After You're
Live
This is your reference library — not setup steps, but the knowledge you come back to once OpenClaw is running. Security hardening, operational patterns, and the mistakes to avoid.
Security Hardening
Nine things to lock down after your initial setup
7 Critical Warnings
The operational mistakes that hurt real agency owners
THE PROBLEM
Your agent executes tasks without understanding context. It may send messages, delete files, or take actions that seem logical but are wrong for the situation.
THE FIX
Always define explicit permission levels in AGENTS.md. Use HEARTBEAT to review, not auto-respond. Require manual confirmation before any external action.
Daily Workflow
15 minutes a day keeps the agent sharp
Morning
10 minutes
- →Run HEARTBEAT.md — check what needs attention
- →Read MEMORY.md — remember permanent facts
- →Check memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md — catch up on yesterday
- →You're ready to work
During Day
As needed
- →Follow WORKFLOWS.md for repeatable tasks
- →Use DISCORD-SERVERS.md to know what to monitor
- →Update memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md — log what you did
- →Checkpoint every ~10 exchanges in long sessions
Evening
5 minutes
- →Write checkpoint to memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md
- →Any patterns or lessons? → update MEMORY.md
- →Any repeated task (3rd time)? → add to WORKFLOWS.md
- →Tomorrow, you'll have full context
Truncation Protection
Long conversations lose context — here's how to handle it
Save your progress every ~10 exchanges
══════════════════════════════════════ SESSION CHECKPOINT ══════════════════════════════════════ 🕐 Time: [HH:MM timezone] 📊 Exchange: #[N] of visible history 🔢 Message Count: [How many visible] ────────────────────────────────────── DECISIONS MADE: ✓ Decision 1 ✓ Decision 2 ACTION ITEMS: ☐ Item 1 (due: date) ☐ Item 2 (due: date) OPEN QUESTIONS: ❓ Question 1? CURRENT STATUS: [Brief 2-3 sentence summary] TRUNCATION CHECK: ✓ Can reference early context? YES/NO ✓ Message count consistent? YES/NO ✓ Conversation flow makes sense? YES/NO
Common Mistakes
What trips people up after they're live
Making MEMORY.md too long
Keep under 4 KB. Move session details to daily files.
Skipping SOUL.md and going straight to tasks
Identity first. Everything else flows from it.
Installing skills without testing
Test → document in MEMORY.md → create workflow.
Not checkpointing in long sessions
Every ~10 exchanges. At natural break points. Before session ends.
Letting HEARTBEAT auto-respond publicly
HEARTBEAT should alert you, not act. Manual review first.
Duplicating information across files
One home per piece of information. Reference, don't copy.
Never reviewing SOUL.md
Quarterly review. Does it still reflect who you are and what you want?
Ignoring permission errors in HEARTBEAT
Follow HEARTBEAT-TROUBLESHOOTING.md. Diagnose before escalating.