openclaw/docs/cli/migrate.md

summary, read_when, title

summary	read_when	title
CLI reference for `openclaw migrate` (import state from another agent system)	You want to migrate from Hermes or another agent system into OpenClaw You are adding a plugin-owned migration provider	Migrate

openclaw migrate

Import state from another agent system through a plugin-owned migration provider. Bundled providers cover Codex CLI state, Claude, and Hermes; third-party plugins can register additional providers.

Legacy OpenClaw file-to-database imports are doctor-owned. Run openclaw doctor --fix after upgrading an older state directory so doctor can create the database and import legacy files in one migration pass.

For user-facing walkthroughs, see [Migrating from Claude](/install/migrating-claude) and [Migrating from Hermes](/install/migrating-hermes). The [migration hub](/install/migrating) lists all paths.

Commands

openclaw migrate list
openclaw migrate claude --dry-run
openclaw migrate codex --dry-run
openclaw migrate codex --skill gog-vault77-google-workspace
openclaw migrate codex --plugin google-calendar --dry-run
openclaw migrate codex --plugin google-calendar --verify-plugin-apps --dry-run
openclaw migrate hermes --dry-run
openclaw migrate hermes
openclaw migrate apply codex --yes --skill gog-vault77-google-workspace
openclaw migrate apply codex --yes --plugin google-calendar
openclaw migrate apply codex --yes
openclaw migrate apply claude --yes
openclaw migrate apply hermes --yes
openclaw migrate apply hermes --include-secrets --yes
openclaw onboard --flow import
openclaw onboard --import-from claude --import-source ~/.claude
openclaw onboard --import-from hermes --import-source ~/.hermes

Name of a registered migration provider, for example `hermes`. Run `openclaw migrate list` to see installed providers. Build the plan and exit without changing state. Override the source state directory. Hermes defaults to `~/.hermes`. Import supported credentials. Off by default. Allow apply to replace existing targets when the plan reports conflicts. Skip the confirmation prompt. Required in non-interactive mode. Select one skill copy item by skill name or item id. Repeat the flag to migrate multiple skills. When omitted, interactive Codex migrations show a checkbox selector and non-interactive migrations keep all planned skills. Select one Codex plugin install item by plugin name or item id. Repeat the flag to migrate multiple Codex plugins. When omitted, interactive Codex migrations show a native Codex plugin checkbox selector and non-interactive migrations keep all planned plugins. This only applies to source-installed `openai-curated` Codex plugins discovered by the Codex app-server inventory. Codex only. Force a fresh source Codex app-server `app/list` traversal before planning native plugin activation. Off by default to keep migration planning fast. Skip the pre-apply backup. Requires `--force` when local OpenClaw state exists. Required alongside `--no-backup` when apply would otherwise refuse to skip backup. Print the plan or apply result as JSON. With `--json` and no `--yes`, apply prints the plan and does not mutate state.

Safety model

openclaw migrate is preview-first.

The provider returns an itemized plan before anything changes, including conflicts, skipped items, and sensitive items. JSON plans, apply output, and migration reports redact nested secret-looking keys such as API keys, tokens, authorization headers, cookies, and passwords.

`openclaw migrate apply <provider>` previews the plan and prompts before changing state unless `--yes` is set. In non-interactive mode, apply requires `--yes`.

Apply creates and verifies an OpenClaw backup before applying the migration. If no local OpenClaw state exists yet, the backup step is skipped and the migration can continue. To skip a backup when state exists, pass both `--no-backup` and `--force`. Apply refuses to continue when the plan has conflicts. Review the plan, then rerun with `--overwrite` if replacing existing targets is intentional. Providers may still write item-level backups for overwritten files in the migration report directory. Secrets are never imported by default. Use `--include-secrets` to import supported credentials.

Claude provider

The bundled Claude provider detects Claude Code state at ~/.claude by default. Use --from <path> to import a specific Claude Code home or project root.

For a user-facing walkthrough, see [Migrating from Claude](/install/migrating-claude).

What Claude imports

• Project CLAUDE.md and .claude/CLAUDE.md into the OpenClaw agent workspace.
• User ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md appended to workspace USER.md.
• MCP server definitions from project .mcp.json, Claude Code ~/.claude.json, and Claude Desktop claude_desktop_config.json.
• Claude skill directories that include SKILL.md.
• Claude command Markdown files converted into OpenClaw skills with manual invocation only.

Archive and manual-review state

Claude hooks, permissions, environment defaults, local memory, path-scoped rules, subagents, caches, plans, and project history are preserved in the migration report or reported as manual-review items. OpenClaw does not execute hooks, copy broad allowlists, or import OAuth/Desktop credential state automatically.

Codex provider

The bundled Codex provider detects Codex CLI state at ~/.codex by default, or at CODEX_HOME when that environment variable is set. Use --from <path> to inventory a specific Codex home.

Use this provider when moving to the OpenClaw Codex harness and you want to promote useful personal Codex CLI assets deliberately. Local Codex app-server launches use per-agent CODEX_HOME and HOME directories, so they do not read your personal Codex CLI state by default.

Running openclaw migrate codex in an interactive terminal previews the full plan, then opens checkbox selectors before the final apply confirmation. Skill copy items are prompted first. Use Toggle all on or Toggle all off for bulk selection. Press Space to toggle rows, or press Enter to activate the highlighted row and continue. Planned skills start checked, conflict skills start unchecked, and Skip for now skips skill copies for this run while still continuing to plugin selection. When source-installed curated Codex plugins are migratable and --plugin was not supplied, migration then prompts for native Codex plugin activation by plugin name. Plugin items start checked unless the target OpenClaw Codex plugin config already has that plugin. Existing target plugins start unchecked and show a conflict hint such as conflict: plugin exists; choose Toggle all off to migrate no native Codex plugins in that run, or Skip for now to stop before applying. For scripted or exact runs, pass --skill <name> once per skill, for example:

openclaw migrate codex --dry-run --skill gog-vault77-google-workspace
openclaw migrate apply codex --yes --skill gog-vault77-google-workspace

Use --plugin <name> to limit native Codex plugin migration non-interactively to one or more source-installed curated plugins:

openclaw migrate codex --dry-run --plugin google-calendar
openclaw migrate apply codex --yes --plugin google-calendar

What Codex imports

• Codex CLI skill directories under $CODEX_HOME/skills, excluding Codex's .system cache.
• Personal AgentSkills under $HOME/.agents/skills, copied into the current OpenClaw agent workspace when you want per-agent ownership.
• Source-installed openai-curated Codex plugins discovered through Codex app-server plugin/list. Planning reads plugin/read for each enabled installed plugin. App-backed plugins require the source Codex app-server account response to be a ChatGPT subscription account; non-ChatGPT or missing account responses are skipped with codex_subscription_required. By default, migration does not call source app/list, so app-backed plugins that pass the account gate are planned without source app accessibility verification, and account lookup transport failures skip with codex_account_unavailable. Pass --verify-plugin-apps when you want migration to force a fresh source app/list snapshot and require every owned app to be present, enabled, and accessible before planning native activation. In that mode, account lookup transport failures fall through to source app inventory verification. The source app inventory snapshot is kept in memory for the current process; it is not written to migration output or target config. Disabled plugins, unreadable plugin details, subscription-gated source accounts, and, when verification is requested, missing apps, disabled apps, inaccessible apps, or source app inventory failures become manual skipped items with typed reasons instead of target config entries. Apply calls app-server plugin/install for each selected eligible plugin, even if the target app-server already reports that plugin as installed and enabled. Migrated Codex plugins are usable only in sessions that select the native Codex harness; they are not exposed to Pi, normal OpenAI provider runs, ACP conversation bindings, or other harnesses.

Manual-review Codex state

Codex config.toml, native hooks/hooks.json, non-curated marketplaces, cached plugin bundles that are not source-installed curated plugins, and source-installed plugins that fail the source subscription gate are not activated automatically. When --verify-plugin-apps is set, plugins that fail the source app-inventory gate are also skipped. They are copied or reported in the migration report for manual review.

For migrated source-installed curated plugins, apply writes:

• plugins.entries.codex.enabled: true
• plugins.entries.codex.config.codexPlugins.enabled: true
• plugins.entries.codex.config.codexPlugins.allow_destructive_actions: false
• one explicit plugin entry with marketplaceName: "openai-curated" and pluginName for each selected plugin

Migration never writes plugins["*"] and never stores local marketplace cache paths. Source-side subscription failures are reported on manual items with typed reasons such as codex_subscription_required, codex_account_unavailable, plugin_disabled, or plugin_read_unavailable. With --verify-plugin-apps, source app-inventory failures can also appear as app_inaccessible, app_disabled, app_missing, or app_inventory_unavailable. Skipped plugins are not written to target config. Target-side auth-required installs are reported on the affected plugin item with status: "skipped", reason: "auth_required", and sanitized app identifiers. Their explicit config entries are written disabled until you reauthorize and enable them. Other install failures are item-scoped error results.

If Codex app-server plugin inventory is unavailable during planning, migration falls back to cached bundle advisory items instead of failing the whole migration.

Hermes provider

The bundled Hermes provider detects state at ~/.hermes by default. Use --from <path> when Hermes lives elsewhere.

What Hermes imports

• Default model configuration from config.yaml.
• Configured model providers and custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints from providers and custom_providers.
• MCP server definitions from mcp_servers or mcp.servers.
• SOUL.md and AGENTS.md into the OpenClaw agent workspace.
• memories/MEMORY.md and memories/USER.md appended to workspace memory files.
• Memory config defaults for OpenClaw file memory, plus archive or manual-review items for external memory providers such as Honcho.
• Skills that include a SKILL.md file under skills/<name>/.
• Per-skill config values from skills.config.
• Supported API keys from .env, only with --include-secrets.

Supported .env keys

OPENAI_API_KEY, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, OPENROUTER_API_KEY, GOOGLE_API_KEY, GEMINI_API_KEY, GROQ_API_KEY, XAI_API_KEY, MISTRAL_API_KEY, DEEPSEEK_API_KEY.

Archive-only state

Hermes state that OpenClaw cannot safely interpret is copied into the migration report for manual review, but it is not loaded into live OpenClaw config or credentials. This preserves opaque or unsafe state without pretending OpenClaw can execute or trust it automatically:

• plugins/
• sessions/
• logs/
• cron/
• mcp-tokens/
• auth.json
• state.db

After applying

openclaw doctor

Plugin contract

Migration sources are plugins. A plugin declares its provider ids in openclaw.plugin.json:

{
  "contracts": {
    "migrationProviders": ["hermes"]
  }
}

At runtime the plugin calls api.registerMigrationProvider(...). The provider implements detect, plan, and apply. Core owns CLI orchestration, backup policy, prompts, JSON output, and conflict preflight. Core passes the reviewed plan into apply(ctx, plan), and providers may rebuild the plan only when that argument is absent for compatibility.

Provider plugins can use openclaw/plugin-sdk/migration for item construction and summary counts, plus openclaw/plugin-sdk/migration-runtime for conflict-aware file copies, archive-only report copies, cached config-runtime wrappers, and migration reports.

Onboarding integration

Onboarding can offer migration when a provider detects a known source. Both openclaw onboard --flow import and openclaw setup --wizard --import-from hermes use the same plugin migration provider and still show a preview before applying.

Onboarding imports require a fresh OpenClaw setup. Reset config, credentials, sessions, and the workspace first if you already have local state. Backup-plus-overwrite or merge imports are feature-gated for existing setups.

Related

• Migrating from Hermes: user-facing walkthrough.
• Migrating from Claude: user-facing walkthrough.
• Migrating: move OpenClaw to a new machine.
• Doctor: health check after applying a migration.
• Plugins: plugin install and registration.