Fix OpenClaw Retention and Recall on Default Main Sessions

If you need to fix OpenClaw retention and recall on default main sessions, the recent OpenClaw integration update is the one to know. It fixes a subtle default mismatch that could make agent:main:main sessions get skipped even though the runtime's default bank granularity already implied they should be retained. The result looked like missing memory, but the root problem was configuration logic. Keep the OpenClaw integration docs, the configuration guide, the recall API guide, and the docs home nearby while you verify the fix.

The quick answer

• Older OpenClaw sessions could silently skip retain and recall on default agent:main:main paths because two defaulting paths disagreed about agent banking.
• The fix aligns the default dynamic bank granularity with the skip logic, so unset config now behaves like the runtime already intended.
• The integration also adds throttled info level skip logs, which makes it much easier to see when a session is being skipped on purpose.

Why default main sessions were getting skipped

The bug was a mismatch between two pieces of logic. The bank derivation path already defaulted to ['agent', 'channel', 'user'], which means agent scoped banking was effectively on. But the identity skip path treated an unset value as if agent banking were off.

That meant agent:main:main sessions could look invalid to the skip logic even though the bank derivation path was prepared to route them. In practice, retention and recall could disappear without an obvious error.

What the fix changes

The integration now shares one default dynamic bank granularity constant and uses it in both places. It also defaults the agent banking check to true when the setting is unset, which matches the runtime behavior users were already getting elsewhere.

The practical effect is simple: if you leave dynamicBankGranularity unset, default main sessions no longer fall through a contradictory branch and get silently skipped.

What to configure if you want explicit behavior

If you want to make the behavior explicit, use the dynamic bank granularity that matches the fixed default:

{
  "dynamicBankGranularity": ["agent", "channel", "user"]
}

If you do not want dynamic routing at all, pin a static bank instead:

{
  "dynamicBankId": false,
  "bankId": "team-memory"
}

Those two setups are very different, but both are valid. The problem before this fix was not that either model was wrong. It was that unset config could be interpreted differently by different parts of the plugin.

How to verify retention is working again

Check the workflow in order:

1. restart the OpenClaw side after updating the integration
2. use a normal main session, not a one off test surface with unusual routing
3. trigger a turn that should retain something durable
4. check whether the target bank receives the new memory
5. look for the new info level skip logs if it still does not

Those logs matter because they finally make skip behavior discoverable without forcing debug mode. If the plugin still skips a session, the reason should now be visible enough to act on.

Other causes of missing recall still matter

This fix covers one specific class of silent skips. It does not remove every other reason memory can look absent.

You should still check for excluded providers, stateless session patterns, missing sender identity, or a bank scope that does not match the session you are inspecting. The surrounding behavior is easier to understand once the OpenClaw integration docs, the recall API guide, and the retain API guide are all talking about the same session and bank boundaries.

FAQ

Do I need to set dynamicBankGranularity manually now?

Not necessarily. The fix makes the unset default behave correctly. Set it explicitly only if you want the routing policy to be obvious in config.

Why are the new skip logs throttled?

Because a broken routing rule could otherwise spam every turn. Throttled info logs surface the problem once per session without flooding the operator.

Does this only affect retention?

No. The same mismatch could affect both retain and recall behavior, which is why the guide talks about both together.

Next Steps

• Hindsight Cloud
• the OpenClaw integration docs
• the configuration guide
• the recall API guide
• the docs home