Hivemind Goals (openclaw)
OpenClaw exposes purpose-built tools for goals. Use them directly — do NOT try to write files via the host filesystem.
Tools
hivemind_goal_add({ text })— create a new goal. Returnsgoal_id(UUID). Status starts atopened.hivemind_search({ query })— search Hivemind shared memory (summaries + sessions). Use this when the user asks "what's already there" before creating a duplicate.hivemind_read({ path })— read the full content of a specific Hivemind path.hivemind_index({})— list everything in memory.
Workflow when the user expresses a goal
- (Optional)
hivemind_searchfirst to surface any existing related goal. hivemind_goal_add({ text: "<short description>" })— capture the returnedgoal_id.- Confirm to the user with the goal_id and that the goal is team-visible.
Capture a task for later (with resumable context)
When the user parks a tangential task mid-session — "save this for later", "remind me to …", "don't let me forget …", "let's do X later" — store enough context to resume cold later, not just a one-liner. Put the full package in the text of hivemind_goal_add:
hivemind_goal_add({ text: "Add rate-limiting to the webhook handler\n\n" + "Start here: add a per-IP token bucket on the handler entry path\n" + "Files: src/webhook/handler.ts:120-160, src/webhook/limits.ts\n" + "Branch: feat/webhook-hardening\n" + "Run: pnpm test webhook\n" + "Why: bursty clients hammer the endpoint; defer until retry-backoff lands" })
Line 1 is the label. Fill Start here / Files / Branch / Run / Why from the conversation; Start here: (the concrete first action) matters most. (OpenClaw's hivemind_goal_add has no provenance flag, so the row is tagged manual — that's fine; the context is what matters.)
Resume a parked task (automatic context transfer)
When the user says "let's work on that task / goal" or "pick up the <X> task":
hivemind_search({ query: "<topic>" })orhivemind_index({})to locate the parked goal, thenhivemind_read({ path: "memory/goal/<owner>/opened/<goal_id>.md" })to pull the full context package back.- Read it as your working context and begin from
Start here:using theFiles/Branch/Runlines — continue as if the context was never lost.
(Status-move tools aren't exposed on OpenClaw, so leave the goal where it is and just resume the work.)
What NOT to do
- Do NOT write files anywhere under
~/.deeplake/memory/. OpenClaw's runtime does not route filesystem writes to the Deeplake tables — only thehivemind_*tools above do. - Do NOT use
hivemind_searchto create anything — it's read-only.

