Uninstalling the Hybrid Memory Solution

How to revert to OpenClaw’s default memory (memory-core) and optionally remove all hybrid memory data.

What uninstall does

The command openclaw hybrid-mem uninstall does two things by default:

  1. Config — Updates openclaw.json: sets plugins.slots.memory to memory-core and sets plugins.entries["openclaw-hybrid-memory"].enabled to false. OpenClaw will use the built-in memory manager instead of hybrid memory.
  2. Data — Leaves all hybrid memory data in place (SQLite database, LanceDB directory, and other files). Nothing is deleted.

After uninstall, the gateway must be restarted for the config change to take effect. Your facts and vectors remain on disk; you can re-enable the plugin later and they will still be there.

Basic uninstall (keep data) 

openclaw hybrid-mem uninstall
openclaw gateway stop
openclaw gateway start
  • OpenClaw will use memory-core (default memory).
  • Data is kept at the configured paths (default: ~/.openclaw/memory/facts.db and ~/.openclaw/memory/lancedb/).
  • To use hybrid memory again: re-enable the plugin and set plugins.slots.memory back to openclaw-hybrid-memory, then restart.

Options

Option Description
none Update config only; leave all data in place.
--leave-config Do not modify openclaw.json. Only print the manual steps you need to apply. Use when you want to uninstall “on paper” or edit config yourself.
--clean-all Update config and delete the SQLite database and LanceDB directory. Irreversible.
--force-cleanup Same as --clean-all.

Examples 

# Uninstall but keep data (safe, reversible)
openclaw hybrid-mem uninstall

# Uninstall and remove SQLite + LanceDB data (irreversible)
openclaw hybrid-mem uninstall --clean-all

# Only get instructions; don't change config
openclaw hybrid-mem uninstall --leave-config

What gets removed with --clean-all

Only the main data stores at the paths the plugin was using:

  • SQLite database — e.g. ~/.openclaw/memory/facts.db (facts, FTS index, credentials pointer table, etc.).
  • LanceDB directory — e.g. ~/.openclaw/memory/lancedb/ (vector index).

These paths come from your config (sqlitePath, lanceDbPath) or defaults.

Not removed by --clean-all:

  • Write-ahead log — wal.jsonl (next to facts.db). Safe to delete manually if you have no data left.
  • Credentials vault — credentials.db (if you used it). Remove manually if you want to wipe secrets.
  • Persona proposals DB — proposals.db (if persona proposals were enabled). Remove manually if desired.
  • Auxiliary files — .discovered-categories.json, .distill_last_run (next to facts.db). Optional to delete.
  • Config — openclaw.json is only updated (slot + disabled); not deleted.
  • Workspace memory files — memory/ under your workspace are never touched by uninstall. They belong to your project, not the plugin.

If you want a full cleanup (no trace of hybrid data), after uninstall --clean-all you can manually remove the rest:

# Optional: remove other hybrid-related files (adjust paths if you changed sqlitePath)
rm -f ~/.openclaw/memory/wal.jsonl
rm -f ~/.openclaw/memory/credentials.db
rm -f ~/.openclaw/memory/proposals.db
rm -f ~/.openclaw/memory/.discovered-categories.json
rm -f ~/.openclaw/memory/.distill_last_run

If config can’t be updated

If the command reports config_not_found or config_error, it will print the steps. Apply them manually:

  1. Open your OpenClaw config (e.g. ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json).
  2. Set plugins.slots.memory to "memory-core".
  3. Set plugins.entries["openclaw-hybrid-memory"].enabled to false.
  4. Restart the gateway: openclaw gateway stop then openclaw gateway start.

Re-enabling after uninstall (data kept)

If you ran uninstall without --clean-all:

  1. Edit openclaw.json: set plugins.slots.memory to "openclaw-hybrid-memory" and plugins.entries["openclaw-hybrid-memory"].enabled to true.
  2. Restart the gateway.
  3. Run openclaw hybrid-mem verify to confirm DBs and API are working.

Your existing facts and vectors will still be there.

Full reset (remove everything and start fresh)

To wipe hybrid memory completely and reinstall with defaults:

openclaw hybrid-mem uninstall --clean-all
openclaw hybrid-mem install
openclaw gateway stop && openclaw gateway start
openclaw hybrid-mem verify

This removes SQLite and LanceDB data, then reapplies recommended config (memory slot, compaction, nightly job). Data is irreversible; backup first if needed (see BACKUP.md).

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OpenClaw Hybrid Memory — durable agent memory

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