feat(onboard): add skip bootstrap flag (#71218)

docs/cli/onboard.md

@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ Interactive onboarding for local or remote Gateway setup.
 openclaw onboard
 openclaw onboard --flow quickstart
 openclaw onboard --flow manual
+openclaw onboard --skip-bootstrap
 openclaw onboard --mode remote --remote-url wss://gateway-host:18789
 ```
 
@@ -115,6 +116,7 @@ Non-interactive local gateway health:
 - Unless you pass `--skip-health`, onboarding waits for a reachable local gateway before it exits successfully.
 - `--install-daemon` starts the managed gateway install path first. Without it, you must already have a local gateway running, for example `openclaw gateway run`.
 - If you only want config/workspace/bootstrap writes in automation, use `--skip-health`.
+- If you manage workspace files yourself, pass `--skip-bootstrap` to set `agents.defaults.skipBootstrap: true` and skip creating `AGENTS.md`, `SOUL.md`, `TOOLS.md`, `IDENTITY.md`, `USER.md`, `HEARTBEAT.md`, and `BOOTSTRAP.md`.
 - On native Windows, `--install-daemon` tries Scheduled Tasks first and falls back to a per-user Startup-folder login item if task creation is denied.
 
 Interactive onboarding behavior with reference mode:

docs/concepts/agent-workspace.md

@@ -28,8 +28,10 @@ inside a sandbox workspace under `~/.openclaw/sandboxes`, not your host workspac
 
 ```json5
 {
-  agent: {
-    workspace: "~/.openclaw/workspace",
+  agents: {
+    defaults: {
+      workspace: "~/.openclaw/workspace",
+    },
   },
 }
 ```
@@ -43,7 +45,7 @@ If you already manage the workspace files yourself, you can disable bootstrap
 file creation:
 
 ```json5
-{ agent: { skipBootstrap: true } }
+{ agents: { defaults: { skipBootstrap: true } } }
 ```
 
 ## Extra workspace folders

docs/concepts/agent.md

@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ If a file is missing, OpenClaw injects a single “missing file” marker line (
 To disable bootstrap file creation entirely (for pre-seeded workspaces), set:
 
 ```json5
-{ agent: { skipBootstrap: true } }
+{ agents: { defaults: { skipBootstrap: true } } }
 ```
 
 ## Built-in tools

docs/start/bootstrapping.md

@@ -22,6 +22,10 @@ On the first agent run, OpenClaw bootstraps the workspace (default
 - Writes identity + preferences to `IDENTITY.md`, `USER.md`, `SOUL.md`.
 - Removes `BOOTSTRAP.md` when finished so it only runs once.
 
+## Skipping bootstrapping
+
+To skip this for a pre-seeded workspace, run `openclaw onboard --skip-bootstrap`.
+
 ## Where it runs
 
 Bootstrapping always runs on the **gateway host**. If the macOS app connects to

docs/start/openclaw.md

@@ -87,8 +87,10 @@ Optional: choose a different workspace with `agents.defaults.workspace` (support
 
 ```json5
 {
-  agent: {
-    workspace: "~/.openclaw/workspace",
+  agents: {
+    defaults: {
+      workspace: "~/.openclaw/workspace",
+    },
   },
 }
 ```
@@ -97,8 +99,10 @@ If you already ship your own workspace files from a repo, you can disable bootst
 
 ```json5
 {
-  agent: {
-    skipBootstrap: true,
+  agents: {
+    defaults: {
+      skipBootstrap: true,
+    },
   },
 }
 ```

docs/start/wizard-cli-automation.md

@@ -25,11 +25,14 @@ openclaw onboard --non-interactive \
   --gateway-bind loopback \
   --install-daemon \
   --daemon-runtime node \
+  --skip-bootstrap \
   --skip-skills
 ```
 
 Add `--json` for a machine-readable summary.
 
+Use `--skip-bootstrap` when your automation pre-seeds workspace files and does not want onboarding to create the default bootstrap files.
+
 Use `--secret-input-mode ref` to store env-backed refs in auth profiles instead of plaintext values.
 Interactive selection between env refs and configured provider refs (`file` or `exec`) is available in the onboarding flow.
 

docs/start/wizard-cli-reference.md

@@ -260,6 +260,7 @@ is only a legacy import source.
 Typical fields in `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json`:
 
 - `agents.defaults.workspace`
+- `agents.defaults.skipBootstrap` when `--skip-bootstrap` is passed
 - `agents.defaults.model` / `models.providers` (if Minimax chosen)
 - `tools.profile` (local onboarding defaults to `"coding"` when unset; existing explicit values are preserved)
 - `gateway.*` (mode, bind, auth, tailscale)