OpenClaw WebDAV Backup

Lightweight backup/restore skill for OpenClaw.

It covers:

• - local backup archives (full and incremental)
• multi-level backup strategies (smart, daily, hourly)
• optional encryption for INLINECODE0
• optional WebDAV upload
• restore from local backup archives
• backup version management (list, select, delete)
• backup integrity verification
• configuration health checks
• lightweight scheduled backup guidance
• optional Telegram notifications for backup success/failure

It does not provide WebDAV storage. The user must supply their own WebDAV endpoint and credentials.

When to use this skill

Use this skill when the user asks to:

• - back up OpenClaw (full or incremental)
• restore OpenClaw from backup
• migrate OpenClaw to a new VM or machine
• protect backup configs with encryption
• upload backups to a self-provided WebDAV target
• schedule daily or periodic backups
• receive Telegram notifications for scheduled backup success/failure
• prepare a simple disaster-recovery workflow
• check backup configuration health
• verify backup integrity
• manage backup versions (list, delete old backups)

Implementation layout

Canonical implementation lives inside the skill:

• - INLINECODE1
• INLINECODE2

Thin wrapper scripts may also exist in the workspace and call these implementations. Keep the skill scripts as the source of truth.

Default workflow

1. Local backup (full)

2. Incremental backup with smart strategy

• - Sunday: Level 0 (full backup)
• Monday-Saturday: Level 1 (incremental)

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3. Encrypted backup + WebDAV upload

bash skills/openclaw-webdav-backup/scripts/openclaw-backup.sh --encrypt-config --upload

4. Restore from a local backup set

Backup Strategies

The skill supports multiple backup strategies via BACKUP_STRATEGY environment variable:

Level Explanation

• - Level 0: Full backup (tar creates complete archive + snapshot file)
• Level 1: Incremental backup (only files changed since Level 0)
• Level 2: Incremental backup (only files changed since Level 1)

Cron Examples

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Manual Level Control

Override auto-detection with --level flag:
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Compression Options

The skill supports multiple compression tools with automatic detection of parallel variants:

Auto-Detection

By default, the skill auto-detects the best available compressor:
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Explicit Selection

Force a specific compressor:
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Parallel Jobs

Control the number of compression threads (default: auto-detect CPU cores):
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Installation

Install parallel compression tools for best performance:
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Backup Notifications

The skill supports multiple notification channels for backup success/failure alerts.

Supported Channels

Quick Setup

1. 1. Copy the example config:

1. 2. Edit .env.backup.notify with your channel settings:

Telegram Setup

WeCom (企业微信) Setup

BACKUP_NOTIFY=1
BACKUP_NOTIFY_CHANNEL="wecom"
BACKUP_NOTIFY_WECOM_KEY="xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx"
BACKUP_NOTIFY_WECOM_MENTION="13800138000,13900139000"  # Optional: mobile numbers

Feishu (飞书) Setup

BACKUP_NOTIFY=1
BACKUP_NOTIFY_CHANNEL="feishu"
BACKUP_NOTIFY_FEISHU_TOKEN="xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx"
BACKUP_NOTIFY_FEISHU_SECRET="your-secret"  # Optional: if signature enabled

Notification Content

Notifications include:

• - Backup status (✅ success / ❌ failure)
• Timestamp and backup type
• Local backup location
• Encryption status
• WebDAV upload status
• Retention settings

Important behavior notes

• - openclaw.json may contain secrets, tokens, and API keys
• prefer --encrypt-config before remote upload
• INLINECODE18 stores WebDAV connection settings and should not be committed
• INLINECODE19 is optional; it is only a convenience carrier for INLINECODE20
• INLINECODE21 is optional and enables backup notifications when configured
• restore depends on the decryption password itself, not on the secret file specifically
• for encrypted backups, .env.backup.secret and the password are either/or: either keep the file, or remember/provide the password
• workspace backups exclude .env.backup and INLINECODE24
• local and remote retention are supported through LOCAL_KEEP and INLINECODE26

Read references when needed

• - For usage, included files, and backup examples: read INLINECODE27
• For restore/decrypt flow and restore checks: read INLINECODE28
• For automation with cron/systemd: read INLINECODE29
• For migration/disaster-recovery planning: read INLINECODE30
• For common user questions and boundary clarifications: read INLINECODE31
• For config template examples: read references/env.backup.example, references/env.backup.secret.example, and INLINECODE34

Validated behaviors

This skill has been validated against a real OpenClaw setup for:

• - local backup creation
• encrypted config backup
• WebDAV upload
• local and remote retention
• restore drill to a simulated fresh-machine home directory
• cron-based scheduled backup
• Telegram notification on backup success
• backup integrity verification
• configuration health checks

Health Check & Integrity Verification

Configuration Health Check

Run scripts/openclaw-healthcheck.sh to diagnose backup environment:

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Checks performed:

Exit codes:

• - 0 - All checks passed
• INLINECODE37 - One or more critical checks failed

Backup Integrity Verification

Every backup automatically runs integrity checks:

1. 1. Archive validation - tar -tzf verifies archive structure
2. Manifest verification - Confirms manifest.txt exists
3. Metadata check - Confirms workspace.meta exists

Failed integrity checks will abort the backup with error status.

To manually verify a specific backup:
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Restore with Integrity Check

When restoring, verify the backup before extraction:

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Private-share checklist

Before sharing this skill privately, verify:

• - no real .env.backup or .env.backup.secret is included
• no real WebDAV URL, username, password, token, or backup passphrase remains in tracked files
• examples use placeholder values only
• docs state clearly that WebDAV storage is user-provided
• restore wording states password and secret file are either/or, not both required
• references match actual script behavior

Scope

This skill intentionally stays lightweight. It supports:

• - local backup and restore
• optional config encryption
• optional WebDAV upload
• local and remote retention
• password-based restore with optional secret file automation

It does not currently provide:

• - built-in WebDAV provisioning
• secret-manager integration
• fully automatic remote download-and-restore flow
• multi-target cloud replication