# Moving to Hermes Agent from OpenClaw and other agents > Use the built-in, preview-first importers to bring your persona, memory, skills, model settings and bot tokens across, then finish the handful of things that never migrate automatically. Canonical: https://hermeswatcher.com/learn/moving-from-openclaw-and-other-agents Section: Learn ยท Getting started Last reviewed: Oct 20, 2026 Basis: Explained from the official Hermes Agent docs and repository (Nous Research). Steps follow the linked official sources. ## Two importers, one pattern Hermes ships two migration commands. `hermes claw migrate` imports an OpenClaw setup, including older Clawdbot and Moltbot installs. `hermes import-agent` imports a Claude Code (`~/.claude`) or OpenAI Codex CLI (`~/.codex`) setup. Both work the same way: they print a per-item plan before writing anything, and `--dry-run` stops after the preview without touching disk. If you are installing Hermes fresh, the `hermes setup` wizard notices an existing `~/.openclaw` folder and offers to migrate before configuration starts. If you would rather be walked through it conversationally, with per-item conflict decisions, there is also an optional skill: `hermes skills install official/migration/openclaw-migration`. It runs the same migration script behind the CLI command. ## Do a dry run first Start with `hermes claw migrate --dry-run`. The command looks in `~/.openclaw` first, then the legacy `~/.clawdbot` and `~/.moltbot` folders. If your install lives elsewhere, add `--source /path/to/openclaw`. Read the preview carefully. It lists what will be imported, what conflicts with files you already have in Hermes, and what will only be archived. When the plan looks right, run `hermes claw migrate` and confirm. The flags worth knowing: - `--preset full` (the default) or `--preset user-data`, which leaves out infrastructure config. Neither preset copies secrets. - `--migrate-secrets` copies allowlisted API keys and bot tokens such as `TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN` into `~/.hermes/.env`. You have to pass it explicitly, even with `--preset full`. - `--overwrite` replaces conflicting Hermes files. Without it, the migration refuses to apply a plan that has conflicts. - `--skill-conflict skip|overwrite|rename` decides what happens when a skill name already exists. `rename` keeps both copies and gives the imported one an `-imported` suffix. - `--workspace-target ` is required if you want your workspace `AGENTS.md` copied into a project folder. - Before applying, Hermes writes a zip snapshot of `~/.hermes/` under `~/.hermes/backups/pre-migration-*.zip`, which you can restore with `hermes import`. Only skip this with `--no-backup` if you have your own backup. ## What comes across, and where it lands Your `SOUL.md` persona is copied to `~/.hermes/SOUL.md`. `MEMORY.md`, `USER.md` and the daily memory files are parsed into entries and merged, with duplicates removed, into `~/.hermes/memories/`. Skills from all four OpenClaw skill locations end up in `~/.hermes/skills/openclaw-imports/`. The default model, custom providers, MCP servers, TTS settings, browser settings, the exec timeout and Docker sandbox settings are mapped to their `config.yaml` equivalents. Telegram, Discord, Slack, Signal, Matrix and Mattermost tokens and allowlists are mapped to `.env` variables. Look closely at one mapping: OpenClaw approval mode `auto` becomes Hermes `approvals.mode: off`, which means no approval prompts at all. If you relied on that in OpenClaw, think about whether you still want it. We suggest starting on the Hermes default, `smart`, and loosening it later. ## What does not migrate automatically Anything without a direct Hermes equivalent is saved under `~/.hermes/migration/openclaw//archive/` for you to handle by hand. That covers cron jobs, plugins, hooks and webhooks, the memory backend config, multi-agent lists, channel bindings, and the `IDENTITY.md`, `TOOLS.md`, `HEARTBEAT.md` and `BOOTSTRAP.md` workspace files. The official guide gives a replacement for each one: - Recreate scheduled work with `hermes cron create`. Periodic tasks from `HEARTBEAT.md` also become cron jobs. - Merge anything worth keeping from `IDENTITY.md` into `SOUL.md`. - Rebuild a multi-agent setup as Hermes profiles. - Idle and daily session-reset timers are deliberately not imported. Hermes conversations continue until you run `/new` or `/reset`. - WhatsApp pairs by QR code, so it has to be paired again with `hermes whatsapp`. - Secrets stored as SecretRefs with `source: file` or `source: exec` can't be resolved. Add those values yourself with `hermes config set`. ## After the import Read the report printed at the end, then start a new session. Imported skills and memory only show up in new sessions. Run `hermes status` to confirm your provider credentials, and `/skills` to check that the imported skills loaded. If tokens moved over, restart the gateway, for example with `hermes gateway restart`. When everything works, run `hermes claw cleanup`. It renames leftover OpenClaw folders with a `.pre-migration` suffix, so the two agents can't end up fighting over the same state. Stop OpenClaw first. The command warns if it is still running, because an active service can immediately recreate an empty folder. You can preview the cleanup with `--dry-run`. ## Coming from Claude Code or Codex instead `hermes import-agent claude-code` or `hermes import-agent codex` (or just `hermes import-agent` to auto-detect) brings over global instructions as memory entries, `Bash(...)` allow and deny rules as `command_allowlist` and `approvals.deny`, MCP servers, and skill folders. Claude Code slash commands are skipped with a note suggesting you convert them into skills. Credentials are never imported, and MCP environment values with secret-looking names are stripped and listed so you can add them back on purpose. If you keep using the other agent alongside Hermes, `hermes import-agent --sync` re-imports only the sources that have changed. That makes it safe to run on a schedule. ## Related guides - [Hermes Agent setup: your first 24 hours](https://hermeswatcher.com/learn/first-24-hours-default-setup.md) - [How Hermes Agent memory works (and where it stops)](https://hermeswatcher.com/learn/how-hermes-memory-works.md) - [Hermes Agent profiles: separate agents for separate jobs](https://hermeswatcher.com/learn/profiles-separate-agents.md) - [Hermes Agent SOUL.md and personalities explained](https://hermeswatcher.com/learn/soul-md-and-personalities.md) ## Related tools - [Carry project knowledge into the next session](https://hermeswatcher.com/workflows/project-knowledge.md) - [Skills: reusable procedures for repeated work](https://hermeswatcher.com/tools/skills.md) - [Persistent memory: retain compact working knowledge](https://hermeswatcher.com/tools/memory.md) - [Models and providers: configure the actual inference route](https://hermeswatcher.com/tools/models.md) - [MCP: connect external tool servers](https://hermeswatcher.com/tools/mcp.md) - [Telegram: reach Hermes from a private bot conversation](https://hermeswatcher.com/tools/telegram.md) - [Command approvals: decide what the agent may run unattended](https://hermeswatcher.com/tools/approvals-security.md) ## Sources - [Migrate from OpenClaw (official guide)](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/guides/migrate-from-openclaw) - [CLI Commands Reference: hermes claw (official docs)](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/reference/cli-commands) - [Openclaw Migration skill (official docs)](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/skills/optional/migration/migration-openclaw-migration) - [Import from Other Agents (official docs)](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/import-from-other-agents) --- HermesWatcher is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nous Research. The [official Hermes Agent documentation](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs) and [repository](https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent) from Nous Research are the authority; each page here lists the official sources it was written from. If this site and the official docs disagree, trust the official docs. Index for agents: https://hermeswatcher.com/llms.txt