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OpenClaw imports local Claude state through the bundled Claude migration provider. The provider previews every item before changing state, redacts secrets in plans and reports, and creates a verified backup before apply.
Onboarding imports require a fresh OpenClaw setup. If you already have local OpenClaw state, reset config, credentials, sessions, and the workspace first, or use openclaw migrate directly with --overwrite after reviewing the plan.

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Two ways to import

The wizard offers Claude when it detects local Claude state.
openclaw onboard --flow import
Or point at a specific source:
openclaw onboard --import-from claude --import-source ~/.claude

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What gets imported

  • Project CLAUDE.md and .claude/CLAUDE.md content is copied or appended into the OpenClaw agent workspace AGENTS.md.
  • User ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md content is appended into workspace USER.md.
MCP server definitions are imported from project .mcp.json, Claude Code ~/.claude.json, and Claude Desktop claude_desktop_config.json when present.
  • Claude skills with a SKILL.md file are copied into the OpenClaw workspace skills directory.
  • Claude command Markdown files under .claude/commands/ or ~/.claude/commands/ are converted into OpenClaw skills with disable-model-invocation: true.

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What stays archive-only

The provider copies these into the migration report for manual review, but does not load them into live OpenClaw config:
  • Claude hooks
  • Claude permissions and broad tool allowlists
  • Claude environment defaults
  • CLAUDE.local.md
  • .claude/rules/
  • Claude subagents under .claude/agents/ or ~/.claude/agents/
  • Claude Code caches, plans, and project history directories
  • Claude Desktop extensions and OS-stored credentials
OpenClaw refuses to execute hooks, trust permission allowlists, or decode opaque OAuth and Desktop credential state automatically. Move what you need by hand after reviewing the archive.

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Source selection

Without --from, OpenClaw inspects the default Claude Code home at ~/.claude, the sampled Claude Code ~/.claude.json state file, and the Claude Desktop MCP config on macOS. When --from points at a project root, OpenClaw imports only that project’s Claude files such as CLAUDE.md, .claude/settings.json, .claude/commands/, .claude/skills/, and .mcp.json. It does not read your global Claude home during a project-root import.
1

Preview the plan

openclaw migrate claude --dry-run
The plan lists everything that will change, including conflicts, skipped items, and sensitive values redacted from nested MCP env or headers fields.
2

Apply with backup

openclaw migrate apply claude --yes
OpenClaw creates and verifies a backup before applying.
3

Run doctor

openclaw doctor
Doctor checks for config or state issues after the import.
4

Restart and verify

openclaw gateway restart
openclaw status
Confirm the gateway is healthy and your imported instructions, MCP servers, and skills are loaded.

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Conflict handling

Apply refuses to continue when the plan reports conflicts (a file or config value already exists at the target).
Rerun with --overwrite only when replacing the existing target is intentional. Providers may still write item-level backups for overwritten files in the migration report directory.
For a fresh OpenClaw install, conflicts are unusual. They typically appear when you re-run the import on a setup that already has user edits.

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JSON output for automation

openclaw migrate claude --dry-run --json
openclaw migrate apply claude --json --yes
With --json and no --yes, apply prints the plan and does not mutate state. This is the safest mode for CI and shared scripts.

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Troubleshooting

Pass --from /actual/path (CLI) or --import-source /actual/path (onboarding).
Onboarding imports require a fresh setup. Either reset state and re-onboard, or use openclaw migrate apply claude directly, which supports --overwrite and explicit backup control.
Claude Desktop reads claude_desktop_config.json from a platform-specific path. Point --from at that file’s directory if OpenClaw did not detect it automatically.
By design. Claude commands are user-triggered, so OpenClaw imports them as skills with disable-model-invocation: true. Edit each skill’s frontmatter if you want the agent to invoke them automatically.