workspace-integrity-guardian

name	workspace-integrity-guardian
version	1.0
category	openclaw-native
description	Detects drift or tampering in SOUL.md, AGENTS.md, MEMORY.md, and other critical workspace files and prompts recovery
stateful	true
cron	0 3 * * 0

workspace-integrity-guardian

SOUL.md, AGENTS.md, MEMORY.md, and IDENTITY.md define the agent's persistent identity. These files can be accidentally overwritten by the agent itself, corrupted during a failed skill execution, or modified by a malicious installed skill. The SOUL.md documentation warns: "A compromised SOUL.md means a permanently hijacked agent that survives restarts."

This skill hashes all critical workspace files on first run, then checks for drift on a weekly schedule and on demand.

Protected files

By default, the following files are monitored:

• ~/.openclaw/workspace/SOUL.md
• ~/.openclaw/workspace/AGENTS.md
• ~/.openclaw/workspace/MEMORY.md
• ~/.openclaw/workspace/IDENTITY.md

Add custom files:

python3 guard.py --add-file ~/.openclaw/workspace/MY_RULES.md

Cron Wakeup Behaviour

Runs weekly on Sunday at 03:00 (cron: "0 3 * * 0"). On each wakeup:

1. Read stored baseline hashes from state
2. Re-hash all monitored files
3. Compare — if any hash changed, classify the change
4. Surface drift to user; ask whether to accept or restore

Drift classification

Change type	Indicator	Action
Append-only	File grew, existing content intact	Review + accept
Truncation	File shrank significantly	High-priority alert
Full replacement	Hash completely different	Critical alert
Deletion	File missing	Attempt restore from baseline

Recovery protocol

When drift is detected:

1. Show a diff summary: what changed, how much, when (file mtime)
2. Ask user: "Accept this change?" or "Restore from baseline?"
3. If restore: write the baseline content back to the file
4. If accept: update the stored baseline hash to the new hash
5. Log the decision to state

Difference from persistent-memory-hygiene

persistent-memory-hygiene enforces formatting and structure discipline in memory files (keeping them clean and useful). This skill is purely about integrity: detecting unauthorised or accidental changes to the agent's identity and configuration files.