Context Compression

Memory Compression

Prevent context overflow. Never lose important conversations.

The Problem

OpenClaw sessions grow indefinitely. When context exceeds the model's limit:

• New sessions fail to load
• Important information is lost
• Cron tasks inherit huge context and crash

The Solution

Automatic session truncation + hierarchical memory preservation:

1. Trim sessions before they exceed limits
2. Extract facts (preferences, decisions, tasks) before trimming
3. Preserve memory through layered storage (MEMORY.md, daily notes, summaries)

🚀 Quick Start

Step 1: Check Configuration

cat ~/.openclaw/workspace/.context-compression-config.json 2>/dev/null

Step 2: Configure (Interactive)

When this skill loads, it guides you through:

Step 3: Verify

ls -la ~/.openclaw/workspace/.context-compression-config.json
ls -la ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/context-compression/scripts/truncate-sessions-safe.sh

🏗️ Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Context Budget: ~80k tokens              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                             │
│  L4: MEMORY.md (~5k)      ← User preferences, key facts    │
│  L3: Daily summaries (~10k) ← Compressed older sessions    │
│  L2: Recent sessions (~25k) ← Last N session files         │
│  L1: Current session (~40k) ← Active conversation          │
│                                                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Key principle: L4 > L3 > L2 in priority. Always preserve MEMORY.md.

🔧 How It Works

Session Truncation

• Runs in background (independent of agent)
• Trims to last N tokens per session
• Skips active sessions (.lock files)
• Preserves JSONL line integrity

Fact Extraction

• Detects keywords: 重要/决定/TODO/偏好, important/decision/must
• Extracts to MEMORY.md before truncation
• Categories: [偏好], [决策], [任务], [时间], [关系], [重要]

Preference Lifecycle

• Short-term (1-7 days): Tag with @YYYY-MM-DD
• Mid-term (1-4 weeks): Auto-expire via daily check
• Long-term: Permanent in MEMORY.md

📜 Scripts

⚙️ Configuration File

~/.openclaw/workspace/.context-compression-config.json:

{
  "version": "2.3",
  "maxTokens": 40000,
  "frequencyMinutes": 10,
  "skipActive": true,
  "enableSummaries": false,
  "strategy": "priority-first",
  "priorityKeywords": [
    "重要", "决定", "记住", "TODO", "偏好",
    "important", "remember", "must", "deadline", "decision"
  ]
}

✅ Verification Checklist

• Config file exists
• Scripts are executable
• MEMORY.md exists and is current
• Truncation log shows recent runs: tail ~/.openclaw/logs/truncation.log

🔍 Troubleshooting

📚 Related

• OpenClaw Documentation
• Hierarchical Memory Architecture