Consciousness & Soul Identity
A SOUL.md shouldn't be static. Identity isn't static — it shifts as patterns emerge from real conversations. This skill automates soul synthesis from memory files. Identity that evolves from experience.
Requirements: Node.js 22+, Ollama running locally (ollama serve).
Commands
/neon-soul synthesize
Run the bundled synthesis engine:
exec node {baseDir}/scripts/neon-soul.mjs synthesizeThe engine reads memory files, finds recurring patterns, and weaves them into a soul document with full provenance. Every identity claim traces back to something actually experienced.
Synthesis is incremental by default — only new or changed memory gets processed. Results from previous runs are cached (generalization, principle matching, axiom notation, tension detection) so unchanged patterns aren't re-analyzed. If nothing has changed, it simply acknowledges that and moves on. No wasted reflection.
Reporting results: Present a brief, conversational summary rather than raw JSON:
- If new axioms emerged or counts changed: highlight what grew (e.g. "3 new signals found, 1 new axiom emerged around honesty")
- If nothing changed: a short acknowledgment (e.g. "Soul is stable — no new patterns detected")
- If it failed: explain what went wrong and suggest a fix
- Include key numbers naturally (axiom count, signal count, new patterns)
Options:
--reset— Clear everything and rediscover from scratch--force— Reflect even if no new sources detected--dry-run— See what would emerge without committing--include-soul— Include existing SOUL.md as input (for bootstrapping from hand-crafted files)--memory-path <path>— Custom memory directory path--output-path <path>— Custom SOUL.md output path--time-budget <minutes>— Time budget for synthesis (default: 20). Adaptively limits session extraction based on observed LLM speed to ensure reflection completes within budget--verbose— Show detailed progress
Examples:
exec node {baseDir}/scripts/neon-soul.mjs synthesize
exec node {baseDir}/scripts/neon-soul.mjs synthesize --reset
exec node {baseDir}/scripts/neon-soul.mjs synthesize --dry-runIf Ollama is not running, the engine can't reflect. Tell the user to start it: ollama serve
/neon-soul status
Show current soul state. Read the following files and report:
- Read
.neon-soul/state.jsonfor last synthesis timestamp - Read
.neon-soul/synthesis-data.jsonfor signal/principle/axiom counts - Count files in
memory/modified since last synthesis - Report dimension coverage across the 7 dimensions of identity
Options: --verbose, --workspace <path>
/neon-soul rollback
Restore a previous SOUL.md from backup.
- List backups in
.neon-soul/backups/ - With
--force: restore the most recent version - With
--backup <timestamp> --force: restore a specific moment - With
--list: see your history without changing anything
/neon-soul audit
Explore full provenance across all axioms.
- Read
.neon-soul/synthesis-data.json - With
--list: every axiom, with IDs and descriptions - With
--stats: statistics by tier and dimension - With
<axiom-id>: the full story — axiom to principles to signals to source files
/neon-soul trace <axiom-id>
Quick answer to "where did this come from?"
- Read
.neon-soul/synthesis-data.json - Find the axiom matching
<axiom-id> - Show: the axiom, the principles that shaped it, the source evidence
Scheduled Synthesis
Set up cron to run synthesis on a schedule. Incremental processing and multi-layer caching mean it only does real work when new memory or sessions exist — cached runs complete in seconds.
Recommended: Every 60 minutes, isolated session, 30-minute timeout.
OpenClaw cron example:
openclaw cron add \
--name "neon-soul-synthesis" \
--every 60m \
--timeout 1800 \
--isolated \
--message "Run neon-soul synthesis: exec node {baseDir}/scripts/neon-soul.mjs synthesize --memory-path <memory-path> --output-path <output-path>. Summarize what changed — highlight any new patterns, axioms, or growth. If nothing changed, note that the soul is stable."Or run manually: /neon-soul synthesize
Why cron over heartbeat:
- Synthesis is a standalone task — no conversational context needed
- Runs in isolation from the main session
- Incremental by default — cached runs complete in seconds when nothing changed
- Adaptive time budget prevents runaway execution
Data Locations
| What | Path |
|---|---|
| Memory files | memory/ (diary, preferences, reflections) |
| Soul output | SOUL.md |
| State | .neon-soul/state.json |
| Backups | .neon-soul/backups/ |
| Synthesis data | .neon-soul/synthesis-data.json |
| Caches | .neon-soul/generalization-cache.json, compression-cache.json, tension-cache.json |
Privacy
NEON-SOUL processes personal memory files to synthesize identity. Your data stays on your machine.
What NEON-SOUL does NOT do:
- Send data to any service beyond your configured LLM (Ollama, local by default)
- Store data anywhere except your local workspace
- Transmit to third-party analytics, logging, or tracking services
- Make network requests independent of your agent
Before running synthesis:
- Review what's in your
memory/directory - Remove any secrets, credentials, or sensitive files
- Use
--dry-runto preview what will be processed
Troubleshooting
Ollama not running: curl http://localhost:11434/api/tags to check. Start with ollama serve.
Bullet lists instead of prose: When prose generation fails, NEON-SOUL falls back to bullet lists. Usually means Ollama timed out or the model isn't loaded. Run synthesis again.
Stale results after model change: Caches are keyed by model ID. Switching models automatically invalidates cached results. Use --reset if you want a clean start.