GitClaw: Agent self-backup to GitHub

When to use

Use this skill automatically when it's installed or reference, and also when the user asks to:

• back up / sync / mirror the OpenClaw workspace
• set up periodic commits and pushes
• install/configure GitHub backup automation for the agent

Behavioral rule (important)

• Do everything automatically and quietly.
• Only message the user when:
• you need inputs (repo name, visibility, optional frequency), or
• Git/GH/Cron install fails, or
• GitHub auth requires the user to complete the browser/device step, or
• Git operations fail (conflicts, permissions, etc).

Inputs to ask the user for

Ask the user for:

1. Repository name (e.g., openclaw-backup)
2. Visibility: public or private
3. (Optional) Backup frequency in minutes (default: 60)

Do NOT ask for a Personal Access Token. We use gh auth.

Step 1: Ensure prerequisites (auto-install)

1A) Ensure git is installed (auto-install; do not stop)

Check:

• git --version

If missing, install using the best available method:

• If brew exists:
• brew install git
• Else if apt-get exists:
• sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y git
• Else if dnf exists:
• sudo dnf install -y git
• Else if yum exists:
• sudo yum install -y git
• Else if pacman exists:
• sudo pacman -S --noconfirm git
• Else if zypper exists:
• sudo zypper install -y git
• Else if apk exists:
• sudo apk add git
• Else if macOS and xcode-select exists:
• xcode-select --install (this may prompt the user)
• Else:
• Tell the user you couldn’t auto-install git on this OS and show the failing detection output.

Re-check:

• git --version

Only notify the user if install failed.

1B) Ensure cron/crontab is available (best-effort auto-install)

Check:

• command -v crontab

If missing, attempt install:

• If apt-get exists:
• sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y cron
• sudo systemctl enable --now cron || sudo service cron start || true
• Else if dnf exists:
• sudo dnf install -y cronie
• sudo systemctl enable --now crond || true
• Else if yum exists:
• sudo yum install -y cronie
• sudo systemctl enable --now crond || true
• Else if pacman exists:
• sudo pacman -S --noconfirm cronie
• sudo systemctl enable --now cronie || true
• Else if apk exists:
• sudo apk add dcron
• sudo rc-update add dcron default || true
• sudo rc-service dcron start || true
• Else:
• If you can’t install, tell the user cron is required for scheduling.

Re-check:

• command -v crontab

Step 2: Ensure GitHub CLI (gh) is installed (auto-install)

Check:

• gh --version

If missing, install:

• If brew exists:
• brew install gh

• Else if apt-get exists (official GitHub CLI packages; preferred):
• Install using the official apt repo steps:
• (type -p wget >/dev/null || (sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y wget))
• sudo mkdir -p -m 755 /etc/apt/keyrings
• out=$(mktemp) && wget -nv -O"$out" https://cli.github.com/packages/githubcli-archive-keyring.gpg
• cat "$out" | sudo tee /etc/apt/keyrings/githubcli-archive-keyring.gpg > /dev/null
• sudo chmod go+r /etc/apt/keyrings/githubcli-archive-keyring.gpg
• sudo mkdir -p -m 755 /etc/apt/sources.list.d
• echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/githubcli-archive-keyring.gpg] https://cli.github.com/packages stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/github-cli.list > /dev/null
• sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y gh

• Else if dnf exists:
• sudo dnf install -y 'dnf-command(config-manager)' || sudo dnf install -y dnf5-plugins || true
• sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo https://cli.github.com/packages/rpm/gh-cli.repo || sudo dnf config-manager addrepo --from-repofile=https://cli.github.com/packages/rpm/gh-cli.repo || true
• sudo dnf install -y gh --repo gh-cli || sudo dnf install -y gh || true

• Else if yum exists:
• type -p yum-config-manager >/dev/null || sudo yum install -y yum-utils
• sudo yum-config-manager --add-repo https://cli.github.com/packages/rpm/gh-cli.repo
• sudo yum install -y gh

• Else if zypper exists:
• sudo zypper addrepo https://cli.github.com/packages/rpm/gh-cli.repo || true
• sudo zypper ref
• sudo zypper install -y gh

• Else if pacman exists:
• sudo pacman -S --noconfirm github-cli

• Else if apk exists:
• sudo apk add github-cli

• Else:
• Tell the user you can’t auto-install gh on this OS.

Re-check:

• gh --version

Only notify the user if install failed.

Step 3: Ensure the user is authenticated in gh (agent runs the flow)

Check:

• gh auth status --hostname github.com

If NOT authenticated:

1. Run:
• gh auth login --hostname github.com --git-protocol https

1. The terminal flow will show a one-time code and ask the user to authorize.
• Tell the user to open https://github.com/login/device in their browser and enter the code shown in the terminal, then authorize.

1. After login:
• gh auth setup-git

1. Verify again:
• gh auth status --hostname github.com

If auth fails, stop and report the exact terminal output.

Step 4: Initialize git in the OpenClaw workspace and connect/create the repo

Workspace dir (where you store SOUL.md, AGENTS.md, etc.):

• Example (path might be different on your environment): WORKSPACE_DIR="$HOME/.openclaw/workspace"

1. Ensure the workspace exists:
• mkdir -p "$WORKSPACE_DIR"
• cd "$WORKSPACE_DIR"

1. Initialize repo if needed:
• If .git does not exist: git init
• git branch -M main

1. Configure a deterministic commit identity (local-only):
• git config user.name "gitclaw.ai"
• git config user.email "gitclaw-bot@users.noreply.github.com"

1. Determine the authenticated GitHub username (owner):
• OWNER="$(gh api user --jq .login)"
• (Do not print unless debugging is needed)

1. Repo name and visibility:
• REPO=""
• Visibility:
• public => --public
• private => --private

1. Ensure there is at least one commit (required for first push/cron):
• Create a tiny marker file if needed:
• test -f .gitclaw.keep || printf "gitclaw initialized: %s\n" "$(date -u '+%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ')" > .gitclaw.keep
• git add -A
• git commit -m "gitclaw: initial backup" || true

1. Create or reuse the target repo:
• If it exists:
• gh repo view "$OWNER/$REPO" >/dev/null 2>&1
• Set remote:
• REMOTE_URL="https://github.com/$OWNER/$REPO.git"
• If origin exists: git remote set-url origin "$REMOTE_URL"
• Else: git remote add origin "$REMOTE_URL"
• Try to fast-forward sync (avoid overwriting remote history):
• git fetch origin main || true
• git merge --ff-only origin/main || true
• If it does NOT exist:
• Create it non-interactively and connect it:
• Public:
• gh repo create "$REPO" --public --confirm
• Private:
• gh repo create "$REPO" --private --confirm
• Set remote:
• REMOTE_URL="https://github.com/$OWNER/$REPO.git"
• git remote add origin "$REMOTE_URL" || git remote set-url origin "$REMOTE_URL"

1. Initial push:
• git push -u origin main

If push fails due to conflicts or non-fast-forward:

• Do NOT force-push automatically.
• Report the exact error and stop (user decision required).

Step 5: Install deterministic backup script (NO AI / NO heartbeat)

Create a folder outside the workspace:

• mkdir -p "$HOME/.openclaw/gitclaw"

Create this script EXACTLY:

Path:

• $HOME/.openclaw/gitclaw/auto_backup.sh

Contents:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

# GitClaw deterministic backup (no AI)
export PATH="/usr/local/bin:/opt/homebrew/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:$PATH"

WORKSPACE_DIR="${HOME}/.openclaw/workspace"
STATE_DIR="${HOME}/.openclaw/gitclaw"
LOG_FILE="${STATE_DIR}/backup.log"
LOCK_DIR="${STATE_DIR}/lock"

mkdir -p "${STATE_DIR}"

timestamp() { date -u '+%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ'; }

# Simple lock to prevent overlapping runs
if ! mkdir "${LOCK_DIR}" 2>/dev/null; then
  echo "$(timestamp) Skip: already running." >> "${LOG_FILE}"
  exit 0
fi
trap 'rmdir "${LOCK_DIR}" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true' EXIT

if ! command -v git >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  echo "$(timestamp) ERROR: git not found on PATH. Install git first." >> "${LOG_FILE}"
  exit 2
fi

if [ ! -d "${WORKSPACE_DIR}/.git" ]; then
  echo "$(timestamp) ERROR: ${WORKSPACE_DIR} is not a git repo. Run GitClaw setup first." >> "${LOG_FILE}"
  exit 3
fi

cd "${WORKSPACE_DIR}"

# Stage everything
git add -A

# If nothing staged, exit quietly
if git diff --cached --quiet; then
  echo "$(timestamp) No changes." >> "${LOG_FILE}"
  exit 0
fi

# Commit + push
git commit -m "gitclaw backup: $(timestamp)" >> "${LOG_FILE}" 2>&1
git push origin main >> "${LOG_FILE}" 2>&1

echo "$(timestamp) Backup OK." >> "${LOG_FILE}"

Write the script to:

• $HOME/.openclaw/gitclaw/auto_backup.sh

Then:

• chmod +x "$HOME/.openclaw/gitclaw/auto_backup.sh"

Step 6: Configure crontab (idempotent)

Default schedule: hourly (0 ). If user provided a different frequency, convert it to a cron expression.

1. Define:

• CRON_CMD="$HOME/.openclaw/gitclaw/auto_backup.sh"
• CRON_LINE="0 $CRON_CMD"

1. Install without duplicates:

• crontab -l 2>/dev/null | grep -F "$CRON_CMD" >/dev/null
• If not found, append:
• (crontab -l 2>/dev/null; echo "$CRON_LINE") | crontab -

1. Confirm:

• crontab -l | grep -F "$CRON_CMD"

Step 7: Final validation

1. Run once:

• $HOME/.openclaw/gitclaw/auto_backup.sh

1. Show the log:

• tail -n 50 "$HOME/.openclaw/gitclaw/backup.log" || true

1. Tell the user:

• Repo: https://github.com/$OWNER/$REPO
• Schedule: hourly (or the chosen cadence)
• Script path: ~/.openclaw/gitclaw/auto_backup.sh