A four-tier memory architecture that gives your OpenClaw agent genuine continuity, identity, and resilience — across every session, crash, or deployment.
AI agents forget. Every session starts blank. Important context — corrections, decisions, patterns, relationships — evaporates. Most agent frameworks treat memory as an afterthought: flat files or vector databases without intelligent curation. The result: agents that repeat mistakes, lose critical context, and can't develop genuine identity over time.
Project Trident solves this.
Trident models memory the way computers model storage, with an additional resilience layer:
Layer 0 (RAM) — LCM: SQLite+DAG. Every message captured. Nothing lost.
Layer 0.5 (SSD) — Signal Router: Cron agent classifies and routes memory every 15 min.
Layer 1 (HDD) — Hierarchical .md buckets: curated, human-readable, Git-compatible.
Layer 2 (COLD) — Backup & Updates: Git versioning, VPS snapshots, automated recovery.
The result: an agent that never forgets what matters, develops genuine personality over weeks and months, maintains operational continuity through crashes/compactions/deployments, and can recover from catastrophic failure.
| Feature | Benefit |
|---|---|
| Continuity | Wakes up remembering yesterday's conversation, decisions, and context |
| Identity development | memory/self/ tracks beliefs, patterns, voice, and growth over time |
| Zero blank spots | WAL protocol + Layer 0.5 ensure nothing slips through cracks |
| Debuggable memory | Open any .md file and see exactly what your agent knows and why |
| Git-compatible | Version control for agent memory (diffable, auditable, recoverable) |
| Disaster recovery | Automated daily snapshots + update rollback protect against loss |
| Platform-agnostic | Works on Windows, Mac, Linux, and any VPS |
| No Docker required | Trident Lite runs on local .md files and SQLite alone |
# Install via ClawHub
clawhub install shivaclaw/project-trident
# Read the quick-start guide
cat ~/.openclaw/skills/project-trident/references/trident-lite.md
# Follow the 10-step checklist to configure Layer 0.5 + Layer 1If you already have MEMORY.md, SOUL.md, or custom memory files:
cd ~/.openclaw/skills/project-trident/scripts
# Preview changes first (safe dry run)
./migrate-existing-memory.sh --dry-run
# Apply migration (automatic backup created)
./migrate-existing-memory.shYour existing memory is never deleted — always backed up in memory/migration-backup/ before anything changes.
| Profile | Model | Layer 0.5 Interval | Cost/day | Storage Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zero Budget | Ollama (local) | 30 min | $0 | $0 |
| Budget | Claude Haiku | 30 min | $0.72 | $0 |
| Standard (recommended) | Claude Haiku | 15 min | $1.44 | $0 |
| Premium | Claude Sonnet | 15 min | $3.12 | $0 |
Note: Layer 1 (.md files), Layer 0 (SQLite), and Layer 2 backup are all free. Git hosting (GitHub, GitLab, Gitea) is optional and typically free.
→ See references/cost-calculator.md for detailed pricing and optimization strategies.
User message / Tool result / Internal event
│
▼
┌─────────────────────────────┐
│ Layer 0: LCM (SQLite+DAG) │ ← Baseline durability
│ Every message persisted │
│ Nothing lost, even after │
│ compaction │
└──────────┬──────────────────┘
│
▼
Daily log (WAL protocol)
│ Write critical facts before responding
│ Prevents blank spots
▼
[Layer 0.5 Cron — every 10–30 min]
│ Signal router agent classifies signals
│ Corrections (highest priority)
│ Decisions, patterns, facts, self-signals
│
├── Corrections & decisions → MEMORY.md (curated)
├── Self/identity signals → memory/self/
├── Learnings & mistakes → memory/lessons/
├── Active projects → memory/projects/
└── Raw episodic logs → memory/daily/YYYY-MM-DD.md
│
▼
[Layer 1: Hierarchical Memory Buckets]
│ Human-readable .md files
│ Git-compatible, searchable, auditable
│
▼
[Optional: Layer 1.5 — Semantic Recall]
│ Add when memory > 50K messages
│ Qdrant vector search (Docker or cloud)
│ FalkorDB entity graphs (Docker or cloud)
│
▼
[Layer 2: Backup & Updates Subsystem]
│ Automated daily backups
│ VPS snapshots (if deployed)
│ Git versioning (GitHub, GitLab, etc.)
│ Update resilience + rollback
│
└── Recovery checkpoints every 24h
Disaster recovery + compliance
What it does:
- Captures every message as SQLite row
- Builds DAG (directed acyclic graph) of message lineage
- Compaction creates summaries that link back to source messages
Why it matters:
- Baseline durability — nothing is ever truly lost
- Recovery foundation for corrupted Layer 1 files
- Prerequisite: Enable
lossless-clawplugin inopenclaw.json
Cost: Free (SQLite is built-in)
What it does:
- Runs every 10–30 minutes (configurable)
- Reads daily logs (WAL protocol)
- Classifies signals: corrections, decisions, facts, self-signals
- Routes to appropriate Layer 1 buckets
Signal types:
| Signal | Priority | Destination | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Correction | Highest | MEMORY.md | "It's X, not Y" |
| Decision | High | MEMORY.md | "Let's do X" |
| Self-signal | High | memory/self/ | "I prefer..." or identity shift |
| Project update | Medium | memory/projects/ | New task, blocker, completion |
| Learning | Medium | memory/lessons/ | Tool quirk, debugging note, mistake |
| Fact | Low | memory/semantic/ | Names, dates, numbers, facts |
Model: Claude Haiku recommended (cost-optimized, ~95% accuracy)
Cost: $0.72–$1.44/day depending on interval (15–30 min)
Security: SHA256 integrity verification prevents prompt injection
What it does:
- Persistent
.mdfile organization - Human-readable, Git-compatible, debuggable
- Prevents noise accumulation (agentic curation vs auto-capture)
Structure:
memory/
├── MEMORY.md ← Curated long-term memory (compressed, high-signal)
├── daily/
│ ├── 2026-04-19.md ← Raw episodic log for today
│ ├── 2026-04-18.md ← Yesterday's events
│ └── ...
├── self/
│ ├── identity.md ← Name, personality, goals
│ ├── beliefs.md ← Core values, philosophy
│ └── growth.md ← Evolution, contradictions, learning
├── lessons/
│ ├── tools.md ← Tool quirks, debugging notes
│ ├── mistakes.md ← Errors, failures, corrections
│ └── workflows.md ← Process improvements, heuristics
├── projects/
│ ├── job-search.md ← Active job search
│ ├── infrastructure.md ← Deployment, ops
│ └── ... ← One file per active project
├── semantic/
│ ├── biology.md ← Technical knowledge (synbio, etc.)
│ └── ... ← Organized by domain
└── layer0/
├── AGENT-PROMPT.md ← Layer 0.5 router instructions
└── audit-log.md ← Integrity verification log
Quality rule: Compress over accumulate; signal density over volume
Cost: Free (local .md files)
What it does:
- Daily Git commits — Version control for memory
- VPS snapshots — Point-in-time recovery (if deployed)
- Update resilience — Pre-update snapshots + post-update healthchecks
- Automated rollback — Revert to last known-good state on failure
Components:
| Component | Frequency | Purpose | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Git backup cron | Daily (4:20 AM) | Commit memory to GitHub/GitLab | $0 (free tier) |
| VPS snapshot | Daily (3 AM) | Point-in-time VM backup | $0 (included in VPS) |
| Pre-update snapshot | Before updates | Capture state before OpenClaw upgrade | $0 |
| Post-update healthcheck | After updates | Verify all systems operational | $0 |
Example cron jobs:
4:20 AM MDT → Layer 2 Backup: Git commit + optional VPS snapshot
3:00 AM MDT → Pre-update snapshot (Sunday)
→ Run update (automatic)
→ Post-update healthcheck
Recovery procedure:
- If memory corrupted → restore from Git
- If deployment broken → restore VPS snapshot
- If update fails → rollback via post-update healthcheck log
Cost: $0 (included in VPS; Git free tier available)
| Feature | Trident | Mem0 | LangChain Memory | AutoGPT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lossless capture (SQLite+DAG) | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Intelligent signal routing | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Personality development | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Human-readable (.md) | ✅ | ❌ (vectors) | ||
| No Docker required | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Git-compatible | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Backup + recovery | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Template security | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Migration tooling | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Offline (Ollama) | ✅ | ❌ | ||
| Cost/day | $0–$1.44 | $$$ | varies | varies |
Windows, Mac, Linux, and VPS all fully supported.
Trident Lite requires only Node.js ≥ 22.14.0 and OpenClaw. No Docker, no cloud accounts, no external dependencies.
| Platform | Trident Lite | Semantic Recall (Docker) | Semantic Recall (No Docker) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ (native binary) |
| macOS | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ (native binary) |
| Windows | ✅ | ✅ (WSL2) | ✅ (binary or cloud) |
| VPS (Ubuntu/Debian) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Docker container | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
See references/platform-guide.md for platform-specific setup.
clawhub install shivaclaw/project-trident
cd ~/.openclaw/skills/project-trident/
cat references/trident-lite.md
# Follow the 10-step checklist (~30 minutes)cd ~/.openclaw/skills/project-trident/scripts
# Safe dry-run preview
./migrate-existing-memory.sh --dry-run
# Live migration (automatic backup)
./migrate-existing-memory.shWhen your agent's memory exceeds ~50K messages:
cat references/deployment-guide.md
# Deploy Qdrant (vector search) + FalkorDB (entity graphs)
# Add pre-turn semantic context injection to Layer 0.5| Stage | Duration | Setup Time | Cost/day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trident Lite | Indefinite | 30 min | $0–$1.44 |
| + Semantic Recall | When >50K msgs | 1 hour | +$0 (Docker) |
| + VPS Backup | When deployed | 15 min | $0 (included) |
Start with Lite. Upgrade components as your agent grows.
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
| README.md | This file. Overview and getting started. |
| SKILL.md | Core architecture guide + full implementation checklist. |
references/trident-lite.md |
Start here. No-Docker setup for all platforms. |
references/deployment-guide.md |
Semantic Recall (Qdrant/FalkorDB) + Git backup setup. |
references/cost-calculator.md |
Model selection, interval tuning, detailed pricing. |
references/platform-guide.md |
Windows, Mac, Linux, VPS platform-specific commands. |
scripts/migrate-existing-memory.sh |
Safe migration from existing memory files. |
scripts/template-integrity-check.sh |
SHA256 security verification for Layer 0.5. |
scripts/layer0-agent-prompt-template.md |
Customizable signal router prompt. |
Most memory systems focus on search (vector databases, embeddings). Trident focuses on curation.
Layer 0.5 acts like a personal librarian — classifying signals and routing them to semantic buckets. The result is memory that's not just searchable, but organized, meaningful, and personality-aware.
Your agent doesn't just remember facts. It develops an identity.
- GitHub: ShivaClaw/shiva-memory
- ClawHub: shivaclaw/project-trident
- Discord: #project-trident
MIT-0 — Free to use, modify, and redistribute. No attribution required.
Like a lobster shell, memory has layers. Make them durable. Make them yours.