---
title: OpenClaw
---

Add long-term memory to [OpenClaw](https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw) agents with the `@mem0/openclaw-mem0` plugin. Your agent forgets everything between sessions — this plugin fixes that by automatically watching conversations, extracting what matters, and bringing it back when relevant.

## Overview

<Frame>
  <img src="/images/openclaw-architecture.png" alt="OpenClaw Mem0 Architecture" />
</Frame>

The plugin provides:
1. **Auto-Recall** — Before the agent responds, memories matching the current message are injected into context
2. **Auto-Capture** — After the agent responds, the exchange is sent to Mem0 which decides what's worth keeping
3. **Agent Tools** — Five tools for explicit memory operations during conversations

Both auto-recall and auto-capture run silently with no manual configuration required.

## Installation

```bash
openclaw plugins install @mem0/openclaw-mem0
```

## Setup and Configuration

### Understanding `userId`

The `userId` field is a **string you choose** to uniquely identify the user whose memories are being stored. It is **not** something you look up in the Mem0 dashboard — you define it yourself.

Pick any stable, unique identifier for the user. Common choices:

- Your application's internal user ID (e.g. `"user_123"`, `"alice@example.com"`)
- A UUID (e.g. `"550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000"`)
- A simple username (e.g. `"alice"`)

All memories are scoped to this `userId` — different values create separate memory namespaces. If you don't set it, it defaults to `"default"`, which means all users share the same memory space.

<Tip>In a multi-user application, set `userId` dynamically per user (e.g. from your auth system) rather than hardcoding a single value.</Tip>

### Platform Mode (Mem0 Cloud)

<Note>Get your API key from [app.mem0.ai](https://app.mem0.ai).</Note>

Add to your `openclaw.json`:

```json5
// plugins.entries
"openclaw-mem0": {
  "enabled": true,
  "config": {
    "apiKey": "${MEM0_API_KEY}",
    "userId": "alice"  // any unique identifier you choose for this user
  }
}
```

### Open-Source Mode (Self-hosted)

No Mem0 key needed. Requires `OPENAI_API_KEY` for default embeddings/LLM.

```json5
"openclaw-mem0": {
  "enabled": true,
  "config": {
    "mode": "open-source",
    "userId": "alice"  // any unique identifier you choose for this user
  }
}
```

Sensible defaults work out of the box. To customize the embedder, vector store, or LLM:

```json5
"config": {
  "mode": "open-source",
  "userId": "your-user-id",
  "oss": {
    "embedder": { "provider": "openai", "config": { "model": "text-embedding-3-small" } },
    "vectorStore": { "provider": "qdrant", "config": { "host": "localhost", "port": 6333 } },
    "llm": { "provider": "openai", "config": { "model": "gpt-4o" } }
  }
}
```

All `oss` fields are optional. See [Mem0 OSS docs](/open-source/node-quickstart) for available providers.

## Short-term vs Long-term Memory

Memories are organized into two scopes:

- **Session (short-term)** — Auto-capture stores memories scoped to the current session via Mem0's `run_id` / `runId` parameter. These are contextual to the ongoing conversation.

- **User (long-term)** — The agent can explicitly store long-term memories using the `memory_store` tool (with `longTerm: true`, the default). These persist across all sessions for the user.

During **auto-recall**, the plugin searches both scopes and presents them separately — long-term memories first, then session memories — so the agent has full context.

## Agent Tools

The agent gets five tools it can call during conversations:

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `memory_search` | Search memories by natural language |
| `memory_list` | List all stored memories for a user |
| `memory_store` | Explicitly save a fact |
| `memory_get` | Retrieve a memory by ID |
| `memory_forget` | Delete by ID or by query |

The `memory_search` and `memory_list` tools accept a `scope` parameter (`"session"`, `"long-term"`, or `"all"`) to control which memories are queried. The `memory_store` tool accepts a `longTerm` boolean (default: `true`) to choose where to store.

## CLI Commands

```bash
# Search all memories (long-term + session)
openclaw mem0 search "what languages does the user know"

# Search only long-term memories
openclaw mem0 search "what languages does the user know" --scope long-term

# Search only session/short-term memories
openclaw mem0 search "what languages does the user know" --scope session

# View stats
openclaw mem0 stats
```

## Configuration Options

### General Options

| Key | Type | Default | Description |
|-----|------|---------|-------------|
| `mode` | `"platform"` \| `"open-source"` | `"platform"` | Which backend to use |
| `userId` | `string` | `"default"` | Scope memories per user |
| `autoRecall` | `boolean` | `true` | Inject memories before each turn |
| `autoCapture` | `boolean` | `true` | Store facts after each turn |
| `topK` | `number` | `5` | Max memories per recall |
| `searchThreshold` | `number` | `0.3` | Min similarity (0–1) |

### Platform Mode Options

| Key | Type | Default | Description |
|-----|------|---------|-------------|
| `apiKey` | `string` | — | **Required.** Mem0 API key (supports `${MEM0_API_KEY}`) |
| `orgId` | `string` | — | Organization ID |
| `projectId` | `string` | — | Project ID |
| `enableGraph` | `boolean` | `false` | Entity graph for relationships |
| `customInstructions` | `string` | *(built-in)* | Extraction rules — what to store, how to format |
| `customCategories` | `object` | *(12 defaults)* | Category name → description map for tagging |

### Open-Source Mode Options

| Key | Type | Default | Description |
|-----|------|---------|-------------|
| `customPrompt` | `string` | *(built-in)* | Extraction prompt for memory processing |
| `oss.embedder.provider` | `string` | `"openai"` | Embedding provider (`"openai"`, `"ollama"`, etc.) |
| `oss.embedder.config` | `object` | — | Provider config: `apiKey`, `model`, `baseURL` |
| `oss.vectorStore.provider` | `string` | `"memory"` | Vector store (`"memory"`, `"qdrant"`, `"chroma"`, etc.) |
| `oss.vectorStore.config` | `object` | — | Provider config: `host`, `port`, `collectionName`, `dimension` |
| `oss.llm.provider` | `string` | `"openai"` | LLM provider (`"openai"`, `"anthropic"`, `"ollama"`, etc.) |
| `oss.llm.config` | `object` | — | Provider config: `apiKey`, `model`, `baseURL`, `temperature` |
| `oss.historyDbPath` | `string` | — | SQLite path for memory edit history |

Everything inside `oss` is optional — defaults use OpenAI embeddings (`text-embedding-3-small`), in-memory vector store, and OpenAI LLM.

## Key Features

1. **Zero Configuration** — Auto-recall and auto-capture work out of the box with no prompting required
2. **Dual Memory Scopes** — Session-scoped short-term and user-scoped long-term memories
3. **Flexible Backend** — Use Mem0 Cloud for managed service or self-host with open-source mode
4. **Rich Tool Suite** — Five agent tools for explicit memory operations when needed

## Conclusion

The `@mem0/openclaw-mem0` plugin gives OpenClaw agents persistent memory with minimal setup. Whether using Mem0 Cloud or self-hosting, your agents can now remember user preferences, facts, and context across sessions automatically.

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