Migrating from Hermes

OpenClaw imports Hermes state through a bundled migration provider. The provider previews everything before changing state, redacts secrets in plans and reports, and creates a verified backup before apply.

Note

Imports require a fresh OpenClaw setup. If you already have local OpenClaw state, reset config, credentials, sessions, and the workspace first, or use openclaw migrate directly with --overwrite after reviewing the plan.

Two ways to import

Onboarding wizardCLI

The fastest path. The wizard detects Hermes at ~/.hermes and shows a preview before applying.

openclaw onboard --flow import

Or point at a specific source:

openclaw onboard --import-from hermes --import-source ~/.hermes

Use openclaw migrate for scripted or repeatable runs. See openclaw migrate for the full reference.

openclaw migrate hermes --dry-run    # preview only
openclaw migrate apply hermes --yes  # apply with confirmation skipped

Add `—from

when Hermes lives outside~/.hermes`.

What gets imported

Model configuration

• Default model selection from Hermes config.yaml.
• Configured model providers and custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints from providers and custom_providers.

MCP servers

MCP server definitions from mcp_servers or mcp.servers.

Workspace files

• SOUL.md and AGENTS.md are copied into the OpenClaw agent workspace.
• memories/MEMORY.md and memories/USER.md are appended to the matching OpenClaw memory files instead of overwriting them.

Memory configuration

Memory config defaults for OpenClaw file memory. External memory providers such as Honcho are recorded as archive or manual-review items so you can move them deliberately.

Skills

Skills with a SKILL.md file under `skills/

/are copied, along with per-skill config values fromskills.config`.

API keys (opt-in)

Set --include-secrets to import 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. Without the flag, secrets are never copied.

What stays archive-only

The provider copies these into the migration report directory for manual review, but does not load them into live OpenClaw config or credentials:

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

OpenClaw refuses to execute or trust this state automatically because the formats and trust assumptions can drift between systems. Move what you need by hand after reviewing the archive.

Recommended flow

1. Preview the plan

   openclaw migrate hermes --dry-run

   The plan lists everything that will change, including conflicts, skipped items, and any sensitive items. Plan output redacts nested secret-looking keys.

2. Apply with backup

   openclaw migrate apply hermes --yes

   OpenClaw creates and verifies a backup before applying. If you need API keys imported, add --include-secrets.

3. Run doctor

   openclaw doctor

   Doctor reapplies any pending config migrations and checks for issues introduced during the import.

4. Restart and verify

   openclaw gateway restart
   openclaw status

   Confirm the gateway is healthy and your imported model, memory, and skills are loaded.

Conflict handling

Apply refuses to continue when the plan reports conflicts (a file or config value already exists at the target).

Warning

Rerun with --overwrite only when replacing the existing target is intentional. Providers may still write item-level backups for overwritten files in the migration report directory.

For a fresh OpenClaw install, conflicts are unusual. They typically appear when you re-run the import on a setup that already has user edits.

If a conflict surfaces mid-apply (for example, an unexpected race on a config file), Hermes marks remaining dependent config items as skipped with reason blocked by earlier apply conflict instead of writing them partially. The migration report records each blocked item so you can resolve the original conflict and rerun the import.

Secrets

Secrets are never imported by default.

• Run openclaw migrate apply hermes --yes first to import non-secret state.
• If you also want supported .env keys copied across, rerun with --include-secrets.
• For SecretRef-managed credentials, configure the SecretRef source after the import completes.

JSON output for automation

openclaw migrate hermes --dry-run --json
openclaw migrate apply hermes --json --yes

With --json and no --yes, apply prints the plan and does not mutate state. This is the safest mode for CI and shared scripts.

Troubleshooting

Apply refuses with conflicts

Inspect the plan output. Each conflict identifies the source path and the existing target. Decide per item whether to skip, edit the target, or rerun with --overwrite.

Hermes lives outside ~/.hermes

Pass --from /actual/path (CLI) or --import-source /actual/path (onboarding).

Onboarding refuses to import on an existing setup

Onboarding imports require a fresh setup. Either reset state and re-onboard, or use openclaw migrate apply hermes directly, which supports --overwrite and explicit backup control.

API keys did not import

--include-secrets is required, and only the keys listed above are recognized. Other variables in .env are ignored.

Related

• openclaw migrate: full CLI reference, plugin contract, and JSON shapes.
• Onboarding: wizard flow and non-interactive flags.
• Migrating: move an OpenClaw install between machines.
• Doctor: post-migration health check.
• Agent workspace: where SOUL.md, AGENTS.md, and memory files live.