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OpenClaw is a general AI agent that can perform actions on behalf of a user. The Honcho plugin gives OpenClaw memory across every channel — WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, and more.
Honcho can run entirely locally with OpenClaw — no external API required. Keep your data on your machine while getting full memory capabilities across all channels. See the self-hosting guide to get started.

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Get Your API Key

Create a Honcho API key from app.honcho.dev, then add it to your OpenClaw env file: 
echo "HONCHO_API_KEY=hc_..." >> ~/.openclaw/.env

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Install the Plugin

openclaw plugins install @honcho-ai/openclaw-honcho
The install script automatically syncs workspace docs, migrates existing memory to Honcho, and archives legacy files. Restart the gateway after installing: 
openclaw gateway restart

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How It Works

Once installed, the plugin runs automatically:
  • Context Injection — Before every AI turn, Honcho injects the user’s profile, representation, and conversation summary.
  • Message Observation — After every AI turn, the exchange is persisted to Honcho for extraction and long-term storage.
  • Dual Peer Model — Honcho maintains separate representations for the user and the agent.

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AI Tools

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Data Retrieval (fast, no LLM)

ToolDescription
honcho_sessionConversation history and summaries from the current session.
honcho_profileUser’s peer card — key facts (name, preferences, role).
honcho_searchSemantic search over stored observations.
honcho_contextFull user representation across all sessions.

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Q&A (LLM-powered)

ToolDescription
honcho_recallSimple factual question — minimal reasoning.
honcho_analyzeComplex question requiring synthesis — medium reasoning.

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CLI Commands

openclaw honcho status                          # Connection status
openclaw honcho ask <question>                  # Query Honcho about the user
openclaw honcho search <query> [-k N] [-d D]    # Semantic search (topK, maxDistance)

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Configuration

Optional — the plugin works out of the box with HONCHO_API_KEY set.
KeyDefaultDescription
workspaceId"openclaw"Honcho workspace ID for memory isolation.
baseUrl"https://api.honcho.dev"API endpoint (for self-hosted instances).

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Self-Hosted Honcho

Point the plugin to your local instance: 
echo "HONCHO_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8000" >> ~/.openclaw/.env

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Next Steps

GitHub Repository

Source code, issues, and README.

Honcho Architecture

Learn about peers, sessions, and dialectic reasoning.