Workspace File Map in OpenClaw
From the OpenClaw cheat sheet · Workspace Files · verified Jul 2026
Workspace File Map
The key files in ~/.openclaw/workspace/ and what each one does.
bash
# ~/.openclaw/workspace/
# SOUL.md — Agent personality and tone
# AGENTS.md — Operating instructions and rules
# USER.md — Who you are (name, preferences, context)
# MEMORY.md — Persistent memory across sessions
# BOOTSTRAP.md — Startup routine (runs at session start)
# HEARTBEAT.md — Periodic background tasks
# TOOLS.md — Notes about available tools
# IDENTITY.md — Identity-specific configuration
# Initialize workspace from defaults
cp docs/reference/templates/AGENTS.md ~/.openclaw/workspace/
cp docs/reference/templates/SOUL.md ~/.openclaw/workspace/
cp docs/reference/templates/TOOLS.md ~/.openclaw/workspace/💡 SOUL.md is personality, AGENTS.md is instructions, USER.md is who you are — keep them separate
⚡ All workspace files are injected into context every turn — keep them concise or they eat your context window
📌 For durable behavior changes, tell the agent to write to AGENTS.md or MEMORY.md — chat history is ephemeral
🟢 Back up your workspace with git — it's your agent's brain and identity
workspacesoulagentsusermemoryfiles