You tell ChatGPT your name. Next session, gone. You explain your project structure to Claude. Tomorrow, blank slate.
LLMs are stateless by design. Every API call starts from zero. The model does not forget you. It never knew you.
OpenClaw fixes this with plain text files and sub-100ms semantic search.
How It Works
Context is temporary and expensive (the conversation window you pay tokens for). Memory is persistent and basically free (files on disk).
OpenClaw separates these cleanly. Memory lives as Markdown files, indexed in SQLite with hybrid BM25 and vector search.
The Files That Remember
SOUL.md defines identity. Personality, communication style, base instructions.
MEMORY.md stores curated knowledge. Your tech stack preferences, deployment workflow.
Daily logs track session context.
Full guide:
https://clawhosters.com/blog/posts/openclaw-memory-setup-guide
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