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OpenClaw Backup Role

Automatically backs up OpenClaw configuration and workspace metadata to a git repository.

What Gets Backed Up

Configuration Files

  • openclaw.json - Main OpenClaw configuration
  • devices/paired.json - Device pairing information (no secrets)

Workspace Metadata

  • .cursorrules files - Your AI guardrails for each project
  • Project metadata (but not the actual code - that should be in separate repos)

What's Excluded

  • API keys (auth-profiles.json) - NEVER committed
  • SSH keys and certificates
  • Log files
  • Session history
  • Actual workspace code (use git per-project)

Setup

1. Create a Backup Repository

# On GitHub, create a private repo called "openclaw-config-backup"
# Then get the SSH URL

2. Configure in Ansible

Edit ansible/inventory/group_vars/all.yml:

openclaw_backup_repo: "git@github.com:yourusername/openclaw-config-backup.git"

# Optional: customize schedule (default: daily at 2 AM)
openclaw_backup_cron_minute: "0"
openclaw_backup_cron_hour: "2"

3. Deploy

cd ansible
ansible-playbook -i inventory/hosts playbooks/site.yml

Usage

Manual Backup

ssh ubuntu@your-proxmox-vm
~/openclaw-backups/backup.sh

Initialize Git Repos for Workspace Projects

This script sets up git repositories for all your OpenClaw workspace projects:

ssh ubuntu@your-proxmox-vm
~/bin/init-workspace-repos.sh

This will:

  • ✓ Initialize git in each workspace project
  • ✓ Create .gitignore files
  • ✓ Create README.md templates
  • ✓ Make initial commits
  • ✓ Include .cursorrules files in each repo

Then push each project to its own GitHub repo:

cd ~/.openclaw/workspace/my-project
git remote add origin git@github.com:yourusername/my-project.git
git push -u origin main

Check Backup Logs

ssh ubuntu@your-proxmox-vm
tail -f ~/openclaw-backups/backup.log

View Cron Job

ssh ubuntu@your-proxmox-vm
crontab -l | grep openclaw

Best Practices

Three-Tier Backup Strategy

  1. Config Backups (this role)

    • OpenClaw settings (daily automated)
    • Device pairing info
    • Workspace .cursorrules files

  2. Workspace Projects (per-project git)

    • Each project is its own repo
    • Code + .cursorrules together
    • Standard git workflow

  3. VM Snapshots (Proxmox)

    • Weekly full VM snapshots
    • Disaster recovery
    • Before major upgrades

Recommended Workflow

# After creating a new workspace project in OpenClaw:
ssh ubuntu@your-vm
cd ~/.openclaw/workspace/new-project

# Initialize git
git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"

# Create GitHub repo and push
git remote add origin git@github.com:yourusername/new-project.git
git push -u origin main

# Clone locally on your Mac
git clone git@github.com:yourusername/new-project.git

Now you can:

  • Edit locally or via OpenClaw
  • Commit and push changes
  • Your .cursorrules travel with the code
  • Config is backed up separately

Troubleshooting

Backup script fails to push

Problem: SSH keys not set up for git in VM

Solution:

# Generate SSH key on VM
ssh ubuntu@your-vm
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "openclaw@your-vm"

# Add to GitHub
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
# Copy and add to GitHub > Settings > SSH Keys

# Test connection
ssh -T git@github.com

Workspace init script doesn't find projects

Problem: Workspace directory empty or OpenClaw not fully deployed

Solution: Create a project via OpenClaw first, then run the script.

Cron job not running

Check cron logs:

grep CRON /var/log/syslog | tail -20

Verify cron is installed:

sudo systemctl status cron

Variables

See defaults/main.yml for all configurable variables:

  • openclaw_backup_dir - Where backups are stored (default: ~/openclaw-backups)
  • openclaw_backup_repo - Git repo URL (leave empty to disable)
  • openclaw_backup_cron_* - Cron schedule settings