The agent seems to forget everything after a restart and MEMORY.md updates do not stick. In most cases, the underlying issue is the memory path resolves to the wrong directory or the process does not have permission to write to the expected file.
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Low priorityTested by MilanVerified fix
Memory Not Persisting Between Restarts
If you are seeing this exact OpenClaw issue, the fastest path is to confirm the likely cause, then work the recovery steps in order without skipping the full restart and retest sequence.
MilanLast updated Mar 1, 2026Verified recovery sequence documented in this repo
Likely Cause
The memory path resolves to the wrong directory or the process does not have permission to write to the expected file.
Tags
MemoryConfig
Recovery Steps
- 1Confirm MEMORY_PATH points to the intended absolute location.
- 2Check the file permissions in the project directory.
- 3Fix ownership and write permissions if needed.
- 4Restart the process under the same deploy user.
- 5Add a fact, restart, and verify that the fact still exists.
Related OpenClaw resources
Adjacent issue guides
Issue FAQ
These answers are written to be self-contained, so you can confirm the likely problem before you start changing your setup.
Work through the recovery steps in order and fully restart OpenClaw before retesting. Skipping the restart or leaving stale auth/config state in place usually causes the issue to return.
Move to the related guide or service link below so you can rule out adjacent configuration problems instead of repeating the same failed steps.
Still blocked?
If the steps above do not clear it, review the full fixes index or book direct troubleshooting help.