "mode": "disabled" // No automatic pruning at all } }

## Step 3: Fix Rate-Limited Embedding Providers If using Gemini free tier or another rate-limited provider for vector search and getting failures: Option A - Disable Vector Memory Temporarily: ``bash openclaw configure --section memory # Set provider to "none" or "local" **Option B - Edit Config Directly:** json5 // In ~/.openclaw/config.json { "memory": { "provider": "none" // or "local" for local embeddings } } **Then restart:** bash openclaw gateway restart **Option C - Switch to a Non-Rate-Limited Provider:** json5 { "memorySearch": { "enabled": true, "provider": "openai", // More reliable, requires API key "query": { "maxResults": 30, "minScore": 0.15 } } }

## Step 4: Fix Memory Files Not Being Written If daily memory logs aren't appearing in /memory: Check Gateway Status: ``bash openclaw gateway status **Verify Memory Directory and Permissions:** bash # Linux/macOS ls -la ~/.openclaw/data/ mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/memory chmod 755 ~/.openclaw/memory # Windows (PowerShell as Admin) New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.openclaw\memory" **Check for Path Issues (Windows):** Windows users may have issues with file path separators. Ensure your config uses forward slashes or properly escaped backslashes. **Force Memory Flush:** bash # Restart gateway to trigger memory write openclaw gateway restart # Wait 24 hours for the next daily log (logs are written at midnight UTC)

## Step 5: Fix Voice Messages Being Ignored If voice messages work only ~20% of the time or are silently dropped: Disable Experimental Session Memory: ``json5 { "memorySearch": { "experimental": { "sessionMemory": false // Disable this - known conflict with voice } } } **Downgrade to a Stable Version (if issue persists):** bash npm install -g openclaw@2026.1.15 # Known stable for voice openclaw gateway restart **Check Voice Pipeline Configuration:** json5 { "voice": { "transcription": { "provider": "openai", // Whisper is most reliable "model": "whisper-1" } } }

## Step 6: Fix Context Loss Mid-Conversation If the bot keeps "waking up" fresh or loses context unexpectedly: Check for Gateway Crashes: ``bash # Check system logs for crashes journalctl -u openclaw --since "24 hours ago" | tail -50 # Check gateway logs openclaw gateway logs --lines 200 # Look for OOM (Out of Memory) kills dmesg | grep -i "killed process" **Verify Session Persistence:** bash # Check for session resume files ls -t ~/clawd/memory/session-resume-*.json 2>/dev/null # Check memory file timestamps ls -la ~/.openclaw/memory/ **Increase System Resources:** If running on Raspberry Pi or low-memory VPS, the gateway may be OOM-killed: bash # Add swap space sudo fallocate -l 2G /swapfile sudo chmod 600 /swapfile sudo mkswap /swapfile sudo swapon /swapfile

## Step 7: Recommended Memory Configuration Here's a battle-tested config for maximum memory retention: ``json5 // ~/.openclaw/config.json { "contextTokens": 400000, "contextPruning": { "mode": "cache-ttl", "ttl": "24h", "keepLastAssistants": 100 }, "compaction": { "mode": "archive", "memoryFlush": { "enabled": false } }, "memorySearch": { "enabled": true, "provider": "local", // or "openai" for better quality "query": { "maxResults": 30, "minScore": 0.15 }, "experimental": { "sessionMemory": false // Disable until voice bug is fixed } }, "features": { "memory": true } } **After making changes:** bash openclaw gateway restart