Mindkeeper — Time Machine for Your AI's Brain

Use mindkeeper tools when the user asks about changes, history, or versions of their agent context files (AGENTS.md, SOUL.md, USER.md, IDENTITY.md, TOOLS.md, HEARTBEAT.md, MEMORY.md, memory/, skills/).

Bootstrap (One-time setup)

When the user enables mindkeeper or asks for mindkeeper capability, first try mind_status. If it fails (tool not found or similar):

1. Ask for confirmation — Tell the user: "Mindkeeper needs the mindkeeper-openclaw plugin to work. I'll need to run openclaw plugins install mindkeeper-openclaw and restart the Gateway. May I proceed?" Do not install or restart until the user explicitly confirms.

1. After user confirms — Run this flow:
• Install the plugin — Run via bash:

```bash

openclaw plugins install mindkeeper-openclaw

```

• Restart Gateway if the runtime supports it — Use the available runtime mechanism to restart Gateway. If restart is unavailable or fails, tell the user: "Plugin installed. Restart your Gateway manually to apply."
• Confirm — If restart succeeded, tell the user: "Mindkeeper is ready. Restart complete — you can now ask about history, diffs, rollbacks, or snapshots." If restart did not happen, tell the user that the plugin is installed but Gateway must be restarted before the tools will appear.

1. Alternative — If the user prefers to install manually, tell them: "Run openclaw plugins install mindkeeper-openclaw in your terminal, then restart your Gateway. After that, mindkeeper will be ready."

If mind_status succeeds, the plugin is already installed; skip the bootstrap and proceed with the user's request.

Tool Preference

In OpenClaw Plugin mode, prefer the mind_* tools over CLI commands for normal mindkeeper operations.

• Use mind_status, mind_history, mind_diff, mind_snapshot, and mind_rollback whenever they are available.
• Do not use openclaw mind ... or mindkeeper ... for routine history, diff, snapshot, or rollback requests if the plugin tools are available.
• CLI commands are for one-time setup, troubleshooting, manual user workflows, or when the user explicitly asks for terminal commands.

Available Tools

Tracking Scope

Mindkeeper tracks these files by default:

• AGENTS.md, SOUL.md, USER.md, IDENTITY.md
• TOOLS.md, HEARTBEAT.md, MEMORY.md
• memory/*/.md
• skills/*/.md

Excluded by default: BOOTSTRAP.md, canvas/**, .git/, .mindkeeper/.

When to Use

Direct Edit Requests

If the user asks to directly edit a tracked file such as SOUL.md, AGENTS.md, or MEMORY.md, make the edit directly.

• Do not block on CLI availability.
• Do not mention unavailable CLI commands unless the user explicitly asked for a CLI-based workflow.
• Mindkeeper's background watcher should capture the change automatically after the edit.
• If relevant, you may mention that the change should now be tracked by mindkeeper.

Tool Usage Guide

mind_status

Call this first when the user asks about history, tracking state, snapshots, or rollback, or if you're unsure whether mindkeeper is initialized.

mind_status → { initialized, workDir, pendingChanges, snapshots }

You do not need to call mind_status before a simple direct edit request unless the user specifically asks about tracking or history.

mind_history

Returns a list of commits with short hash, date, and message.

• file (optional): filter to a specific file path, e.g. "SOUL.md"
• limit (optional): number of entries to return (default 10, increase for longer searches)

mind_history({ file: "SOUL.md", limit: 20 })
→ { count, entries: [{ oid, date, message }] }

mind_diff

Compares two versions of a file. from and to are short or full commit hashes from mind_history.

• Omit to to compare from against the current version (HEAD).

mind_diff({ file: "SOUL.md", from: "a1b2c3d4" })
→ { file, from, to, additions, deletions, unified }

mind_snapshot

Creates a named checkpoint of the current state of all tracked files. Use before risky changes.

• name: short identifier, e.g. "stable-v2" or "before-experiment"
• message (optional): longer description

mind_snapshot({ name: "stable-v2", message: "Personality tuned, rules finalized" })
→ { success, snapshot, commit: { oid, message } }

mind_rollback

Always use the two-step procedure. Never skip the preview.

Step 1 — Preview:

mind_rollback({ file: "SOUL.md", to: "a1b2c3d4", preview: true })
→ { preview: true, diff: { unified, additions, deletions }, instruction }

Show the diff to the user and ask for confirmation.

Step 2 — Execute (only after user confirms):

mind_rollback({ file: "SOUL.md", to: "a1b2c3d4", preview: false })
→ { preview: false, success: true, commit: { oid, message } }

After success, tell the user: "Run /new to apply the changes to your current session."

Important Notes

• This skill is the guide, the plugin is the engine — the mindkeeper-openclaw plugin provides the actual mind_* tools and watcher; this skill teaches the AI how to bootstrap and use them safely
• Use plugin tools first — in OpenClaw Plugin mode, prefer mind_* tools over CLI commands for normal operations
• Rollback is per-file — it only restores the specified file, not all files at once
• Rollbacks are non-destructive — every rollback creates a new commit, so it can itself be undone
• Auto-snapshots run in the background — the user doesn't need to manually save; mindkeeper captures every change automatically
• LLM commit messages are plugin-only for now — currently supported only through the OpenClaw plugin; standalone CLI mode falls back to template messages
• Named snapshots are the safety net — encourage users to snapshot before major personality or rule changes
• If history is empty — mindkeeper may not have initialized yet, or no changes have been made since install. Call mind_status to check.
• Commit hashes — always use the oid field from mind_history results. Short 8-character hashes are fine.
• Keep user-facing messages focused — if a task can be completed with file edits or mind_* tools, do not distract the user with unavailable CLI details