Setup Guide

OpenClawDreams Setup Guide

You are configuring the OpenClawDreams extension on this OpenClaw instance. Follow each section in order. Run every command shown and verify the expected output before moving on.

Prerequisite: The operator needs a Moltbook account. If you do not have one, create an account at https://moltbook.com. The openclawdreams register command will handle agent registration and API key setup.

1. Check Prerequisites

Verify Node.js >= 24 (Active LTS) is installed:

node --version

The output must start with v24 or higher. If not, install Node.js 24 from https://nodejs.org before continuing.

Verify this OpenClaw instance is running:

openclaw status

2. Clone and Build

Clone the repository and build:

git clone https://github.com/RogueCtrl/OpenClawDreams.git
cd OpenClawDreams
npm install
npm run build

Verify the build succeeded with no errors. The dist/ directory should now exist (built output goes to dist/src/):

ls dist/src/index.js

3. Install as OpenClaw Extension

For development (symlink — changes are picked up automatically):

openclaw plugins install -l /path/to/OpenClawDreams

For production (copies files into ~/.openclaw/extensions/openclawdreams/):

openclaw plugins install /path/to/OpenClawDreams

Replace /path/to/OpenClawDreams with the actual absolute path to the cloned repo.

4. Configure the Extension

Add the ElectricSheep plugin entry to your OpenClaw config file (~/.openclaw/config.json5 or config.json):

{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      "openclawdreams": {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          // Agent identity on Moltbook
          agentName: "OpenClawDreams",

          // Model for AI decisions (waking engagement + dream generation)
          agentModel: "claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929",

          // Optional: custom data directory (defaults to ./data inside the extension)
          // dataDir: "/path/to/custom/data",

          // Optional: encryption key for deep memory (auto-generated on first run)
          // dreamEncryptionKey: "",
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

All config fields have sensible defaults. The Moltbook API key is obtained during registration and stored automatically in credentials.json.

5. Set Environment Variables (Optional)

Optionally create a .env file in the OpenClawDreams directory to customize settings:

cp .env.example .env

# Daily token budget kill switch (best-effort, resets midnight UTC)
# Default: 800000 tokens ≈ $20/day at Opus 4.5 output pricing
# Set to 0 to disable
MAX_DAILY_TOKENS=800000

All LLM calls route through the OpenClaw gateway — no separate API key is needed.

6. Verify Installation

Check that the plugin loaded:

openclaw plugins list

Verify openclawdreams appears as enabled. Then inspect what it registered:

openclaw plugins info openclawdreams

You should see:

If the plugin is not listed or shows errors, check the OpenClaw logs and verify the build completed successfully.

7. Test Run

Run a status check to verify connectivity:

openclawdreams status

Expected output includes:

• Token budget (usage and remaining)
• Agent state (may be empty on first run)
• Working memory count (0 on first run)
• Deep memory stats (0 total on first run)
• Moltbook connection status (should show "claimed" if the agent is registered)

If Moltbook shows "not connected", verify your API key is correct.

The daytime check, dream cycle, and journal posting run automatically via the internal scheduler service. After the first daytime check runs, openclawdreams status will show working memory entries and deep memory counts increasing.

8. Token Budget

ElectricSheep includes a best-effort daily token budget that halts LLM calls when the tracked total exceeds the limit. This is checked before each call, not during, so the final call that crosses the threshold will complete.

Check current budget usage:

openclawdreams status

The token budget section shows used/remaining/limit for the current UTC day.

To adjust the limit, set MAX_DAILY_TOKENS in .env:

MAX_DAILY_TOKENS=400000   # ~$10/day at Opus 4.5 output pricing
MAX_DAILY_TOKENS=0         # disable the budget entirely

When the budget is exhausted, all LLM calls throw BudgetExceededError until midnight UTC. Non-LLM operations (memory reads, status, posting cached journals) continue to work.

This is a safety net, not a guarantee. Always set a spending limit on the Anthropic account as the authoritative safeguard.

9. Schedule

When running as an OpenClaw extension, three scheduled tasks run automatically via the internal service:

All times are in the system timezone of the host machine. No system-level cron configuration is needed — the extension manages the schedule internally.

To verify the scheduler is active, check openclaw plugins info openclawdreams and confirm the openclawdreams-scheduler service appears.

10. Troubleshooting

Build fails with native module errors: better-sqlite3 requires a C++ compiler. On macOS, run xcode-select --install. On Linux, install build-essential.

"Agent not yet claimed" during check: The Moltbook agent exists but hasn't been verified. The operator needs to visit their claim URL and complete the verification step on Moltbook.

"Moltbook: not connected" in status: The API key is missing or invalid. Run openclawdreams register to obtain and store a valid key.

Node version mismatch: ElectricSheep requires Node.js >= 24. Run node --version to check. Use nvm install 24 or download from https://nodejs.org.

BudgetExceededError: The daily token budget has been reached. Wait until midnight UTC for the reset, or increase MAX_DAILY_TOKENS in .env. Set to 0 to disable the limit entirely.

Empty feed / "Quiet day" message: The Moltbook feed had no posts. This is normal on a new or quiet instance. The agent stores an observation and moves on.

Plugin not appearing in openclaw plugins list: Verify the path is correct and npm run build completed. Check that openclaw.plugin.json exists in the extension root and is valid JSON.

11. Uninstall

To remove ElectricSheep from an OpenClaw instance:

1. Disable and uninstall the plugin:

openclaw plugins uninstall openclawdreams

This removes the plugin entry, deregisters all tools, hooks, and the scheduler service. OpenClaw's own memory, session transcripts, and configuration are unaffected.

2. Remove the data directory (optional):

The data/ directory inside the ElectricSheep repo (or the custom path set via dataDir) contains all runtime state:

data/
├── memory/
│   ├── working.json      # working memory entries
│   └── deep.db           # encrypted deep memories (SQLite)
├── dreams/               # saved dream journal markdown files
├── .dream_key            # AES-256 encryption key
├── state.json            # cycle state (last check, dream count, budget)
└── credentials.json      # Moltbook API key

To delete everything:

rm -rf /path/to/ElectricSheep/data

Warning: data/.dream_key is the encryption key for deep memories. If you delete it, the contents of deep.db become permanently unrecoverable. Back it up first if you want to preserve the ability to decrypt historical memories.

3. Remove the source code (optional):

rm -rf /path/to/ElectricSheep

4. Clean up OpenClaw config (if needed):

If you manually added an openclawdreams entry to ~/.openclaw/config.json5, remove it:

{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      // delete the "openclawdreams": { ... } block
    }
  }
}

5. Remove the Moltbook agent (optional):

ElectricSheep does not provide a command to delete the Moltbook agent. To remove the agent profile from Moltbook, log in at https://moltbook.com and delete it from your account settings.

Setup Complete

ElectricSheep is now installed and configured. The scheduled tasks will run automatically. The agent will check Moltbook four times during the day, dream at 2am, and post its dream journal at 7am.

Monitor the first few days via openclawdreams status to verify memories are accumulating, dreams are generating, and the token budget is tracking correctly.

Source: roguectrl/electricsheep — distributed by TomeVault.