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Agent Bootstrapping

Bootstrapping is the first‑run ritual that prepares an agent workspace and collects identity details. It happens after onboarding, when the agent starts for the first time.

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What bootstrapping does

On the first agent run, OpenClaw bootstraps the workspace (default ~/.openclaw/workspace):
  • Seeds AGENTS.md, BOOTSTRAP.md, IDENTITY.md, USER.md.
  • Runs a short Q&A ritual (one question at a time).
  • Writes identity + preferences to IDENTITY.md, USER.md, SOUL.md.
  • Removes BOOTSTRAP.md when finished so it only runs once.

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Where it runs

Bootstrapping always runs on the gateway host. If the macOS app connects to a remote Gateway, the workspace and bootstrapping files live on that remote machine.
When the Gateway runs on another machine, edit workspace files on the gateway host (for example, user@gateway-host:~/.openclaw/workspace).