To migrate OpenClaw to Hermes, install the official agent-importers plugin and run hermes import-agent openclaw. It reads your ~/.openclaw folder, shows you a full preview of what moves across, and only writes to Hermes after you confirm. Your persona, memory, skills, model settings, MCP servers and messaging bots come with you. Your API keys only come if you ask for them.
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That command is new. In Hermes v0.22.5, published on GitHub on 23 October 2026, OpenClaw migration moved out of Hermes core and into the agent-importers plugin. If you learned the old way, hermes claw migrate, it still works once the plugin is installed and runs the exact same import. This guide is only about the OpenClaw to Hermes move: what carries over, what doesn't, how to handle secrets, and how to check the result.
What changed in v0.22.5 for OpenClaw users
The v0.22.5 release notes list hermes import-agent and OpenClaw migration among the pieces that moved out of core and into plugins, with setup offering the importer when it finds another agent. The Hermes docs fill in the details.
- One plugin, four sources. agent-importers is an official plugin in the Hermes catalog. It imports OpenClaw, Claude Code, Codex CLI and Cursor setups. OpenClaw gets the deepest mapping.
- Two spellings, one import. hermes import-agent openclaw is the new name. hermes claw migrate is the older spelling and does the same job with the same flags.
- No plugin, no command. Run hermes claw without the plugin and Hermes prints the install command instead.
- The guided skill moved too. The old optional openclaw-migration skill is gone. The plugin ships it as agent-importers:openclaw-migration.
- Already migrated? Nothing changes for you. Your existing Hermes setup stays as it is.
Want the same import for Claude Code, Codex or Cursor? That's covered in the full import-agent guide. Here we stay on OpenClaw.
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What carries over from OpenClaw (and what doesn't)
The migration sorts everything into two piles. Things with a clear Hermes home get imported directly. Things without one get archived so you can rebuild them by hand. Knowing which pile your stuff lands in saves you a nasty surprise later.
| OpenClaw item | Where it goes in Hermes | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| SOUL.md (persona) | ~/.hermes/SOUL.md | Straight copy |
| MEMORY.md and daily memory files | ~/.hermes/memories/MEMORY.md | Split into entries, merged with what's there, duplicates removed |
| USER.md | ~/.hermes/memories/USER.md | Same merge logic as memory |
| AGENTS.md | Wherever you point --workspace-target | Skipped unless you pass that flag |
| Skills from four OpenClaw folders | ~/.hermes/skills/openclaw-imports/ | Name clashes follow --skill-conflict |
| Default model and custom providers | config.yaml | Fallback models come too |
| MCP servers | config.yaml under mcp_servers | Stdio and HTTP servers, with tool include and exclude lists |
| Telegram, Discord, Slack, Signal, Matrix, Mattermost bots | ~/.hermes/.env | Tokens plus allowlists |
| Allowlist only | You re-pair with a QR code afterwards | |
| TTS settings | config.yaml under tts | ElevenLabs, OpenAI and Edge voices |
| Approval mode and command allowlist | config.yaml | auto becomes off, always becomes manual, smart stays smart |
Agent behaviour maps across as well: reasoning effort, compression, human delay, timezone, exec timeout, the Docker sandbox and your working directory. One conversion worth knowing: OpenClaw's timeout in seconds becomes Hermes max turns at one turn per 10 seconds, capped at 200.
What gets archived instead
These have no direct Hermes equivalent, so the migration saves them under ~/.hermes/migration/openclaw/ in a timestamped archive folder for you to review:
- Cron jobs. Recreate them with hermes cron create.
- HEARTBEAT.md. Use Hermes cron jobs for periodic tasks.
- IDENTITY.md. Merge it into your SOUL.md.
- TOOLS.md and BOOTSTRAP.md. Hermes has built-in tool instructions. Use context files or skills for the rest.
- Multi-agent setups. Use Hermes profiles instead.
- Plugins, hooks and webhooks, channel bindings, logging and UI identity. All rebuilt by hand on the Hermes side.
One more thing that doesn't come across: idle and daily session reset timers. Hermes conversations keep going until you start fresh with /new or /reset. If you're new to those, my Hermes Agent slash commands guide lists every command the docs confirm.
📺 Watch: PewdiePie's Odysseus VS Hermes VS OpenClaw: Who wins?
How to migrate OpenClaw to Hermes, step by step
Here's the full route for a Hermes agent import from OpenClaw, with the dry run first. Every command below comes from the Hermes CLI reference and the official migration guide.
- Install the plugin. Run hermes plugins install agent-importers. Do this once per profile, because plugins install per profile.
- Preview with a dry run. Run hermes import-agent openclaw --dry-run. It shows what would move and stops there. Nothing is written.
- Read the plan. Look for conflicts with files you already have in Hermes, skills with the same name, and anything marked as archived.
- Pick a preset. --preset full brings all compatible settings. --preset user-data leaves out infrastructure config. Neither preset brings secrets.
- Run it for real. For example, hermes import-agent openclaw --preset full. Hermes shows the preview again and asks you to confirm.
- Add keys if you want them. hermes import-agent openclaw --preset full --migrate-secrets brings your supported API keys and bot tokens across.
Fresh install? There's a shortcut. Run hermes setup. When it finds ~/.openclaw it asks "Import your setup from OpenClaw?". Say yes and it installs the plugin, then runs the import with --migrate-secrets, preview and confirmation included, before finishing the rest of setup.
Moving a whole team off OpenClaw and want a second pair of eyes on the plan? Book a free AI strategy session and we'll map it out.
The flags that matter
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
| --dry-run | Preview only. Nothing is written. |
| --preset full or user-data | All compatible settings, or everything minus infrastructure config |
| --migrate-secrets | Brings API keys across. Needed even with --preset full. |
| --overwrite | Replaces existing Hermes files on conflicts. Without it, the import refuses to apply a plan with conflicts. |
| --no-backup | Skips the restore-point zip of ~/.hermes/ taken before the import |
| --source | Points at an OpenClaw folder in a custom location |
| --workspace-target | Where your AGENTS.md should land |
| --skill-conflict | skip (default), overwrite, or rename, which keeps both with an -imported copy |
| --yes | Skips the confirmation after the preview |
Leave the backup on. By default Hermes writes a single zip of ~/.hermes/ into its backups folder before applying anything, and you can restore it with hermes import. That's your undo button.
Old install from the Clawdbot or Moltbot days? The importer checks ~/.openclaw first, then ~/.clawdbot, then ~/.moltbot, and it reads the old clawdbot.json and moltbot.json config names too. Anything elsewhere needs --source.
📺 Watch: How to Rank #1 with OpenClaw + Hermes AI SEO!
Secrets: how API keys transfer from OpenClaw to Hermes
This is the part people get wrong when they transfer OpenClaw to Hermes. Keys never move by accident. No preset imports them. You have to pass --migrate-secrets every time.
With that flag on, the importer hunts for keys in several places: the provider entries in openclaw.json, your ~/.openclaw/.env file, the env section inside openclaw.json, and the auth-profiles.json file in your main OpenClaw agent folder. Config values win, and the rest fill any gaps.
It only copies keys on an allowlist: OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, Gemini, Z.ai, MiniMax and ElevenLabs API keys, your Telegram bot token, and the OpenAI key used for voice tools. Anything not on that list stays behind. The Brave search key and the gateway auth token also need --migrate-secrets.
OpenClaw lets you store a token as plain text, as an environment variable reference, or as a SecretRef object. The importer resolves the first two and env-sourced SecretRefs. SecretRefs that pull from a file or a command can't be resolved, so the import warns you, and you add those by hand with hermes config set.
Running a stack of providers in OpenClaw? The docs point out that hermes setup --portal swaps them for one Nous Portal login with 300+ models. If you go that way, read my breakdown of Hermes Agent usage limits first, because the new Nous plans use daily and weekly limits.
Checking everything after you migrate
The import finishes with a report: how many items migrated, how many were skipped and how many hit conflicts. Then work through this list from the docs:
- Review the archive. Everything in the openclaw migration archive folder needs a manual decision.
- Start a new session. Imported skills and memory only take effect in new sessions, not the one you're in.
- Check your keys. Run hermes status to see provider authentication.
- Restart the gateway. If you brought bot tokens across, restart it so your Telegram, Discord or Slack bots pick them up. On Linux the docs use systemctl --user restart hermes-gateway.
- Re-pair WhatsApp. WhatsApp uses QR pairing, not tokens. Run hermes whatsapp.
- Clean up last. Once everything works, hermes claw cleanup renames the old OpenClaw folders to .pre-migration so the two never get confused.
Read that last step twice. After cleanup, OpenClaw stops working, because its folders have new names. Rename them back to undo it. cleanup takes --dry-run too, so preview that as well.
Common snags
- "OpenClaw directory not found". Your install lives somewhere else. Use --source with the path.
- "No provider API keys found". You didn't pass --migrate-secrets, or the keys sit in file or command SecretRefs. Add them with hermes config set.
- Skills missing. They're in the openclaw-imports skills folder. Start a new session, or run /skills to check they loaded.
- Voice not carried over. If you picked it in the OpenClaw UI, it may live in a path the importer doesn't read. Set it with hermes config set tts.elevenlabs.voice_id and your voice ID.
Should you move at all?
That's a bigger question than the import. I compared the two head to head in Hermes Agent vs OpenClaw. The short version: the migration is safe to try. A dry run writes nothing, the real run takes a backup first, and OpenClaw keeps working until you run cleanup. You can run both side by side while you test.
Once you're on Hermes, the next jobs are picking the right model and organising profiles. My Goldie Bench results help with the model, and the Agent OS guide shows how I lay out profiles. Rather plan the move with me? Grab a free AI strategy session.
FAQ
Is hermes claw migrate still a valid command?
Yes, once the agent-importers plugin is installed. It's the older spelling of hermes import-agent openclaw and runs the same import with the same flags. Without the plugin, hermes claw just prints the install command.
Will my API keys move across automatically?
No. Keys only transfer with --migrate-secrets, even under --preset full, and only keys on the importer's allowlist. The one exception is the hermes setup offer, which runs the import with --migrate-secrets for you, still behind a preview and a confirmation.
Do my OpenClaw cron jobs come over?
Not as live jobs. They're saved to the migration archive, and you recreate them with hermes cron create. HEARTBEAT.md tasks go the same way.
Can I undo a migration?
Yes. Unless you pass --no-backup, Hermes zips ~/.hermes/ before applying and you can restore it with hermes import. Your OpenClaw folders stay untouched until you run hermes claw cleanup.
Does the import work per profile?
The plugin installs once per profile, so install it in each profile you want to import into.
Ready to migrate OpenClaw to Hermes and build on top of it? Join the AI Profit Boardroom for the Agent OS and daily Hermes tutorials, or book a free AI strategy session and we'll plan your setup together.
