Skip to main content

​
openclaw hooks

Manage agent hooks (event-driven automations for commands like /new, /reset, and gateway startup). Related:

​
List All Hooks

openclaw hooks list
List all discovered hooks from workspace, managed, extra, and bundled directories. Options:
  • --eligible: Show only eligible hooks (requirements met)
  • --json: Output as JSON
  • -v, --verbose: Show detailed information including missing requirements
Example output: 
Hooks (4/4 ready)

Ready:
  🚀 boot-md ✓ - Run BOOT.md on gateway startup
  📎 bootstrap-extra-files ✓ - Inject extra workspace bootstrap files during agent bootstrap
  📝 command-logger ✓ - Log all command events to a centralized audit file
  💾 session-memory ✓ - Save session context to memory when /new or /reset command is issued
Example (verbose): 
openclaw hooks list --verbose
Shows missing requirements for ineligible hooks. Example (JSON): 
openclaw hooks list --json
Returns structured JSON for programmatic use.

​
Get Hook Information

openclaw hooks info <name>
Show detailed information about a specific hook. Arguments:
  • <name>: Hook name (e.g., session-memory)
Options:
  • --json: Output as JSON
Example: 
openclaw hooks info session-memory
Output: 
💾 session-memory ✓ Ready

Save session context to memory when /new or /reset command is issued

Details:
  Source: openclaw-bundled
  Path: /path/to/openclaw/hooks/bundled/session-memory/HOOK.md
  Handler: /path/to/openclaw/hooks/bundled/session-memory/handler.ts
  Homepage: https://docs.openclaw.ai/automation/hooks#session-memory
  Events: command:new, command:reset

Requirements:
  Config: ✓ workspace.dir

​
Check Hooks Eligibility

openclaw hooks check
Show summary of hook eligibility status (how many are ready vs. not ready). Options:
  • --json: Output as JSON
Example output: 
Hooks Status

Total hooks: 4
Ready: 4
Not ready: 0

​
Enable a Hook

openclaw hooks enable <name>
Enable a specific hook by adding it to your config (~/.openclaw/config.json). Note: Workspace hooks are disabled by default until enabled here or in config. Hooks managed by plugins show plugin:<id> in openclaw hooks list and can’t be enabled/disabled here. Enable/disable the plugin instead. Arguments:
  • <name>: Hook name (e.g., session-memory)
Example: 
openclaw hooks enable session-memory
Output: 
✓ Enabled hook: 💾 session-memory
What it does:
  • Checks if hook exists and is eligible
  • Updates hooks.internal.entries.<name>.enabled = true in your config
  • Saves config to disk
If the hook came from <workspace>/hooks/, this opt-in step is required before the Gateway will load it. After enabling:
  • Restart the gateway so hooks reload (menu bar app restart on macOS, or restart your gateway process in dev).

​
Disable a Hook

openclaw hooks disable <name>
Disable a specific hook by updating your config. Arguments:
  • <name>: Hook name (e.g., command-logger)
Example: 
openclaw hooks disable command-logger
Output: 
⏸ Disabled hook: 📝 command-logger
After disabling:
  • Restart the gateway so hooks reload

​
Install Hook Packs

openclaw plugins install <package>        # ClawHub first, then npm
openclaw plugins install <package> --pin  # pin version
openclaw plugins install <path>           # local path
Install hook packs through the unified plugins installer. openclaw hooks install still works as a compatibility alias, but it prints a deprecation warning and forwards to openclaw plugins install. Npm specs are registry-only (package name + optional exact version or dist-tag). Git/URL/file specs and semver ranges are rejected. Dependency installs run with --ignore-scripts for safety. Bare specs and @latest stay on the stable track. If npm resolves either of those to a prerelease, OpenClaw stops and asks you to opt in explicitly with a prerelease tag such as @beta/@rc or an exact prerelease version. What it does:
  • Copies the hook pack into ~/.openclaw/hooks/<id>
  • Enables the installed hooks in hooks.internal.entries.*
  • Records the install under hooks.internal.installs
Options:
  • -l, --link: Link a local directory instead of copying (adds it to hooks.internal.load.extraDirs)
  • --pin: Record npm installs as exact resolved name@version in hooks.internal.installs
Supported archives: .zip, .tgz, .tar.gz, .tar Examples: 
# Local directory
openclaw plugins install ./my-hook-pack

# Local archive
openclaw plugins install ./my-hook-pack.zip

# NPM package
openclaw plugins install @openclaw/my-hook-pack

# Link a local directory without copying
openclaw plugins install -l ./my-hook-pack
Linked hook packs are treated as managed hooks from an operator-configured directory, not as workspace hooks.

​
Update Hook Packs

openclaw plugins update <id>
openclaw plugins update --all
Update tracked npm-based hook packs through the unified plugins updater. openclaw hooks update still works as a compatibility alias, but it prints a deprecation warning and forwards to openclaw plugins update. Options:
  • --all: Update all tracked hook packs
  • --dry-run: Show what would change without writing
When a stored integrity hash exists and the fetched artifact hash changes, OpenClaw prints a warning and asks for confirmation before proceeding. Use global --yes to bypass prompts in CI/non-interactive runs.

​
Bundled Hooks

​
session-memory

Saves session context to memory when you issue /new or /reset. Enable: 
openclaw hooks enable session-memory
Output: ~/.openclaw/workspace/memory/YYYY-MM-DD-slug.md See: session-memory documentation

​
bootstrap-extra-files

Injects additional bootstrap files (for example monorepo-local AGENTS.md / TOOLS.md) during agent:bootstrap. Enable: 
openclaw hooks enable bootstrap-extra-files
See: bootstrap-extra-files documentation

​
command-logger

Logs all command events to a centralized audit file. Enable: 
openclaw hooks enable command-logger
Output: ~/.openclaw/logs/commands.log View logs: 
# Recent commands
tail -n 20 ~/.openclaw/logs/commands.log

# Pretty-print
cat ~/.openclaw/logs/commands.log | jq .

# Filter by action
grep '"action":"new"' ~/.openclaw/logs/commands.log | jq .
See: command-logger documentation

​
boot-md

Runs BOOT.md when the gateway starts (after channels start). Events: gateway:startup Enable: 
openclaw hooks enable boot-md
See: boot-md documentation