OpenClaw Dream

Automatic memory consolidation — turn scattered daily notes into clean, organized long-term memory.

Overview

Memory files accumulate noise over time: relative dates lose meaning, contradictory entries confuse the agent, duplicates waste context, and stale information causes hallucinations. Dream fixes this by running a structured consolidation pass.

When to Run

• Manual: User says "dream", "整理记忆", "consolidate memory"
• Cron: Schedule via openclaw cron add for daily execution (recommended: 3-4 AM)
• Heartbeat: Add to HEARTBEAT.md as a periodic task (every 3-5 days)
• Condition check: Only run if memory/.last_dream is older than 24h AND new daily notes exist since last dream

Execution

Always run as a sub-agent to avoid blocking the main session:

sessions_spawn:
  task: "Run openclaw-dream consolidation. Read the skill at skills/openclaw-dream/SKILL.md first."
  mode: run
  model: sonnet  # use a cheaper model

For manual triggers in the main session, spawn the sub-agent, reply to user "开始整理记忆，稍后汇报结果", then yield.

Four-Phase Consolidation

Phase 1: Scan

1. Read MEMORY.md — note current line count, section headers, last-updated date
2. Read all memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md files from the last 14 days
3. Read memory/self-improving/*.jsonl if it exists (error/correction/best_practice/decision logs)
4. Read .last_dream timestamp to know what's already been processed
5. Build a mental map: what topics exist, what's fresh, what's stale

Phase 2: Analyze

Scan all content for these problems:

Relative dates — Find phrases like "yesterday", "today", "last week", "recently", "刚才", "昨天", "上周". Cross-reference with the file's date to compute the absolute date.

Contradictions — Same topic with conflicting conclusions across different files. Examples:

• "API uses Express" in one file, "migrated to Fastify" in another
• Different pricing numbers for the same product on different dates

Duplicates — Same fact recorded in multiple daily notes. Example:

• Three different files all note the same build command or deployment step

Stale entries — Information about things that no longer exist:

• References to deleted files or deprecated APIs
• Completed tasks still marked as "in progress"
• Resolved issues still listed as open

Unprocessed JSONL patterns — High-frequency errors or corrections in self-improving logs that should become rules in MEMORY.md

Important events not yet in MEMORY.md — Significant decisions, lessons, or changes in daily notes that deserve long-term retention

Phase 3: Consolidate

Execute fixes in this order:

1. Date absolutization: Replace relative dates with absolute dates

   • "Yesterday we decided X" (in 2026-03-15.md) → "2026-03-14: decided X"
   • Preserve the original meaning; only change the date reference

2. Contradiction resolution: Keep the most recent entry, remove or mark the old one

   • Add [superseded by YYYY-MM-DD] to the old entry if in a daily note
   • In MEMORY.md, simply update to the latest fact

3. Duplicate merging: Consolidate into one canonical entry

   • Keep the most complete/detailed version
   • Note the date range if relevant ("first noted YYYY-MM-DD")

4. Stale cleanup: Remove or archive entries about things that no longer exist

   • Mark completed projects as done with completion date
   • Remove references to deleted files/configs

5. JSONL distillation: Extract patterns from self-improving logs

   • Errors appearing ≥2 times → add rule to MEMORY.md "经验教训" section
   • Important decisions → add to appropriate MEMORY.md section
   • Update memory/self-improving/.last_distill timestamp

6. Daily notes → MEMORY.md promotion: Identify significant items worth keeping long-term

   • Major decisions, architectural changes, new integrations
   • People/relationships updates
   • Lessons learned
   • Do NOT promote routine operational logs

Phase 4: Write

1. Update MEMORY.md:

   • Apply all changes from Phase 3
   • Keep total line count under 250 lines (warn if approaching)
   • Update the *最后更新* date at the bottom
   • Preserve existing section structure (don't reorganize unless necessary)

2. Rebuild vector index:

   openclaw memory index --force
   

3. Generate dream log at memory/dream-log-YYYY-MM-DD.md:

   # Dream Log YYYY-MM-DD
   
   ## Changes Made
   - [date-fix] 3 relative dates converted to absolute
   - [contradiction] Removed stale Express reference (superseded by Fastify migration)
   - [duplicate] Merged 2 duplicate build command entries
   - [stale] Marked ChatClaw Phase 2 as completed
   - [promote] Added RhinoRank order tracking to MEMORY.md
   - [distill] Added 1 new rule from error logs
   
   ## MEMORY.md Stats
   - Lines: 119 → 128
   - Sections: 8 (unchanged)
   
   ## Skipped
   - 5 daily notes with only routine operational logs (no action needed)
   

4. Update timestamp:

   date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ > memory/.last_dream
   

Safety Rules

• Never delete daily note files — only modify MEMORY.md and generate dream-log
• Never modify source code, configs, or non-memory files
• Preserve all 📌 pinned entries in MEMORY.md (lines starting with 📌 are never removed)
• When uncertain about a contradiction, keep both entries and flag in dream-log as "needs human review"
• Dream-log is append-only — never modify past dream logs

Configuration

Users can create DREAM.md in workspace root to customize behavior:

# DREAM.md

## Settings
- max_memory_lines: 250
- lookback_days: 14
- min_hours_between_dreams: 24

## Protected Sections
<!-- These MEMORY.md sections are never auto-pruned -->
- 经验教训
- 关于 River
- Agent 网络

## Custom Rules
<!-- Additional consolidation rules -->
- Always keep pricing/billing related entries
- Merge duplicate API endpoint references

If DREAM.md doesn't exist, use defaults above.

Cron Setup Example

openclaw cron add \
  --id dream-nightly \
  --schedule "0 3 * * *" \
  --task "Run openclaw-dream memory consolidation. Read skills/openclaw-dream/SKILL.md and follow Phase 1-4." \
  --model sonnet \
  --isolated