openclaw/docs/cli/profile.md

summary, read_when, title

summary	read_when	title
Create, inspect, import, clone, doctor, and delete managed OpenClaw profiles	Working with multiple isolated OpenClaw setups on one machine Migrating from legacy ~/.openclaw-<name> profile directories	profile

openclaw profile

Use openclaw profile to manage first-class OpenClaw profiles.

Managed profiles live under:

~/.openclaw/profiles/<id>/
  profile.json
  config/openclaw.json
  state/
  workspace/

--profile <id> selects a profile at runtime. --dev is an alias for the dev profile.

Commands

• openclaw profile list
• openclaw profile get <id>
• openclaw profile paths <id>
• openclaw profile create <id>
• openclaw profile clone <source> <id>
• openclaw profile import <id>
• openclaw profile doctor <id>
• openclaw profile delete <id> --yes

Common flows

Create an empty managed profile:

openclaw profile create rescue
openclaw --profile rescue setup

Adopt an existing legacy profile without changing its config/state/workspace behavior:

openclaw profile import rescue

Clone a profile into a fresh isolated instance:

openclaw profile clone main rescue

Clone preserves durable config and credentials, allocates a fresh workspace and runtime identity, and excludes ephemeral runtime artifacts by default.

Notes

• profile import is for behavior-preserving legacy adoption.
• profile clone is for creating a new isolated runtime instance.
• profile delete only removes managed profile roots and refuses live profiles unless you pass --force.
• If you previously installed the gateway with openclaw --profile default gateway install, upgrade by uninstalling that older service instance before reinstalling with the new build. Older explicit-default installs used the unscoped gateway service label/name, while the managed profile system gives explicit default its own service identity.
• For multi-gateway deployment guidance, see Multiple Gateways.