# OpenClaw: not supported

**clawhdf5 does not currently work as an [OpenClaw](https://docs.openclaw.ai)
memory backend, and never has.** Earlier versions of these docs described a
"drop-in" backend enabled with `memory.backend = "clawhdf5"`. That
configuration was never valid: from v2026.2 through v2026.7 OpenClaw's
`memory.backend` accepted only `"builtin"` or `"qmd"` and rejected unknown
keys, and since v2026.8.1 ("OpenClaw 2.0") the key no longer exists. A Gateway
given that config refuses to start. No plugin was ever built or tested against
OpenClaw, and the `@redclaw/clawhdf5` npm package was never published.

As of 2026-09-25 we are not pursuing an OpenClaw plugin; the maintained
integration target is ZeroClaw. This page records what a plugin would need,
for when that changes.

## What OpenClaw expects today (v2026.9.6)

Checked against the OpenClaw source at tag `v2026.9.6` and its docs on
2026-09-25. OpenClaw marks every plugin API as experimental, so re-check before
building anything.

- **Memory lives in Markdown files**, which are the source of truth: `MEMORY.md`,
  `USER.md`, daily notes in `memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md` in the agent workspace. The
  memory engine is an index over them
  ([concepts/memory](https://docs.openclaw.ai/concepts/memory)).
- **A memory plugin is selected with `plugins.slots.memory: "<plugin-id>"`**
  (default `memory-core`), its settings under
  `plugins.entries.<plugin-id>.config`, validated against the plugin's own
  schema ([gateway/config-extensions](https://docs.openclaw.ai/gateway/config-extensions)).
  Memory search settings are under `memory.search`
  ([reference/memory-config](https://docs.openclaw.ai/reference/memory-config)).
- **A plugin needs** an `openclaw.plugin.json` manifest with `id`,
  `configSchema`, `"kind": "memory"` and every tool listed in `contracts.tools`
  ([plugins/manifest](https://docs.openclaw.ai/plugins/manifest)); a
  `package.json` with `openclaw.extensions`, `openclaw.compat.pluginApi` and an
  `openclaw` peer dependency; and an entry built with `definePluginEntry`.
- **Two ways to integrate** (both exist upstream): tools only, as
  `memory-lancedb` does (`api.registerTool`), or a full memory engine, as
  `memory-core` does, through `api.registerMemoryCapability({ runtime, ... })`,
  whose runtime returns a `MemorySearchManager` implementing `search`,
  `readFile` (returning `status: "ok" | "not_found"`), `status`,
  `probeEmbeddingAvailability` and `probeVectorAvailability`. Active Memory
  expects `memory_search` and `memory_get` tools
  ([plugins/sdk-overview/memory-and-context](https://docs.openclaw.ai/plugins/sdk-overview/memory-and-context)).
- **Embeddings come from OpenClaw's providers** (`memory.search.provider`), or a
  plugin registers one with `api.registerEmbeddingProvider`.
- **Native code**: plugin installs run with `--ignore-scripts`, so a napi addon
  has to ship as prebuilt per-platform packages (the pattern `memory-lancedb`
  uses for LanceDB), loaded lazily
  ([plugins/dependency-resolution](https://docs.openclaw.ai/plugins/dependency-resolution)).
- **Distribution**: `openclaw plugins install` from npm or ClawHub; a first
  install from an arbitrary source needs explicit review, and community ClawHub
  packages go through a security audit.
- **Churn to plan for**: the memory SDK was reshaped in 2026 (separate
  registration functions merged into `registerMemoryCapability`;
  `registerMemoryEmbeddingProvider` removed on 2026-08-21), and further SDK
  surfaces become eligible for removal on 2026-10-01
  ([plugins/sdk-migration/removal-timeline](https://docs.openclaw.ai/plugins/sdk-migration/removal-timeline)).

## What this repository has

Building blocks, usable as a library today, but not an OpenClaw plugin:

- `clawhdf5_agent::openclaw::ClawhdfBackend` — a Markdown-oriented backend over
  `HDF5Memory`: ingest Markdown by section, hybrid search with re-ranking and
  confidence rejection, read back by path, export. Gaps a plugin would have to
  close: `write`/`ingest_markdown` store no embeddings (search is keyword-only
  for that content unless records are saved with `save_entry`), re-ingesting
  appends rather than replaces, there is no delete, `line_range` is never set,
  and export rewrites every heading as `##`.
- `crates/clawhdf5-napi` and `packages/clawhdf5-node` — Node bindings and a
  TypeScript wrapper. **Not published, not built or tested in CI, and known to
  be broken**; see `docs/known-issues.md`.