Migrate from Hermes or OpenClaw

Migrate from Hermes or OpenClaw

Outcome: Your existing Hermes or OpenClaw config, env, and (optionally) memory + skills are copied into ~/.gormes, reviewed first as a redacted manifest.

Prerequisites: An existing ~/.hermes or ~/.openclaw directory. gormes installed.

Steps

1. Dry-run the migration

   gormes migrate hermes --dry-run --source ~/.hermes

   For OpenClaw use either spelling — they map to the same code path:

   gormes migrate openclaw --dry-run --source ~/.openclaw
   gormes claw migrate --dry-run --source ~/.openclaw

   The manifest prints every source key, the destination it would write, and any conflicts. No files are written.

2. Review conflicts Look for rows flagged conflict. Decide whether to overwrite the existing Gormes value (--overwrite) or leave it alone.

3. Apply the manifest

   gormes migrate hermes --yes --source ~/.hermes

   For OpenClaw, add --secrets if you want to import secret env values (without it, secret rows are reported as secret_skipped):

   gormes migrate openclaw --yes --secrets --source ~/.openclaw

4. Archive leftover OpenClaw directories (optional)

   gormes migrate openclaw cleanup --dry-run
   gormes migrate openclaw cleanup --yes

   Old ~/.openclaw, ~/.clawdbot, and ~/.moltbot directories are renamed to .pre-migration variants — not deleted.

Verify

gormes config show
gormes setup --quick --non-interactive

Expected: the provider/model/endpoint from the source agent appear in config show; setup reports no missing required terminal setup.

Troubleshooting

• --dry-run and --yes are mutually exclusive → Run one at a time.
• Conflict rows blocking apply → Re-run with --overwrite after confirming you want to replace existing Gormes values.
• --dest ignored → --dest defaults to GormesHome. Set it explicitly only when targeting an unusual location.

See also

• Switch profiles for client work — keep migrated state in its own profile.
• Diagnose a broken install