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openclaw agents

Manage isolated agents (workspaces + auth + routing). Running openclaw agents with no subcommand is equivalent to openclaw agents list. Related:

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Examples

openclaw agents list
openclaw agents list --bindings
openclaw agents add work --workspace ~/.openclaw/workspace-work
openclaw agents add work --workspace ~/.openclaw/workspace-work --bind telegram:*
openclaw agents add ops --workspace ~/.openclaw/workspace-ops --bind telegram:ops --non-interactive
openclaw agents bindings
openclaw agents bind --agent work --bind telegram:ops
openclaw agents unbind --agent work --bind telegram:ops
openclaw agents set-identity --workspace ~/.openclaw/workspace --from-identity
openclaw agents set-identity --agent main --avatar avatars/openclaw.png
openclaw agents delete work

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Command surface

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agents list

Options: --json, --bindings (include full routing rules, not only per-agent counts/summaries).

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agents add [name]

Options: --workspace <dir>, --model <id>, --agent-dir <dir>, --bind <channel[:accountId]> (repeatable), --non-interactive, --json.
  • Passing any explicit add flag switches the command into the non-interactive path.
  • Non-interactive mode requires both an agent name and --workspace.
  • main is reserved and cannot be used as the new agent id.
  • Interactive mode seeds auth by copying only portable static credentials (api_key and static token profiles) unless a credential opts out with copyToAgents: false; OAuth refresh-token profiles are not copied unless a provider opts in with copyToAgents: true. Without a copy, OAuth stays available only through read-through inheritance from the real main agent store. If the configured default agent is not main, sign in separately for OAuth profiles on the new agent.

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agents bindings

Options: --agent <id>, --json.

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agents bind

Options: --agent <id> (defaults to the current default agent), --bind <channel[:accountId]> (repeatable), --json.

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agents unbind

Options: --agent <id> (defaults to the current default agent), --bind <channel[:accountId]> (repeatable), --all, --json. Accepts either --all or one or more --bind values, not both.

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agents set-identity

Options: --agent <id>, --workspace <dir>, --identity-file <path>, --from-identity, --name <name>, --theme <theme>, --emoji <emoji>, --avatar <value>, --json. See Set identity below.

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agents delete <id>

Options: --force, --json.
  • main cannot be deleted.
  • Without --force, interactive confirmation is required (fails in a non-TTY session; re-run with --force).
  • Workspace, agent state, and session transcript directories move to Trash, not hard-deleted.
  • When the Gateway is reachable, deletion routes through the Gateway so config and session-store cleanup share the same writer as runtime traffic. If the Gateway is unreachable, the CLI falls back to the offline local path.
  • If another agent’s workspace is the same path, inside this workspace, or contains this workspace, the workspace is retained, and --json reports workspaceRetained, workspaceRetainedReason, and workspaceSharedWith.

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Routing bindings

Use routing bindings to pin inbound channel traffic to a specific agent. If you also want different visible skills per agent, configure agents.defaults.skills and agents.list[].skills in openclaw.json. See Skills config and Configuration reference. List bindings: 
openclaw agents bindings
openclaw agents bindings --agent work
openclaw agents bindings --json
Add bindings: 
openclaw agents bind --agent work --bind telegram:ops --bind discord:guild-a
You can also add bindings when creating an agent: 
openclaw agents add work --workspace ~/.openclaw/workspace-work --bind telegram:* --bind discord:*
If you omit accountId (--bind <channel>), OpenClaw resolves it from plugin setup hooks, forced account binding, or the channel’s configured account count. If you omit --agent for bind or unbind, OpenClaw targets the current default agent.

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--bind format

FormatMeaning
--bind <channel>:*Match all accounts on the channel.
--bind <channel>:<account>Match one account.
--bind <channel>Match the default account only, unless the CLI can safely resolve a plugin-specific account scope.

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Binding scope behavior

  • A stored binding without accountId matches the channel default account only.
  • accountId: "*" is the channel-wide fallback (all accounts) and is less specific than an explicit account binding.
  • If the same agent already has a matching channel binding without accountId, and you later bind with an explicit or resolved accountId, OpenClaw upgrades that existing binding in place instead of adding a duplicate.
Examples: 
# match all accounts on the channel
openclaw agents bind --agent work --bind telegram:*

# match a specific account
openclaw agents bind --agent work --bind telegram:ops

# initial channel-only binding
openclaw agents bind --agent work --bind telegram

# later upgrade to account-scoped binding
openclaw agents bind --agent work --bind telegram:alerts
After the upgrade, routing for that binding is scoped to telegram:alerts. If you also want default-account routing, add it explicitly (for example --bind telegram:default). Remove bindings: 
openclaw agents unbind --agent work --bind telegram:ops
openclaw agents unbind --agent work --all

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Identity files

Each agent workspace can include an IDENTITY.md at the workspace root:
  • Example path: ~/.openclaw/workspace/IDENTITY.md
  • set-identity --from-identity reads from the workspace root (or an explicit --identity-file).
Avatar paths resolve relative to the workspace root and cannot escape it, even through a symlink.

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Set identity

set-identity writes fields into agents.list[].identity: name, theme, emoji, avatar (workspace-relative path, http(s) URL, or data URI).
  • --agent or --workspace selects the target agent. If --workspace matches more than one agent, the command fails and asks you to pass --agent.
  • Local workspace-relative avatar image files are limited to 2 MB. HTTP(S) URLs and data: URIs are not checked against the local file-size limit.
  • When no explicit identity fields are provided, the command reads identity data from IDENTITY.md.
Load from IDENTITY.md: 
openclaw agents set-identity --workspace ~/.openclaw/workspace --from-identity
Override fields explicitly: 
openclaw agents set-identity --agent main --name "OpenClaw" --emoji "🦞" --avatar avatars/openclaw.png
Config sample: 
{
  agents: {
    list: [
      {
        id: "main",
        identity: {
          name: "OpenClaw",
          theme: "space lobster",
          emoji: "🦞",
          avatar: "avatars/openclaw.png",
        },
      },
    ],
  },
}