Migrating from Hermes

OpenClaw imports Hermes state through a bundled migration provider. The provider previews everything before changing state, redacts secrets in plans and reports, and creates a verified backup before apply.

Imports require a fresh OpenClaw setup. If you already have local OpenClaw state, reset config, credentials, sessions, and the workspace first, or use `openclaw migrate` directly with `--overwrite` after reviewing the plan.

Two ways to import

The fastest path. The wizard detects Hermes at `~/.hermes` and shows a preview before applying.

```bash
openclaw onboard --flow import
```

Or point at a specific source:

```bash
openclaw onboard --import-from hermes --import-source ~/.hermes
```

Use `openclaw migrate` for scripted or repeatable runs. See [`openclaw migrate`](/docs/openclaw-docs/cli/migrate for the full reference.

```bash
openclaw migrate hermes --dry-run    # preview only
openclaw migrate apply hermes --yes  # apply with confirmation skipped
```

Add `--from <path>` when Hermes lives outside `~/.hermes`.

What gets imported

- Default model selection from Hermes `config.yaml`. - Configured model providers and custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints from `providers` and `custom_providers`. MCP server definitions from `mcp_servers` or `mcp.servers`. - `SOUL.md` and `AGENTS.md` are copied into the OpenClaw agent workspace. - `memories/MEMORY.md` and `memories/USER.md` are **appended** to the matching OpenClaw memory files instead of overwriting them. Memory config defaults for OpenClaw file memory. External memory providers such as Honcho are recorded as archive or manual-review items so you can move them deliberately. Skills with a `SKILL.md` file under `skills//` are copied, along with per-skill config values from `skills.config`. Set `--include-secrets` to import supported `.env` keys: `OPENAI_API_KEY`, `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`, `OPENROUTER_API_KEY`, `GOOGLE_API_KEY`, `GEMINI_API_KEY`, `GROQ_API_KEY`, `XAI_API_KEY`, `MISTRAL_API_KEY`, `DEEPSEEK_API_KEY`. Without the flag, secrets are never copied.

What stays archive-only

The provider copies these into the migration report directory for manual review, but does not load them into live OpenClaw config or credentials:

plugins/
sessions/
logs/
cron/
mcp-tokens/
auth.json
state.db

OpenClaw refuses to execute or trust this state automatically because the formats and trust assumptions can drift between systems. Move what you need by hand after reviewing the archive.

Recommended flow

```bash openclaw migrate hermes --dry-run ```

The plan lists everything that will change, including conflicts, skipped items, and any sensitive items. Plan output redacts nested secret-looking keys.

```bash openclaw migrate apply hermes --yes ```

OpenClaw creates and verifies a backup before applying. If you need API keys imported, add `--include-secrets`.

```bash openclaw doctor ```

[Doctor](/docs/openclaw-docs/gateway/doctor reapplies any pending config migrations and checks for issues introduced during the import.

```bash openclaw gateway restart openclaw status ```

Confirm the gateway is healthy and your imported model, memory, and skills are loaded.

Conflict handling

Apply refuses to continue when the plan reports conflicts (a file or config value already exists at the target).

Rerun with `--overwrite` only when replacing the existing target is intentional. Providers may still write item-level backups for overwritten files in the migration report directory.

For a fresh OpenClaw install, conflicts are unusual. They typically appear when you re-run the import on a setup that already has user edits.

If a conflict surfaces mid-apply (for example, an unexpected race on a config file), Hermes marks remaining dependent config items as skipped with reason blocked by earlier apply conflict instead of writing them partially. The migration report records each blocked item so you can resolve the original conflict and rerun the import.

Secrets

Secrets are never imported by default.

Run openclaw migrate apply hermes --yes first to import non-secret state.
If you also want supported .env keys copied across, rerun with --include-secrets.
For SecretRef-managed credentials, configure the SecretRef source after the import completes.

JSON output for automation

openclaw migrate hermes --dry-run --json
openclaw migrate apply hermes --json --yes

With --json and no --yes, apply prints the plan and does not mutate state. This is the safest mode for CI and shared scripts.

Troubleshooting

Inspect the plan output. Each conflict identifies the source path and the existing target. Decide per item whether to skip, edit the target, or rerun with `--overwrite`. Pass `--from /actual/path` (CLI) or `--import-source /actual/path` (onboarding). Onboarding imports require a fresh setup. Either reset state and re-onboard, or use `openclaw migrate apply hermes` directly, which supports `--overwrite` and explicit backup control. `--include-secrets` is required, and only the keys listed above are recognized. Other variables in `.env` are ignored.

[openclaw migrate](/docs/openclaw-docs/cli/migrate: full CLI reference, plugin contract, and JSON shapes.
[Onboarding](/docs/openclaw-docs/cli/onboard: wizard flow and non-interactive flags.
[Migrating](/docs/openclaw-docs/install/migrating: move an OpenClaw install between machines.
[Doctor](/docs/openclaw-docs/gateway/doctor: post-migration health check.
[Agent workspace](/docs/openclaw-docs/concepts/agent-workspace: where SOUL.md, AGENTS.md, and memory files live.