Core Prompt Patcher

Core Prompt Patcher

Dynamic SOUL.md-based persona injector - Automatically syncs your workspace SOUL.md into OpenClaw's core system prompt after updates.

What It Does

This skill reads your workspace/SOUL.md file and injects its content directly into OpenClaw's core system prompt. This ensures your custom persona persists even after OpenClaw updates that reset the dist/ directory.

When to Use

• After running npm update -g openclaw or npm install -g openclaw
• When you edit your SOUL.md file and want changes applied immediately
• When OpenClaw version changes (auto-detected)
• Periodically to ensure your persona stays in sync

How It Works

1. Reads your SOUL.md - Loads the complete file from your workspace
2. Detects changes - Compares OpenClaw version and SOUL.md content hash
3. Finds injection point - Locates the correct position in the compiled JS (supports multiple OpenClaw versions)
4. Injects your persona - Inserts your SOUL.md content into the core system prompt
5. Tracks state - Remembers what was patched to avoid unnecessary re-runs

Usage

# Auto-detect and patch if needed
node /home/oki/.openclaw/workspace/skills/core-prompt-patcher/patcher.js

# Force re-patch (ignore state)
node /home/oki/.openclaw/workspace/skills/core-prompt-patcher/patcher.js --force

# Verbose mode (show state and details)
node /home/oki/.openclaw/workspace/skills/core-prompt-patcher/patcher.js --verbose

Or via OpenClaw:

"Patch the core system prompt with my SOUL.md" "Sync my SOUL.md to the core prompt" "Update the persona after OpenClaw update"

Requirements

• SOUL.md must exist at ~/.openclaw/workspace/SOUL.md
• OpenClaw must be installed globally

SOUL.md Format

Your SOUL.md can contain any persona definition. The patcher extracts sections with headers (##) and converts them to system prompt format.

Example:

# My AI Persona

## CORE IDENTITY
**Name:** Assistant Name
**Role:** Your role description

## PERSONALITY
* **Tone:** Friendly, professional, witty
* **Style:** How you communicate

## GUIDELINES
1. First principle
2. Second principle
3. Third principle

## RESPONSE STYLE
How you structure responses and interact.

All content gets injected into the core system prompt, making it part of OpenClaw's foundation.

Files

Features

• ✅ General-purpose - Works with any SOUL.md content, not hardcoded personas
• ✅ Full SOUL.md support - Injects entire file, not just extracted sections
• ✅ Better error handling - Fails gracefully if SOUL.md is missing
• ✅ Version detection - Automatically detects OpenClaw updates
• ✅ State tracking - Only patches when something actually changed
• ✅ Multi-version support - Works with different OpenClaw versions

Troubleshooting

"SOUL.md not found"

• Ensure file exists at ~/.openclaw/workspace/SOUL.md
• Create one if needed (see SOUL.md template in OpenClaw docs)

"Could not find insertion point"

• OpenClaw may have changed prompt structure
• Run with --verbose to see detected patterns
• May need to update patcher for new OpenClaw version

"Failed to write patched file"

• Check file permissions
• Ensure disk space is available