openclaw/docs/cli/agents.md

summary, read_when, title

summary	read_when	title
CLI reference for `openclaw agents` (list/add/delete/bindings/bind/unbind/set identity)	You want multiple isolated agents (workspaces + routing + auth)	Agents

openclaw agents

Manage isolated agents (workspaces + auth + routing). Running openclaw agents with no subcommand is equivalent to openclaw agents list.

Related:

• Multi-agent routing
• Agent workspace
• Skills config: skill visibility configuration.

Examples

openclaw agents list
openclaw agents list --bindings
openclaw agents add work --workspace ~/.openclaw/workspace-work
openclaw agents add work --workspace ~/.openclaw/workspace-work --bind telegram:*
openclaw agents add ops --workspace ~/.openclaw/workspace-ops --bind telegram:ops --non-interactive
openclaw agents bindings
openclaw agents bind --agent work --bind telegram:ops
openclaw agents unbind --agent work --bind telegram:ops
openclaw agents set-identity --workspace ~/.openclaw/workspace --from-identity
openclaw agents set-identity --agent main --avatar avatars/openclaw.png
openclaw agents delete work

Command surface

agents list

Options: --json, --bindings (include full routing rules, not only per-agent counts/summaries).

agents add [name]

Options: --workspace <dir>, --model <id>, --agent-dir <dir>, --bind <channel[:accountId]> (repeatable), --non-interactive, --json.

• The automation flags --workspace, --model, --agent-dir, --bind, and --non-interactive select the non-interactive path. Non-interactive mode requires both an agent name and --workspace.
• --json alone keeps the guided wizard interactive. Prompts and status are written to stderr, and stdout contains one JSON summary after setup completes.
• main is an ordinary agent id. Recreating it after another agent owns the installation can require openclaw doctor --fix to repair legacy session or shared-auth ownership first.
• Interactive mode seeds auth by copying only portable static credentials (api_key and static token profiles) unless a credential opts out with copyToAgents: false; OAuth refresh-token profiles are not copied unless a provider opts in with copyToAgents: true. Without a copy, OAuth stays available through the shared auth base. If the configured default agent has its own local OAuth profile, sign in separately for the new agent.

agents bindings

Options: --agent <id>, --json.

agents bind

Options: --agent <id> (defaults to the current default agent), --bind <channel[:accountId]> (repeatable), --json.

agents unbind

Options: --agent <id> (defaults to the current default agent), --bind <channel[:accountId]> (repeatable), --all, --json. Accepts either --all or one or more --bind values, not both.

agents set-identity

Options: --agent <id>, --workspace <dir>, --identity-file <path>, --from-identity, --name <name>, --theme <theme>, --emoji <emoji>, --avatar <value>, --json. See Set identity below.

agents delete <id>

Options: --force, --json.

• The only configured agent cannot be deleted.
• Without --force, interactive confirmation is required (fails in a non-TTY session; re-run with --force).
• Workspace, agent state, and session transcript directories move to Trash, not hard-deleted. If Trash is unavailable, agent config deletion still succeeds and reports paths requiring manual cleanup; --json exposes path outcomes in removed and failed arrays.
• On installations that have not migrated shared auth yet, the legacy owner cannot be deleted. Run openclaw doctor --fix; after relocation into shared state SQLite, main follows the same deletion rules as any other agent.
• When the Gateway is reachable, deletion routes through the Gateway so config and session-store cleanup share the same writer as runtime traffic. If the Gateway is unreachable, the CLI falls back to the offline local path.
• If another agent's workspace is the same path, inside this workspace, or contains this workspace, the workspace is retained, and --json reports workspaceRetained, workspaceRetainedReason, and workspaceSharedWith.

Routing bindings

Use routing bindings to pin inbound channel traffic to a specific agent.

If you also want different visible skills per agent, configure agents.defaults.skills and agents.entries.*.skills in openclaw.json. See Skills config and Configuration reference.

List bindings:

openclaw agents bindings
openclaw agents bindings --agent work
openclaw agents bindings --json

Add bindings:

openclaw agents bind --agent work --bind telegram:ops --bind discord:guild-a

You can also add bindings when creating an agent:

openclaw agents add work --workspace ~/.openclaw/workspace-work --bind telegram:* --bind discord:*

If you omit accountId (--bind <channel>), OpenClaw resolves it from plugin setup hooks, forced account binding, or the channel's configured account count.

If you omit --agent for bind or unbind, OpenClaw targets the current default agent.

--bind format

Format	Meaning
--bind <channel>:*	Match all accounts on the channel.
--bind <channel>:<account>	Match one account.
--bind <channel>	Match the default account only, unless the CLI can safely resolve a plugin-specific account scope.

Binding scope behavior

• A stored binding without accountId matches the channel default account only.
• accountId: "*" is the channel-wide fallback (all accounts) and is less specific than an explicit account binding.
• If the same agent already has a matching channel binding without accountId, and you later bind with an explicit or resolved accountId, OpenClaw upgrades that existing binding in place instead of adding a duplicate.

Examples:

# match all accounts on the channel
openclaw agents bind --agent work --bind telegram:*

# match a specific account
openclaw agents bind --agent work --bind telegram:ops

# initial channel-only binding
openclaw agents bind --agent work --bind telegram

# later upgrade to account-scoped binding
openclaw agents bind --agent work --bind telegram:alerts

After the upgrade, routing for that binding is scoped to telegram:alerts. If you also want default-account routing, add it explicitly (for example --bind telegram:default).

Remove bindings:

openclaw agents unbind --agent work --bind telegram:ops
openclaw agents unbind --agent work --all

Identity files

Each agent workspace can include an IDENTITY.md at the workspace root:

• Example path: ~/.openclaw/workspace/IDENTITY.md
• set-identity --from-identity reads from the workspace root (or an explicit --identity-file).

Avatar paths resolve relative to the workspace root and cannot escape it, even through a symlink.

Set identity

set-identity writes fields into agents.entries.*.identity: name, theme, emoji, avatar (workspace-relative path, http(s) URL, or data URI).

• --agent or --workspace selects the target agent. If --workspace matches more than one agent, the command fails and asks you to pass --agent.
• Local workspace-relative avatar image files are limited to 2 MB. HTTP(S) URLs and data: URIs are not checked against the local file-size limit.
• When no explicit identity fields are provided, the command reads identity data from IDENTITY.md.

Load from IDENTITY.md:

openclaw agents set-identity --workspace ~/.openclaw/workspace --from-identity

Override fields explicitly:

openclaw agents set-identity --agent main --name "OpenClaw" --emoji "🦞" --avatar avatars/openclaw.png

Config sample:

{
  agents: {
    entries: {
      main: {
        default: true,
        identity: {
          name: "OpenClaw",
          theme: "space lobster",
          emoji: "🦞",
          avatar: "avatars/openclaw.png",
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

Related

• CLI reference
• Multi-agent routing
• Agent workspace