jarvis-memory/RESTORE.md

Manual Backup & Restore Guide

Peace of mind: Every file modified by the installer is backed up before changes are made.

📁 Where Backups Are Stored

Backups are stored in:

~/.openclaw/workspace/.backups/

Each installation creates a unique timestamped backup set:

.backups/
├── install_20260219_083012_crontab.bak.rush
├── install_20260219_083012_HEARTBEAT.md.bak.rush
├── install_20260219_083012_memory_env.bak.rush
└── install_20260219_083012_MANIFEST.txt

📋 What Gets Backed Up

File	Why It's Backed Up	Restore Command
Crontab	Installer adds 2 cron jobs for daily backups	crontab .backups/install_*_crontab.bak.rush
HEARTBEAT.md	Installer creates/modifies automation config	cp .backups/install_*_HEARTBEAT.md.bak.rush HEARTBEAT.md
.memory_env	Installer creates environment variables	cp .backups/install_*_memory_env.bak.rush .memory_env

🔄 How to Restore

Quick Restore (One Command)

Each backup includes a MANIFEST.txt with exact restore commands:

cd ~/.openclaw/workspace/.backups
cat install_20260219_083012_MANIFEST.txt

Step-by-Step Restore

1. Find Your Backup

ls -la ~/.openclaw/workspace/.backups/

Look for files with pattern: install_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS_*.bak.rush

2. Restore Crontab (removes auto-backup jobs)

# List current crontab
crontab -l

# Restore from backup
crontab ~/.openclaw/workspace/.backups/install_20260219_083012_crontab.bak.rush

# Verify
crontab -l

3. Restore HEARTBEAT.md

# Backup current first (just in case)
cp ~/.openclaw/workspace/HEARTBEAT.md ~/.openclaw/workspace/HEARTBEAT.md.manual_backup

# Restore from installer backup
cp ~/.openclaw/workspace/.backups/install_20260219_083012_HEARTBEAT.md.bak.rush \
   ~/.openclaw/workspace/HEARTBEAT.md

4. Restore .memory_env

# Restore environment file
cp ~/.openclaw/workspace/.backups/install_20260219_083012_memory_env.bak.rush \
   ~/.openclaw/workspace/.memory_env

# Re-source it
source ~/.openclaw/workspace/.memory_env

🛡️ Creating Your Own Backups

Before making changes manually, create your own backup:

cd ~/.openclaw/workspace

# Backup everything important
tar -czf my_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz \
  HEARTBEAT.md \
  .memory_env \
  .backups/ \
  memory/

# Store it somewhere safe
cp my_backup_20260219.tar.gz ~/Documents/

⚠️ When to Restore

Situation	Action
Cron jobs causing issues	Restore crontab
HEARTBEAT.md corrupted	Restore HEARTBEAT.md
Wrong environment settings	Restore .memory_env
Complete removal wanted	Run uninstall.sh instead
Something broke	Check backup manifest, restore specific file

🔧 Full System Restore Example

# 1. Go to workspace
cd ~/.openclaw/workspace

# 2. Identify your backup timestamp
BACKUP_DATE="20260219_083012"

# 3. Restore all files
crontab .backups/install_${BACKUP_DATE}_crontab.bak.rush
cp .backups/install_${BACKUP_DATE}_HEARTBEAT.md.bak.rush HEARTBEAT.md
cp .backups/install_${BACKUP_DATE}_memory_env.bak.rush .memory_env

# 4. Source the restored environment
source .memory_env

# 5. Verify
echo "Crontab:"
crontab -l | grep -E "(Memory System|cron_backup|sliding_backup)"

echo ""
echo "HEARTBEAT.md exists:"
ls -la HEARTBEAT.md

echo ""
echo ".memory_env:"
cat .memory_env

📝 Backup Naming Convention

Pattern	Meaning
install_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS_*.bak.rush	Automatic backup from installer
*.manual_backup	User-created manual backup
*_crontab.bak.rush	Crontab backup
*_HEARTBEAT.md.bak.rush	HEARTBEAT.md backup
*_memory_env.bak.rush	Environment file backup

🗑️ Cleaning Up Old Backups

Backups don't auto-delete. Clean up periodically:

# List all backups
ls -la ~/.openclaw/workspace/.backups/

# Remove backups older than 30 days
find ~/.openclaw/workspace/.backups/ -name "*.bak.rush" -mtime +30 -delete

# Or remove specific timestamp
rm ~/.openclaw/workspace/.backups/install_20260219_083012_*

❓ FAQ

Q: Will the installer overwrite my existing HEARTBEAT.md? A: It will backup the existing file first (as HEARTBEAT.md.bak.rush), then create the new one.

Q: Can I run the installer multiple times? A: Yes! Each run creates new backups. The installer is idempotent (safe to run again).

Q: What if I don't have a crontab yet? A: No problem - the installer detects this and won't try to backup a non-existent file.

Q: Are my memories (Qdrant data) backed up? A: No - these backups are for configuration files only. Your actual memories stay in Qdrant until you explicitly delete them via uninstall.sh.

Q: Where is the backup manifest? A: Each backup set includes a install_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS_MANIFEST.txt with exact restore commands.

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Remember: When in doubt, backup first! 🛡️