Case 00893

Workspace GitHub Backup

One-click backup solution for AI Agent workspaces to a private GitHub repository.

Quick Start

First time setup: Tell me "setup GitHub backup" and I'll guide you through the interactive wizard!

Already configured: Just say "backup now" to trigger an immediate backup.

---

Features

Two Backup Modes

Mode	Trigger	Description
Manual	"setup backup"	Interactive Q&A to configure
Auto	After setup	Scheduled via OpenClaw Cron

What Gets Backed Up ✅

Files/Directories	Description
skills/	All installed skills
memory/	Daily memory files
AGENTS.md	Agent configuration
SOUL.md	AI identity definition
USER.md	User information
IDENTITY.md	AI identity info
TOOLS.md	Local tools config
HEARTBEAT.md	Heartbeat tasks
Config files	README.md, SYNC.md, etc.

What's Excluded ❌

Pattern	Description
.clawhub/	ClawHub cache
.openclaw/	Runtime data
node_modules/	Dependencies
*.log	Log files
*.tmp	Temp files
.DS_Store	System files
API Keys	Sensitive info in env vars

---

Interactive Setup Wizard

When user says "setup GitHub backup", ask these questions one by one:

Question 1: GitHub Username

Please tell me your GitHub username.

Wait for answer (e.g., "johnsmith")

Question 2: Repository Name

What name would you like for your backup repository? Suggestion: ai-workspace-backup or agent-workspace

Wait for answer

Question 3: GitHub Token

Now let's generate a GitHub Token:

1. Go to https://github.com/settings/tokens
2. Click "Generate new token (classic)"
3. Note: backup-token
4. Check the repo permission (full control of private repositories)
5. Click "Generate token"
6. Copy and paste the Token here

Wait for token (format: ghp_xxx)

Question 4: Backup Time

When would you like automatic backup to run each day?

• A) 3:00 AM (midnight owl)
• B) 7:00 AM (morning)
• C) 12:00 PM (noon)
• D) 6:00 PM (evening)

Or tell me your preferred time (e.g., "every day at 5 PM")

Wait for selection

Question 5: Confirm

Configuration summary:

• GitHub Username: [username]
• Repository: [repo-name]
• Backup Time: [time]

Reply "confirm" or "yes" to start setup, or tell me what to change.

After confirmation:

1. Initialize Git repo
2. Run first backup
3. Set up OpenClaw Cron

---

Usage Commands

Manual Triggers

# Immediate backup
"backup now"
"backup immediately"
"run backup now"

# Check status
"backup status"
"when did we last backup"
"show backup status"

# Restore
"restore from GitHub"
"recover workspace"

# Modify setup
"change backup time"
"pause auto backup"

Trigger Keywords

The skill activates when user or agent says:

• "setup GitHub backup"
• "backup to github"
• "auto backup"
• "manual backup"
• "backup now"
• "backup status"
• "workspace backup"
• "git backup"
• "scheduled backup"
• "sync to github"

---

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Problem	Cause	Solution
"Permission denied"	Invalid token	Regenerate token with repo scope
"Repository not found"	Wrong repo name	Check spelling
"Push failed"	No network	Check connection
"Cron not running"	Config error	Run openclaw cron list

Manual Fix Commands

# Check remote
git remote -v

# Reset remote with new token
git remote set-url origin https://x-access-token:[email protected]/user/repo.git

# View cron jobs
openclaw cron list

# Manual backup
cd /root/.openclaw/workspace
git add skills/ memory/ AGENTS.md SOUL.md USER.md IDENTITY.md TOOLS.md HEARTBEAT.md README.md SYNC.md .gitignore
git commit -m "Backup: $(date +%Y-%m-%d)"
git push origin main

---

For Other AI Agents

If you're another AI agent using this skill:

1. First backup: Run the setup wizard to configure
2. Subsequent backups: Use openclaw cron add to set schedule
3. Manual trigger: Execute git add/commit/push commands
4. Status check: Run git log -1 to see last backup time

Example cron setup:

openclaw cron add --name "workspace-backup" --cron "0 3 * * *" --message "Execute workspace backup" --agent main

---

Security Notes

• Token is stored in Git remote URL (not in files)
• Sensitive data (API keys, passwords) are NOT backed up
• Backup archive contains no credentials
• Use a private repository for backup
• If token is compromised, revoke it immediately in GitHub Settings

---

Recovery Guide

When user needs to restore:

# 1. Clone the backup repo
git clone https://github.com/[username]/[repo].git /tmp/restore

# 2. Restore files
cp -r /tmp/restore/* ~/.openclaw/workspace/

# 3. Reconfigure environment variables
# (sensitive info not in backup)

---

Author

Created by Jeremy for OpenClaw community. Published to ClawHub for anyone to use and improve.