ClawStash

ClawStash

Persistent storage for AI agents. Store text, code, configs, and files — retrieve them via MCP or REST API.

Built for agents like OpenClaw that need a reliable place to save and recall information across sessions.

Why ClawStash?

AI agents lose context between sessions. ClawStash gives them a persistent memory:

• Store anything — code snippets, configs, notes, multi-file projects
• Organize with tags & metadata — structured key-value metadata and tags for easy retrieval
• Full-text search — find stashes by content, name, description, or tags
• Token-efficient — MCP tools return summaries first, full content only on demand
• Version history — every change is tracked, diffable, and restorable
• GitHub backup — mirror all stashes into a GitHub repo (scheduled, on change, or manual) with "Sign in with GitHub" or a PAT — see docs/backup.md
• Mermaid diagrams — .mmd files and inline `mermaid blocks in Markdown render as diagrams (lazy-loaded, no bundle bloat)
• Web GUI included — dark-themed dashboard to browse, search, and manage stashes manually

Get Started

1. Let your agent do it (recommended)

Copy this into your OpenClaw agent — it installs ClawStash, creates test stashes, and sets up MCP automatically:

Install ClawStash (ghcr.io/fo0/clawstash) on my server and set it up as your default persistent storage via MCP. Server: <HOST_OR_IP>, User: <SSH_USER>, Auth: <PASSWORD_OR_KEY>. Use port <PORT> (docker compose port mapping "<PORT>:3000"). Set ADMIN_PASSWORD to a secure value. After install: create an API token (scopes: read, write, mcp), create 2 test stashes to verify, then fetch /api/mcp-onboarding to read the full MCP spec and configure yourself. Details: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fo0/clawstash/main/docs/openclaw-onboarding-prompt.md

Replace the <...> placeholders with your server details — your agent handles the rest.

Step-by-step version: docs/openclaw-onboarding-prompt.md

2. Manual setup

Run this on your server — no clone needed:

mkdir clawstash && cd clawstash && cat > docker-compose.yml <<'EOF'
services:
  clawstash:
    image: ghcr.io/fo0/clawstash:latest
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/app/data
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - DATABASE_PATH=/app/data/clawstash.db
      # - ADMIN_PASSWORD=your-secret-password
    restart: unless-stopped
EOF
docker compose up -d

Open http://localhost:3000 — done. Database persists in ./data/.

Change port mapping (e.g. "8080:3000") for a different port. Uncomment ADMIN_PASSWORD to protect the instance. If login fails and the logs show SQLITE_READONLY (data directory created by an older version), run sudo chown -R 1000:1000 ./data once and restart — details in Deployment → Bind mounts & file permissions.

After starting, point your AI agent at the onboarding endpoint to self-configure:

GET http://<HOST_OR_IP>:<PORT>/api/mcp-onboarding

This returns all available MCP tools, schemas, and recommended workflows — your agent reads it and starts using ClawStash immediately.

MCP Connection

Add to your MCP client config (OpenClaw, Claude Code, Cursor, etc.):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "clawstash": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "http://<HOST_OR_IP>:<PORT>/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" }
    }
  }
}

Create API tokens in the web GUI under Settings > API & Tokens (scopes: read, write, mcp).

MCP Tools

| Tool | What it does | | ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | | create_stash | Store new content with files, tags, metadata | | read_stash | Get stash metadata + file list (content on demand) | | read_stash_file | Read a single file — most token-efficient | | list_stashes | Browse all stashes with summaries | | search_stashes | Full-text search with ranked results | | update_stash | Update existing stash content | | delete_stash | Remove a stash | | archive_stash | Archive/unarchive a stash without deleting | | list_tags | List all tags with usage counts | | get_tag_graph | Explore tag relationships | | get_stats | Storage statistics | | get_rest_api_spec | Fetch the OpenAPI 3.0 schema (JSON) | | get_mcp_spec | Fetch the full MCP specification (markdown) | | refresh_tools | Get latest tool specs (for connected agents) | | check_version | Check for updates |

Documentation

| Doc | Content | | --------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | | OpenClaw Onboarding | Copy-paste prompt for full agent-driven setup | | API Reference | REST endpoints, examples, query parameters | | MCP Guide | MCP tools, token-efficient patterns, transport options | | Authentication | Admin login, API tokens, scopes | | GitHub Backup | Mirror stashes into a GitHub repo: setup, security | | Deployment | Docker, CI/CD, GHCR, production setup |

Development

Prerequisites: Node.js 20+ (project pins Node 26 in Docker)

git clone https://github.com/fo0/clawstash.git
cd clawstash
npm install
cp .env.example .env   # adjust DATABASE_PATH / ADMIN_PASSWORD as needed

npm run dev            # Next.js dev server at http://localhost:3000
npm run format         # auto-format with Prettier (CI verifies formatting via format:check)
npx tsc --noEmit       # TypeScript type check (no npm script — CI runs this exact command)
npm test               # vitest test suite (npm run test:watch for watch mode)
npm run build          # production build
npm start              # serve the production build
npm run mcp            # MCP server (stdio transport, for local MCP client testing)

CI (docker-publish.yml) gates on format:check → tsc --noEmit → test → build, in that order — run the same chain locally before pushing.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for code-style rules and the PR workflow.

License

MIT