Procedural Memory — Automatic Workflow Memory

> _"When a workflow works, save it as a reusable skill."_

Inspired by Hermes Agent's core feature: an agent that learns from experience by saving successful workflows as reusable skills.

Directory Prerequisites

mkdir -p ~/self-improving
mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills

The log file ~/self-improving/procedural-memory-log.md will be created automatically if missing.

Trigger Conditions (Priority Order)

🔴 High Priority — Explicit User Request

• "记住这个workflow" / "remember this workflow"
• "以后遇到类似就这样做" / "do this next time"
• "这个方法很好，以后也这样用" / "this works, use it again"
• "这个技巧值得记住" / "this is worth remembering"

🟡 Medium Priority — Proactive Review

• End of day (or user says "review")
• After a complex task completes successfully

🟢 Low Priority — Pattern Recognition

• Same workflow applied successfully 2+ times
• Recurring solutions discovered

Workflow

Step 1 — Evaluate Worthiness

Must meet ALL:

• ✅ Takes 3+ steps to complete
• ✅ Likely applicable to future conversations
• ✅ Not one-time / context-specific
• ✅ User would benefit

Auto-trigger: If the same workflow succeeds 3+ times, auto-create skill WITHOUT asking (记录到日志即可)。

Otherwise: ask user "我可以把这个 workflow 存为 skill 吗？"

If user confirms → continue. Otherwise → silent skip.

Step 2 — Check for Conflicts

ls ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/ | grep <keyword>

• Same name exists → log "already exists, skip"
• Similar function exists → consider merge or append

Step 3 — Extract Pattern

Record:

**Skill Name**: [verb]-[problem] (kebab-case)
**Trigger**: [when this would be used]
**Problem Solved**: [what issue this solves]
**Steps**: [numbered list]
**Key Insight**: [why this works]
**Limitations**: [when NOT to use]

Step 4 — Create Skill File

Create ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/[skill-name]/SKILL.md:

---
name: [skill-name]
description: "[one-line description of when to use]
---
# [Skill Name]

## What This Solves
[trigger conditions and problem]

## When to Use
- [specific scenario 1]
- [specific scenario 2]

## How To Execute
[Step 1]
[Step 2]
[Step 3...]

## Key Insight
[why this is effective]

## Limitations
[when this won't work]

Step 5 — Validate

ls ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/[skill-name]/SKILL.md
head -20 ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/[skill-name]/SKILL.md

Recreate if corrupted.

Step 6 — Log

Append to ~/self-improving/procedural-memory-log.md:

## YYYY-MM-DD

### [skill-name]
- **Trigger**: [what triggered this]
- **Problem solved**: [what was solved]
- **Key insight**: [the key learning]
- **Skill file**: `~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/[skill-name]/SKILL.md`

Step 7 — Notify User

Tell user the skill was created and ask if they want to enable auto-execution:

> "已记住这个 workflow，存为 skill/[skill-name]。是否需要我下次遇到类似情况时自动执行？"

Default behavior: Do NOT auto-execute without user confirmation.

Skill Loading

When new conversation context matches a saved skill's trigger:

1. Load the skill's SKILL.md
2. Ask user: "我之前学过这个，要我用这个方法吗？"
3. Only execute AFTER user confirms
4. Never auto-execute without explicit user approval

Privacy Consideration

• This skill scans conversation history to identify worth-saving workflows
• Derived content is persisted to disk (~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/ and ~/self-improving/)
• Sensitive conversation data may be captured — user is responsible for what they share in conversations
• Log files contain pattern summaries, not raw conversation, but could still contain sensitive references
• Users should be aware of what they discuss with the agent

End-of-Day Review Prompt

When user says "复盘" or at end of day:

> "今天有什么 workflow 值得我记住吗？"

Scan today's conversation for:

• Complex but successful tasks
• Repeatedly used techniques
• Reusable solutions

References

• Skill Creator Guide: ../skill-creator/SKILL.md
• Self-Improving Memory: ~/self-improving/memory.md
• Procedural Memory Log: ~/self-improving/procedural-memory-log.md