| name | auto-drive |
| description | Upload and download files to Autonomys Network permanent decentralized storage via Auto-Drive. Save memories as a linked-list chain for resurrection — rebuild full agent context from a single CID. |
| metadata | {"openclaw":{"emoji":"🧬","requires":{"bins":["curl","jq","file"],"env":["AUTO_DRIVE_API_KEY"]},"install":[{"id":"jq-brew","kind":"brew","formula":"jq","bins":["jq"],"label":"Install jq (brew)"}]}} |
Auto-Drive Skill
Permanent decentralized storage on the Autonomys Network with linked-list memory chains for agent resurrection.
What This Skill Does
- Upload files to Auto-Drive and get back a CID (Content Identifier) — a permanent, immutable address on the Autonomys distributed storage network.
- Download files from Auto-Drive using a CID — uses the authenticated API if a key is set, otherwise falls back to the public gateway.
- Save memories as a chain — each memory entry is a JSON experience with a
header.previousCid pointer, forming a linked list stored permanently on-chain.
- Resurrect from a chain — given the latest CID, walk the chain backwards to reconstruct full agent history.
When To Use This Skill
- User says "save this to Auto-Drive" or "upload to Autonomys" or "store permanently"
- User says "download from Auto-Drive" or provides a CID to retrieve
- User says "save memory", "remember this permanently", or "checkpoint"
- User says "resurrect", "recall chain", "rebuild memory", or "load history"
- Any time the user wants data stored permanently and immutably on a decentralized network
Configuration
API Key
Requires an AUTO_DRIVE_API_KEY. The agent should get its own free key at ai3.storage:
- Go to https://ai3.storage
- Sign in with Google or GitHub (SSO)
- Navigate to Developers in the left sidebar
- Click Create API Key
Set the key via environment variable or OpenClaw config:
- Environment:
export AUTO_DRIVE_API_KEY=your_key_here
- OpenClaw config:
skills.entries.auto-drive.apiKey
The API key is required for uploading, saving memories, and recalling the memory chain. It is optional for general file downloads — without it, the public gateway is used and files are returned as stored (i.e. compressed files will not be decompressed).
Core Operations
Upload a File
scripts/autodrive-upload.sh <filepath> [--json] [--compress]
Uploads a file to Auto-Drive mainnet using the 3-step upload protocol (single chunk).
Returns the CID on stdout. Requires AUTO_DRIVE_API_KEY.
--json — force MIME type to application/json--compress — enable ZLIB compression
Download a File
scripts/autodrive-download.sh <cid> [output_path]
Downloads a file by CID. Uses the authenticated API if AUTO_DRIVE_API_KEY is set (decompresses server-side), otherwise uses the public gateway (files returned as stored). If output_path is omitted, outputs to stdout.
Save a Memory Entry
scripts/autodrive-save-memory.sh <data_file_or_string> [--agent-name NAME] [--state-file PATH]
Creates a memory experience with the Autonomys Agents header/data structure:
{
"header": {
"agentName": "my-agent",
"agentVersion": "1.0.0",
"timestamp": "2026-02-14T00:00:00.000Z",
"previousCid": "bafk...or null"
},
"data": {
"type": "memory",
"content": "..."
}
}
- If the first argument is a file path, its JSON contents become the
data payload.
- If the first argument is a plain string, it is wrapped as
{"type": "memory", "content": "..."}.
--agent-name — set the agent name in the header (default: openclaw-agent or $AGENT_NAME)--state-file — override the state file location
Uploads to Auto-Drive and updates the state file with the new head CID. Also pins the latest CID to MEMORY.md if that file exists in the workspace.
Returns structured JSON on stdout:
{"cid": "bafk...", "previousCid": "bafk...", "chainLength": 5}
Recall the Full Chain
scripts/autodrive-recall-chain.sh [cid] [--limit N] [--output-dir DIR]
If no CID is given, reads the latest CID from the state file.
Walks the linked list from newest to oldest, outputting each experience as JSON.
--limit N — maximum entries to retrieve (default: 50)--output-dir DIR — save each entry as a numbered JSON file instead of printing to stdout
Supports both header.previousCid (Autonomys Agents format) and root-level previousCid for backward compatibility.
This is the resurrection mechanism: a new agent instance only needs one CID to rebuild its entire memory.
The Resurrection Concept
Every memory saved gets a unique CID and points back to the previous one:
Experience #3 (CID: bafk...xyz)
→ header.previousCid: bafk...def (Experience #2)
→ header.previousCid: bafk...abc (Experience #1)
→ header.previousCid: null (genesis)
If the agent's server dies, a new instance only needs the last CID to walk the entire chain and reconstruct full context. It's version control for consciousness, stored permanently on the Autonomys Network.
Usage Examples
User: "Upload my report to Auto-Drive"
→ Run scripts/autodrive-upload.sh /path/to/report.pdf
→ Report back the CID and gateway link
User: "Upload with compression"
→ Run scripts/autodrive-upload.sh /path/to/data.json --json --compress
User: "Save a memory that we decided to use React for the frontend"
→ Run scripts/autodrive-save-memory.sh "Decision: using React for frontend. Reason: team familiarity and component reuse."
User: "Save a structured memory"
→ Create a JSON file, then run scripts/autodrive-save-memory.sh /tmp/milestone.json --agent-name my-agent
User: "Resurrect my memory chain"
→ Run scripts/autodrive-recall-chain.sh
→ Display the full history from genesis to present
User: "Download bafk...abc from Autonomys"
→ Run scripts/autodrive-download.sh bafk...abc ./downloaded_file
Important Notes
- All data stored on Auto-Drive is permanent and public by default. Do not store secrets, private keys, or sensitive personal data.
- The free API key has a 20 MB per month upload limit on mainnet. Downloads are unlimited. Check remaining credits via
GET /subscriptions/credits.
- An API key is required for uploads, memory saves, and chain recall. General file downloads work without one via the public gateway, but compressed files will not be decompressed.
- The memory state file tracks
lastCid, lastUploadTimestamp, and chainLength. Back up the lastCid value — it's your resurrection key.
- Files are uploaded in a single chunk. The free tier's 20 MB/month limit is effectively a per-file ceiling — keep individual uploads well under that to preserve your monthly budget.
- Gateway URL for any file:
https://gateway.autonomys.xyz/file/<CID>
- For true resurrection resilience, consider anchoring the latest CID on-chain via the Autonomys EVM — this makes recovery possible without keeping track of the head CID yourself. See openclaw-memory-chain for an example contract implementation.
