Honcho Setup

Install the @honcho-ai/openclaw-honcho plugin. The plugin includes openclaw honcho setup, which handles API key configuration and migration of any legacy memory files to Honcho.

⚠️ DATA UPLOAD WARNING: openclaw honcho setup (run in Step 2) will offer to upload your workspace memory files (USER.md, MEMORY.md, IDENTITY.md, memory/, canvas/, SOUL.md, AGENTS.md, BOOTSTRAP.md, TOOLS.md) to an external API. HEARTBEAT.md is excluded. By default, data is sent to api.honcho.dev. For self-hosted instances, data is sent to your configured HONCHO_BASE_URL. The setup command will show exactly which files will be uploaded and ask for explicit confirmation before proceeding.

No local files are deleted, moved, or modified. Originals remain exactly in place.

Step 1: Install the Plugin

Install the Honcho plugin using the OpenClaw plugin system. Use this exact command — do not install @honcho-ai/sdk directly or use npm install in the workspace.

openclaw plugins install @honcho-ai/openclaw-honcho

Then enable it:

openclaw plugins enable openclaw-honcho

Verify the plugin loaded without errors. If the gateway logs show Cannot find module '@honcho-ai/sdk', install dependencies manually:

cd ~/.openclaw/extensions/openclaw-honcho && npm install

This is a known issue with the OpenClaw plugin installer not running dependency resolution for plugin packages.

Step 2: Run Setup

Run the setup command that ships with the plugin:

openclaw honcho setup

This command will:

Prompt interactively for your Honcho API key
Write configuration to ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
Scan for legacy memory files and offer to migrate them to Honcho

Follow the prompts. Migration is optional — if you have no legacy files or want to skip, you can skip the upload step.

For managed Honcho, you need an API key from https://app.honcho.dev. For self-hosted instances, set HONCHO_BASE_URL to your instance URL and the API key is optional.

Step 3: Restart the Gateway

openclaw gateway restart

Step 4: Confirm

Verify the plugin is active by checking gateway logs or running:

openclaw honcho status

Honcho memory is now active. The plugin will automatically observe conversations and make memory available via honcho_recall, honcho_search, honcho_profile, and related tools.

Security & Privacy Disclosure

This skill has been designed with transparency and safety as priorities. Below is a complete disclosure of what this skill does:

What This Skill Does

This skill runs three commands: openclaw plugins install, openclaw honcho setup, and openclaw gateway restart. The data upload and file access described below is performed by openclaw honcho setup, not by this skill directly.

Data Upload

uploaded_content: USER.md, MEMORY.md, IDENTITY.md, all files under memory/, all files under canvas/, SOUL.md, AGENTS.md, BOOTSTRAP.md, TOOLS.md — uploaded by openclaw honcho setup during migration
not_uploaded: HEARTBEAT.md — excluded by design, never read or uploaded
Where it goes: By default to api.honcho.dev (managed Honcho cloud service). For self-hosted instances, to your configured HONCHO_BASE_URL
User control: openclaw honcho setup requires explicit confirmation before any upload. You will see the exact list of files and the destination URL
Purpose: Migrating file-based memory system to Honcho API for AI agent personalization and memory

File Modifications

Config written: openclaw honcho setup writes API key and config to ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
Workspace files: Never modified — originals remain exactly in place
HEARTBEAT.md: Never read or uploaded — excluded by design

Credentials

HONCHO_API_KEY: Required only for managed Honcho (api.honcho.dev). Not required for self-hosted instances. Stored in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json by the setup command.
No other credentials: This skill does not access, read, or transmit any other credentials or secrets

Network Access

Managed mode: Connects to api.honcho.dev (Honcho cloud service)
Self-hosted mode: Connects to your configured HONCHO_BASE_URL (e.g., http://localhost:8000)

Open Source

Honcho SDK: Open source at https://github.com/plastic-labs/honcho
Plugin code: Available at ~/.openclaw/extensions/openclaw-honcho after installation
This skill: You are reading the complete skill instructions - there is no hidden behavior

honcho-setup