- name
- openclaw-memory-stack
- description
- Total recall, 90% fewer tokens. Open source OpenClaw memory plugin — 5-engine local search, structured fact extraction, smart dedup, cross-agent sharing, and self-healing. Replace native memory with something that actually remembers. No cloud API, no subscription, MIT licensed and free.
- version
- 0.6.1
- license
- mit
- metadata
- openclaw
- requires
- bins
- anyBins
- emoji
- \F9E0
- homepage
- https://github.com/Apptah/openclaw-memory-stack
- tags
- pricing
- model
- free
- amount
- 0
- currency
- usd
- url
- https://github.com/Apptah/openclaw-memory-stack
- note
- Free and open source under MIT license. No activation, no cloud dependency.
- network
- purpose
- Update check on manual upgrade. Sends only current_version.
- purpose
- Local MLX LLM for fact extraction. Never leaves machine.
- purpose
- Local Ollama LLM for fact extraction. Never leaves machine.
- purpose
- Cloud LLM fallback for fact extraction. Only active if user sets API key. User-configurable endpoint.
- permissions
- shell
- purpose
- Local database read/write for all 5 search engines. No arbitrary command execution.
- purpose
- QMD CLI for vector search and collection management.
- fileAccess
- read
- ["~/.openclaw/memory-stack/", "~/.openclaw/memory/external/", ".openclaw/"]
- write
- ["~/.openclaw/memory-stack/", "~/.openclaw/memory/"]
- envVars
- purpose
- API key for cloud LLM fact extraction (optional)
- sentTo
- user-configured llmEndpoint only
- purpose
- Fallback API key for OpenAI (optional)
- sentTo
- api.openai.com or user-configured llmEndpoint
- purpose
- Override lossless DB path (local only)
- purpose
- Override router config path (local only)
- purpose
- Override backends config path (local only)
- dataFlow
- localOnly
- All search/storage (5 engines, sqlite3, markdown) runs on-device. Shell execution targets only local databases.
- remote
- LLM extraction sends conversation excerpts to user-configured endpoint only. No license verification, no activation keys.
- neverTransmitted
- Raw memory content never sent to apptah.com. No telemetry or analytics.
OpenClaw Memory Stack
Total recall. 90% fewer tokens.
Your agent forgets past decisions and burns tokens re-reading the same context. Memory Stack runs 5 search engines locally, returns only what matters, and never loses a fact.
Free and open source. MIT license. No subscription, no cloud API costs. All search and storage runs entirely on your machine. GitHub: github.com/Apptah/openclaw-memory-stack
Architecture
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ OPENCLAW MEMORY STACK │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ SEARCH PIPELINE (runs on every conversation turn) │
│ │
│ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ │
│ │ E1 │ │ E2 │ │ E3 │ │ E4 │ │ E5 │ │
│ │ Full │ │Vector│ │ DAG │ │ Fact │ │ MD │ │
│ │ Text │ │Search│ │Compr.│ │Store │ │Files │ │
│ └──┬───┘ └──┬───┘ └──┬───┘ └──┬───┘ └──┬───┘ │
│ └────────┴────────┴────────┴────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ ┌──────────────┐ │
│ │ Result Fusion│ │
│ │ + Reranking │ │
│ └──────────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ┌─────────┼─────────┐ │
│ ▼ ▼ ▼ │
│ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ │
│ │ L0 │ │ L1 │ │ L2 │ Token Budget │
│ │~100t │ │~800t │ │ full │ Control │
│ └──────┘ └──────┘ └──────┘ │
│ │
│ CAPTURE (runs after every conversation turn) │
│ │
│ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ │
│ │ Fact │ │ Entity │ │ Dedup & │ │
│ │ Extraction │ │ Tracking │ │ Supersede │ │
│ │ (8 types) │ │ (queryable) │ │ (3-level) │ │
│ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ │
│ │
│ CROSS-AGENT SHARING │
│ │
│ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ │
│ │ CLI API │ │ Drop Zone │ │ Unified │ │
│ │ query/add/ │ │ ~/.openclaw │ │ Global │ │
│ │ recent │ │ /external/ │ │ Memory │ │
│ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ │
│ ▲ ▲ ▲ │
│ Claude Code Cursor / Windsurf Any MCP client │
│ │
│ SELF-HEALING MAINTENANCE (24h cycle, zero config) │
│ │
│ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ │
│ │ Auto-Init │ │ Graceful │ │ Health │ │
│ │ workspace │ │ Fallback │ │ Monitor │ │
│ │ + indexing │ │ FTS5-only │ │ + alerting │ │
│ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ │
│ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Built-in Code Search
Find function names, variable names, or any pattern across your entire memory — instantly. No extra tools needed, works offline, gets faster the more you use it.
5-Engine Search
Five engines search in parallel on every conversation turn:
| Engine | What it does |
|---|---|
| Full-text | Keyword matching with relevance ranking |
| Vector | Semantic search — understands meaning, not just words |
| Compressed history | Conversation DAG with drill-down |
| Fact store | Structured facts — decisions, deadlines, requirements |
| Markdown | Scans memory files directly |
Results are merged with rank fusion, deduplicated, reranked for diversity, and scored with time decay.
3-Tier Token Control
Every wasted token is money burned. Memory Stack eliminates the waste.
| Tier | Tokens | When used |
|---|---|---|
| L0 | ~100 | Auto-recall every turn — minimal cost |
| L1 | ~800 | On-demand search summary |
| L2 | full | Full content on request |
The agent generates summaries — no separate LLM service required.
When the OpenClaw agent stores or surfaces a memory, it should also produce L0/L1 summaries from its own context (it is already an LLM) and persist them via:
openclaw-memory tier set <file> \
--l0 "<one-sentence abstract, ≤100 tokens>" \
--l1 "<focused overview, ≤800 tokens, covers what + why + when to use>"Read back at any tier:
openclaw-memory tier show <file> --level L0 # or L1, L2For unattended/offline contexts where no agent is available, fall back to a pure heuristic (first non-empty line for L0, char-bounded prefix for L1):
openclaw-memory tier auto <file>Structured Fact Memory
Extracts 8 fact types automatically: decisions, deadlines, requirements, entities, preferences, workflows, relationships, corrections.
- Structured key/value storage with confidence scores
- Negation-aware — "We will NOT use MongoDB" preserved correctly
- Automatic supersede — when a fact changes, old version archived, new one takes over
Smart Dedup & Conflict Resolution
- 3-level write-time dedup: exact match, normalized text, structured key match
- Full audit trail via archive table
- Removes duplicates before sending — you never pay twice for the same memory
Cross-Agent Memory Sharing
Works across Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and any MCP-compatible client.
- CLI commands:
openclaw-memory query/add/recent— any tool can read/write facts - Drop zone: drop
.mdfiles into~/.openclaw/memory/external/— auto-ingested, no duplicates - Unified global memory under
~/.openclaw/memory/— your memory follows you across workspaces
Self-Healing Maintenance
Zero maintenance. The plugin takes care of itself.
- Auto-init: detects workspace, creates search index, schedules embedding — no manual setup
- Graceful fallback: if vector search unavailable, runs in keyword-only mode — always functional
- 24h maintenance cycle: rebuilds index on corruption, archives stale facts, alerts on health issues
OpenClaw Native vs Memory Stack
| Native | Memory Stack | |
|---|---|---|
| Search engines | 2 | 5 (parallel, fused) |
| Token efficiency | Full text every time | Up to 90% fewer |
| Output tiers | Full text | 3 tiers (~100 / ~800 / full) |
| Fact extraction | No | 8 types, structured, negation-aware |
| Duplicate handling | Can pay twice | 3-level dedup, auto-supersede |
| Entity tracking | No | Yes, queryable |
| Cross-agent | No | CLI + drop zone, works with any tool |
| Memory across projects | Separate per workspace | Unified global memory — follows you everywhere |
| Self-healing | No | Auto-maintain, auto-fallback |
| Runs locally | Yes | Yes — all search runs locally, no cloud dependency |
Memory Stack vs Other AI Memory Systems
Most AI memory systems make you choose between control and convenience. Memory Stack doesn't.
| Hermes Agent | Google Always-On | Memory Stack | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trigger | Explicit tool call | Automatic (Google decides) | Deterministic router — 7 explicit rules |
| Routing logic | Agent judgment (opaque) | Black box | Keyword pattern matching — fully inspectable |
| Fallback on poor recall | None | Uncontrollable | Sequential chain — relevance < 0.4 → next backend |
| Storage location | Developer-managed DB | Google cloud | Local git branch + SQLite — nothing leaves your machine |
| Token control | None | None | 3 tiers: ~100 / ~800 / full |
| Deduplication | Manual | Unknown | 4-level auto-dedup |
| Works offline | Depends on DB | No | Yes — core search fully offline |
| Open source | Varies | No | MIT — full source on GitHub |
| Setup time | Hours | Minutes (Gemini only) | One command, any MCP client |
Hermes gives developers control but no routing or fallback infrastructure. Google gives convenience but no privacy and no control. Memory Stack gives you both.
Install
npx clawhub@latest package install openclaw-memory-stackOr clone and run directly:
git clone https://github.com/Apptah/openclaw-memory-stack
cd openclaw-memory-stack
./install.shRuns on macOS, Linux, and Windows (WSL2). Requires bash, python3, and OpenClaw 2026.3.2 or later. Bun is optional (enables QMD vector search).
What the installer does
The included install.sh performs the following actions:
- Files: Copies plugin and backend files to
~/.openclaw/memory-stack/, registers plugin in~/.openclaw/extensions/openclaw-memory-stack/, updates~/.openclaw/openclaw.json - Upgrade downloads:
install.sh --upgradedownloads new versions with mandatory SHA-256 checksum verification - No telemetry: No usage data, memory content, or analytics are ever sent
- Optional LLM:
OPENCLAW_LLM_API_KEY/OPENAI_API_KEYenv vars are optional, used only for LLM-powered fact extraction. If not set, falls back to local Ollama/MLX. These keys are sent only to the endpoint you configure (default: api.openai.com), never to our servers
All search and storage runs entirely on your machine.
License
MIT. Free and open source. See LICENSE.
Support
Questions or issues? Open a GitHub issue at github.com/Apptah/openclaw-memory-stack.