Memory Dreaming

Autonomous memory consolidation ("dreaming") for OpenClaw agents. Runs as a cron job, consolidates scattered daily notes into curated long-term memory, and syncs structured knowledge to an Obsidian vault.

Quick Start

1. 1. Install: INLINECODE0
2. Configure your vault path (optional): edit dreaming-config.json in your workspace
3. Set up the cron: run INLINECODE2
4. Done — the agent dreams automatically every 8 hours

To trigger a dream manually, tell the agent: "Run a dream cycle now."

How It Works

The dream cycle has 4 phases, inspired by biological REM sleep and Claude Code's AutoDream:

Phase 1: Orient

Read current memory state — MEMORY.md, recent daily logs, learnings, dreaming log. Build a map of what exists and when it was last touched.

Phase 2: Gather Signal

Search for high-value information added since the last dream:

• - Daily logs (memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md) since last dream
• Learnings (.learnings/*.md) — pending corrections, errors, best practices
• Session transcripts — grep for corrections ("actually...", "no that's wrong"), decisions ("let's do X"), proper nouns, preferences
• Plan files — scan workspace for task_plan.md files

Key: grep narrowly for high-signal patterns. Don't read full transcripts — that burns tokens for marginal value.

Phase 3: Consolidate

Update MEMORY.md with gathered signal:

• - Merge duplicate entries (same fact from 3 sessions → one entry)
• Absolute dates — convert "yesterday" → "2026-03-25"
• Delete contradicted facts (if preference changed, remove old one)
• Remove stale entries (references to deleted files, completed tasks)
• Promote high-priority learnings from .learnings/ to MEMORY.md

Phase 4: Sync

Push consolidated knowledge to external targets:

• - Obsidian vault (opt-in) — create/update notes with tags, wikilinks, full depth
• Plan tracking — ensure every task_plan.md has a corresponding Plans/<name>.md in the vault
• Dreaming log — write what changed, tokens used, duration

Gate

The cron fires on schedule but the dream cycle only executes if ≥6 hours have passed since the last dream (checked via dreaming-log.md timestamp). This prevents wasted runs when nothing has changed.

Configuration

Create dreaming-config.json in your workspace root to customize. All fields are optional — sensible defaults are used.

See assets/dreaming-config.json for the full schema with defaults.

Key options:

• - schedule — cron expression (default: "0 */8 * * *")
• INLINECODE14 — which model runs the dream (default: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6")
• INLINECODE16 — minimum hours between dreams (default: 6)
• INLINECODE18 — enable vault sync (default: false)
• INLINECODE20 — absolute path to Obsidian vault
• INLINECODE21 — "none" or "announce" changes to a channel

Obsidian Sync Details

When enabled, the sync phase:

1. 1. Compares MEMORY.md sections against existing vault notes
2. Creates new notes in configured subfolders (People/, Projects/, Plans/, Tools/)
3. Updates existing notes with new information (appends, doesn't overwrite)
4. Follows formatting rules: tags on first line, [[wikilinks]] throughout, full depth content
5. Tracks plans: scans for task_plan.md files → creates/updates INLINECODE30

For detailed sync behavior, see references/obsidian-sync.md.

Manual Dream

Tell the agent any of these:

• - "Run a dream cycle"
• "Consolidate memory"
• "Dream now"
• "Sync to obsidian"

The agent reads this skill and executes the 4-phase cycle immediately, ignoring the gate.

Setup Script

CODEBLOCK0

The script reads dreaming-config.json (or uses defaults) and creates an isolated agentTurn cron job. See scripts/setup-cron.sh for details.

Architecture

For the detailed 4-phase architecture, design decisions, and how this compares to Claude Code AutoDream, see references/architecture.md.

What This Skill Does NOT Do

• - Does not replace QMD indexing (QMD handles search, this handles consolidation)
• Does not delete source files (daily logs are never removed, only consolidated from)
• Does not modify source code or project files
• Does not run without explicit setup (cron must be created via setup script)