HippoDid OpenClaw Plugin
Persistent cloud memory for OpenClaw. Survives context compaction.

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HippoDid — Cloud Character Memory for OpenClaw

Your MEMORY.md survives context compaction. Zero-config cloud sync with structured character memory.

What is HippoDid?

HippoDid is persistent, portable memory infrastructure for AI agents. It stores structured memories in a cloud database and retrieves them across sessions, tools, and AI providers. This plugin connects OpenClaw to HippoDid — giving your OpenClaw agent the same memory that Claude Code, ChatGPT, Gemini, Codex, and Cursor can access.

• Cross-platform recall — write a memory in OpenClaw, recall it in Claude Code (or vice versa)
• Survives compaction — memories are in the cloud, not the context window
• Structured — facts are categorized (preferences, skills, decisions) with salience scores and temporal decay
• Free tier — 1 character, 100 memories, no credit card required

The Problem

OpenClaw's own docs warn: memory dies on context compaction. Your agent accumulates context over a session — preferences, project knowledge, debugging history. Then compaction triggers, and that context is gone. Next session starts from scratch.

HippoDid syncs your memory files to cloud before compaction destroys them. Next session, they're back — automatically.

Install

openclaw plugins install @hippodid/openclaw-plugin

Coming soon on ClawHub as hippodid/hippodid-openclaw-plugin.

Add to your openclaw.json:

{
  "plugins": {
    "hippodid": {
      "enabled": true,
      "apiKey": "hd_sk_...",
      "characterId": "my-dev-agent"
    }
  }
}

Restart the gateway:

openclaw gateway restart

Local Dev Install

You can test the plugin locally without publishing to npm:

npm run build
openclaw plugins install --link .
openclaw gateway restart
openclaw plugins info hippodid

That links OpenClaw directly to this working tree, so rebuilding dist/ updates what the gateway loads.

How It Works

1. Install → Plugin auto-detects your workspace memory directory
2. File watcher → Monitors MEMORY.md + memory/*.md for changes
3. Pre-compaction flush → Syncs to cloud BEFORE context compaction (the critical hook)
4. Session start → Hydrates files from cloud so memory survives across sessions

The plugin runs as a non-slot plugin — it doesn't replace your existing memory backend. It adds cloud persistence on top of whatever memory system you already use.

Import Existing Memory

Already have memory files from previous sessions?

/hippodid import ~/.openclaw/workspace

This uploads all MEMORY.md + memory/*.md files to your HippoDid character in one pass.

Commands

HippoDid exposes two command surfaces:

1. Chat commands handled by OpenClaw's command router:
   • /hippodid status
   • /hippodid sync
   • /hippodid import [workspace-path]
2. Agent/tool calls available inside the runtime:
   • hippodid:status
   • hippodid:sync
   • hippodid:import

Important: openclaw agent --message "/hippodid status" does not go through OpenClaw's slash-command router. That path sends the text straight to the agent, so /hippodid ... may be interpreted as ordinary user text instead of a plugin command. Use a real OpenClaw chat/channel surface for slash commands, or use the tool forms above for direct agent runs.

Tool Names

Tool	Description
hippodid:status	Show tier, sync status, watched paths
hippodid:sync	Trigger immediate sync of all watched files
hippodid:import	Import existing workspace memory

HippoDid vs Mem0 vs memory-lancedb

Feature	HippoDid	Mem0 Plugin	memory-lancedb
MEMORY.md sync	Bidirectional cloud sync	Ignores MEMORY.md entirely	Separate vector store
Import existing memory	One command, full history	Start from zero	Start from zero
Survives compaction	Pre-compaction flush hook	Partial (AUDN capture only)	Local vector DB persists
Cross-machine sync	Cloud-based	Mem0 cloud	Local only
Data portability	Export to Markdown anytime	Locked in Mem0 format	LanceDB binary format
Structured character model	Categories, profiles, decay	Flat user_id memories	Flat key-value
Free tier cost	$0 (file sync only, no AI)	Requires OPENAI_API_KEY	Requires embedding API key
Multi-agent isolation	Character-scoped by design	Known bleed bug (#3998)	Agent scope option

Configuration Reference

{
  "plugins": {
    "hippodid": {
      "enabled": true,
      "apiKey": "hd_sk_...",
      "characterId": "my-dev-agent",
      "baseUrl": "https://api.hippodid.com",
      "syncIntervalSeconds": 300,
      "autoRecall": false,
      "autoCapture": false,
      "additionalPaths": [
        { "path": "./notes/project.md", "label": "project-notes" }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Option	Type	Default	Description
apiKey	string	required	HippoDid API key (hd_sk_...)
characterId	string	required	Target character ID
baseUrl	string	https://api.hippodid.com	API endpoint
syncIntervalSeconds	number	300	Debounce interval for file sync. The server enforces a tier-based minimum.
autoRecall	boolean	false	Inject relevant memories before each turn (paid tier)
autoCapture	boolean	false	Extract and store facts after each turn (paid tier)
additionalPaths	array	[]	Extra files/directories to watch

Free vs Paid Tiers

Free tier (no credit card):

• File watcher with SHA-256 diff sync
• Pre-compaction flush (the critical feature)
• Session-start hydration from cloud
• Manual sync and import commands

Paid tiers add:

• Auto-Recall: Relevant memories injected as context before each agent turn
• Auto-Capture: Facts automatically extracted from conversations via AUDN pipeline
• Lower sync interval minimums

If the server reports autoRecallAvailable or autoCaptureAvailable, the plugin enables those hooks automatically when the matching config flag is true.

Workspace Auto-Detection

The plugin automatically finds your memory files by searching:

1. $OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE/memory/ and $OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE/MEMORY.md
2. ~/.openclaw/workspace/memory/ and ~/.openclaw/workspace/MEMORY.md
3. Current working directory ./memory/ and ./MEMORY.md

Add additionalPaths in config to watch extra files or directories.

Requirements

• OpenClaw 2026.1.x+
• Node.js 22+
• HippoDid account (free at hippodid.dev)

Notes

• The plugin ships compiled output from dist/ and reads its displayed version from package.json at runtime.
• Current HippoDid servers accept Authorization: Bearer <apiKey>. The plugin also sends the legacy X-Api-Key header for compatibility.
• File sync has been verified locally against a linked OpenClaw install, including watcher-driven sync and cloud status updates.

License

Apache 2.0