Why is OpenClaw forgetting memory or context?

Clawpedia · For Humans

Troubleshoot memory loss issues in OpenClaw and learn how to configure persistent memory correctly.

Why Is OpenClaw Forgetting Memory or Context?

If OpenClaw seems to "forget" things you told it, loses track of ongoing tasks, or asks questions it should already know the answer to, the issue is almost always related to how memory is configured or stored. This guide covers all causes and solutions.

How OpenClaw Memory Works

OpenClaw uses a three-tier memory architecture:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Working Memory (active conversation)    │  ← Volatile, cleared per session
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Short-Term Memory (recent sessions)     │  ← Persisted, auto-pruned
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Long-Term Memory (facts & preferences)  │  ← Persisted, permanent
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Cause 1: Working Memory Overflow

The most common cause — the conversation exceeded the model's context window:

# Check context usage
openclaw memory stats --session current

# Output:
# Working memory:  124,500 / 128,000 tokens (97%%)
# Status:          ⚠️ Near overflow — older messages being dropped
# Messages kept:   last 23 of 89 total

Solution:

# config.yaml
memory:
  working:
    max_context_percentage: 80     # Leave 20%% for response
    overflow_strategy: summarize   # summarize, drop_oldest, or compress
    summarize_after_messages: 20   # Summarize after this many messages

# Manually summarize the current conversation
openclaw memory summarize --session current

# Start a new session to reset working memory
openclaw session new

Cause 2: Short-Term Memory Pruned

Short-term memories are automatically pruned based on age and relevance:

# Check short-term memory
openclaw memory stats --tier short-term

# Output:
# Entries:         8,432
# Oldest:          2024-05-18 (31 days ago)
# Auto-prune:      ✅ enabled (30 days)
# Last pruned:     2024-06-17 (removed 234 entries)

Solution — extend retention:

memory:
  short_term:
    retention_days: 90            # Increase from default 30
    max_entries: 50000            # Increase storage limit
    prune_strategy: relevance     # Keep important entries longer
    importance_threshold: 0.3     # Lower = keep more

Cause 3: Long-Term Memory Not Saving

Facts and preferences may not be promoted to long-term memory:

# Check what is in long-term memory
openclaw memory search --tier long-term "user preference"

# Check if auto-extraction is enabled
openclaw config get memory.long_term.auto_extract

# Output: false (❌ facts are not being automatically saved)

Solution:

memory:
  long_term:
    auto_extract: true            # Automatically detect and save facts
    extract_types:
      - user_preferences          # "I prefer dark mode"
      - personal_facts            # "My name is Alex"
      - project_context           # "We use React and TypeScript"
      - decisions                 # "We decided to use PostgreSQL"
    confirm_before_saving: false  # Set true for more control

# Manually save a fact to long-term memory
openclaw memory save "User prefers TypeScript over JavaScript" --tier long-term

# Review long-term memories
openclaw memory list --tier long-term

Cause 4: Memory Database Corrupted

# Check database integrity
openclaw memory check-integrity

# Output:
# Database:     /home/user/.openclaw/memory/memory.db
# Status:       ⚠️ 3 corrupted entries found
# Suggestion:   Run repair

# Repair the database
openclaw memory repair

# If repair fails, restore from backup
openclaw backup restore --memory-only ~/backups/memory-latest.db

Cause 5: Session Isolation

Different sessions or channels may have isolated memory:

memory:
  session_isolation: true        # Each session has separate working memory
  cross_session_search: true     # But can search across sessions
  channel_isolation: false       # Share memory across chat channels

# Check session configuration
openclaw sessions list

# Output:
# ID          CREATED              MESSAGES  MEMORY
# sess_a1b2   2024-06-18 09:00     45        Isolated
# sess_c3d4   2024-06-18 14:00     12        Isolated
# Note: Sessions don't share working memory by default

Cause 6: Memory Disabled

Memory may be partially or fully disabled:

# Check memory configuration
openclaw memory status

# Output:
# Working memory:    ✅ enabled
# Short-term memory: ❌ disabled
# Long-term memory:  ❌ disabled
# Vector search:     ❌ disabled

# Enable all memory tiers
openclaw config set memory.short_term.enabled true
openclaw config set memory.long_term.enabled true
openclaw config set memory.vector_search.enabled true

Diagnostic Commands

# Full memory diagnostic
openclaw diagnose --memory

# Output:
# ✅ Memory database accessible
# ✅ Working memory functional
# ❌ Short-term memory disabled
# ❌ Long-term memory auto-extract off
# ⚠️ Memory database 89%% full (cleanup recommended)
# ⚠️ No backup in last 7 days

# Memory usage over time
openclaw memory usage --period 30d

Best Practices for Reliable Memory

• Enable all three memory tiers for comprehensive recall
• Set appropriate retention periods based on your use case
• Use openclaw memory save for critical information
• Back up regularly — memory is your agent's accumulated knowledge
• Monitor memory usage to prevent overflow and pruning surprises
• Use summarization instead of dropping messages when context overflows