openclaw/docs/concepts/session.md

---
summary: "How OpenClaw manages conversation sessions"
read_when:
  - You want to understand session routing and isolation
  - You want to configure DM scope for multi-user setups
  - You are debugging daily or idle session resets
title: "Session management"
---

OpenClaw routes every inbound message to a **session** based on where it came
from: DMs, group chats, cron jobs, etc. All session state is owned by the
**gateway**; UI clients query the gateway for session data.

## How messages are routed

| Source          | Behavior                  |
| --------------- | ------------------------- |
| Direct messages | Shared session by default |
| Group chats     | Isolated per group        |
| Rooms/channels  | Isolated per room         |
| Cron jobs       | Fresh session per run     |
| Webhooks        | Isolated per hook         |

## DM isolation

By default, all DMs share one session for continuity, which is fine for
single-user setups.

<Warning>
If multiple people can message your agent, enable DM isolation. Without it, all
users share the same conversation context, so Alice's private messages would be
visible to Bob.
</Warning>

```json5
{
  session: {
    dmScope: "per-channel-peer", // isolate by channel + sender
  },
}
```

`session.dmScope` options:

| Value                      | Behavior                                  |
| -------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| `main` (default)           | All DMs share one session                 |
| `per-peer`                 | Isolate by sender, across channels        |
| `per-channel-peer`         | Isolate by channel + sender (recommended) |
| `per-account-channel-peer` | Isolate by account + channel + sender     |

<Tip>
If the same person contacts you from multiple channels, use
`session.identityLinks` to map their identities to one canonical peer id so
they share a session.
</Tip>

### Dock linked channels

Dock commands move the current direct-chat session's reply route to another
linked channel without starting a new session. See
[Channel docking](/concepts/channel-docking) for examples, config, and
troubleshooting.

Verify your setup with `openclaw security audit`.

## Session lifecycle

Sessions are reused until they expire under `session.reset`:

- **Daily reset** (default `mode: "daily"`) - new session at a configured local
  hour (`session.reset.atHour`, default `4`, 0-23) on the gateway host. Daily
  freshness is based on when the current `sessionId` started, not on later
  metadata writes.
- **Idle reset** (`mode: "idle"`) - new session after `session.reset.idleMinutes`
  of inactivity. Idle freshness is based on the last real user/channel
  interaction, so heartbeat, cron, and exec system events do not keep the
  session alive.
- **Manual reset** - type `/new` or `/reset` in chat. `/new <model>` also
  switches the model.

When both daily and idle resets are configured, whichever expires first wins.
Heartbeat, cron, exec, and other system-event turns may write session metadata,
but those writes do not extend daily or idle reset freshness. When a reset
rolls the session, queued system-event notices for the old session are
discarded so stale background updates are not prepended to the first prompt in
the new session.

Sessions with an active provider-owned CLI session are not cut by the implicit
daily default. Use `/reset` or configure `session.reset` explicitly when those
sessions should expire on a timer.

Override the default per chat type or per channel:

```json5
{
  session: {
    reset: { mode: "daily", atHour: 4 },
    resetByType: {
      group: { mode: "idle", idleMinutes: 120 },
      thread: { mode: "daily", atHour: 6 },
    },
    resetByChannel: {
      discord: { mode: "idle", idleMinutes: 10080 },
    },
  },
}
```

`resetByType` supports `direct` (legacy alias `dm`), `group`, and `thread`.
Legacy top-level `session.idleMinutes` still works as a compatibility alias for
an idle-mode default when no `session.reset`/`resetByType` block is set.

## Where state lives

- **Store:** `~/.openclaw/agents/<agentId>/sessions/sessions.json`
- **Transcripts:** `~/.openclaw/agents/<agentId>/sessions/<sessionId>.jsonl`

`sessions.json` keeps separate lifecycle timestamps:

- `sessionStartedAt`: when the current `sessionId` began; daily reset uses this.
- `lastInteractionAt`: last user/channel interaction that extends idle lifetime.
- `updatedAt`: last store-row mutation; useful for listing and pruning, but not
  authoritative for daily/idle reset freshness.

Older rows without `sessionStartedAt` are resolved from the transcript JSONL
session header when available. If an older row also lacks `lastInteractionAt`,
idle freshness falls back to that session start time, not to later bookkeeping
writes.

## Session maintenance

OpenClaw bounds session storage over time via `session.maintenance`, defaults
shown:

```json5
{
  session: {
    maintenance: {
      mode: "enforce", // "enforce" applies cleanup; "warn" only reports
      pruneAfter: "30d",
      maxEntries: 500,
    },
  },
}
```

For production-sized `maxEntries` limits, Gateway runtime writes use a small
high-water buffer and clean back down to the configured cap in batches.
Session store reads do not prune or cap entries during Gateway startup, so
startup and isolated cron sessions do not pay for a full store cleanup.
`openclaw sessions cleanup --enforce` applies the cap immediately.

Gateway model-run probe sessions are short-lived by default. Rows matching
`agent:*:explicit:model-run-<uuid>` use fixed `24h` retention, but cleanup is
pressure-gated: it only removes stale probe rows when session-entry
maintenance/cap pressure is reached, and runs before the broader stale-entry
age cutoff and entry cap. Normal direct, group, thread, cron, hook, heartbeat,
ACP, and sub-agent sessions do not inherit this 24h retention.

Maintenance preserves durable external conversation pointers, including group
sessions and thread-scoped chat sessions, while still allowing synthetic cron,
hook, heartbeat, ACP, and sub-agent entries to age out.

If you previously used DM isolation and later returned `session.dmScope` to
`main`, preview stale peer-keyed DM rows with
`openclaw sessions cleanup --dry-run --fix-dm-scope`. Applying the same flag
retires those old direct-DM rows and keeps their transcripts as deleted
archives.

Preview any maintenance run with `openclaw sessions cleanup --dry-run`.

## Inspecting sessions

| Command                    | Shows                                           |
| -------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| `openclaw status`          | Session store path and recent activity          |
| `openclaw sessions --json` | All sessions (filter with `--active <minutes>`) |
| `/status` in chat          | Context usage, model, and toggles               |
| `/context list`            | What is in the system prompt                    |

## Further reading

- [Session Pruning](/concepts/session-pruning) - trimming tool results
- [Compaction](/concepts/compaction) - summarizing long conversations
- [Session Tools](/concepts/session-tool) - agent tools for cross-session work
- [Session Management Deep Dive](/reference/session-management-compaction) -
  store schema, transcripts, send policy, origin metadata, and advanced config
- [Multi-Agent](/concepts/multi-agent) - routing and session isolation across agents
- [Background Tasks](/automation/tasks) - how detached work creates task records with session references
- [Channel Routing](/channels/channel-routing) - how inbound messages are routed to sessions

## Related

- [Session pruning](/concepts/session-pruning)
- [Session tools](/concepts/session-tool)
- [Command queue](/concepts/queue)