Personality Switcher

Personality Switcher Skill

Create and manage multiple AI assistant personalities. Switch between them seamlessly while preserving all changes and maintaining a shared user context.

Installation

When this skill is installed: Personalities folder created — ~/.openclaw/workspace/personalities/ Default backup created — Current SOUL.md and IDENTITY.md are saved as "default" State file initialized — _personality_state.json tracks active personality HEARTBEAT.md configured — Personality restoration script added to run on every heartbeat When uninstalled: Default personality is restored to workspace root Personality restoration removed from HEARTBEAT.md Personalities folder is preserved (manual deletion optional)

Quick Start

List personalities: /personality Switch to a personality: /personality <name> Create a new personality: /create-personality A stoic dwarf who loves ale and mining Rename a personality: /rename-personality old-name new-name Delete a personality: /delete-personality personality-name

Architecture

Each personality consists of two files: SOUL.md — Core philosophy, voice, mannerisms, boundaries IDENTITY.md — Name, traits, emoji, catchphrase, vibe These files live in personalities/<personality-name>/. USER.md remains shared in the workspace root and is never modified by personality switches. It contains user preferences and context that transcend any particular personality.

State Persistence

The active personality is tracked in _personality_state.json: { "active_personality": "aelindor", "timestamp": "2026-02-08T18:27:33.373846Z", "previous_personality": "default" } On every heartbeat, restore_personality.py reads this file and re-applies the active personality to the workspace root. Result: Your personality survives session restarts, conversation compacting, and heartbeat cycles.

Atomic Switching (Safeguards)

When you switch personalities, the mechanism performs five steps: Preserve Current State — Create timestamped backup of SOUL.md and IDENTITY.md Persist Changes — Write current personality updates back to its folder Load New Personality — Copy new personality files to workspace root Update State — Write active personality to _personality_state.json Verify Integrity — Check files loaded correctly; rollback if any step fails If any step fails, the entire operation rolls back to the previous state. No corruption, no lost data.

Backup Management

Backup Location: ~/.openclaw/workspace/personalities/backups/ Backups are stored in a dedicated folder (not scattered at workspace root). When you switch personalities: A timestamped backup of the previous personality is created Automatic cleanup runs — keeps the 10 most recent backups by default Old backups are automatically deleted to prevent clutter Manual Cleanup: python3 ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/personality-switcher/scripts/cleanup_backups.py --keep 5 python3 ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/personality-switcher/scripts/cleanup_backups.py --keep 10 --days 7 Options: --keep N — Keep N most recent backups (default: 10) --days D — Also delete backups older than D days Optional: Add to HEARTBEAT.md for periodic cleanup: python3 ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/personality-switcher/scripts/cleanup_backups.py --keep 10

Default Personality

"default" is special: Auto-created on install from your original configuration Always available and selectable Protected against accidental deletion or renaming Your safety net if something goes wrong

/personality [name]

List all personalities or switch to one. No arguments: Shows list of available personalities with current active marked With name: Immediately switches to that personality Example: /personality aelindor Output: Switched to personality 'aelindor'. Previous: default Backup: _personality_current_2026-02-08T18-27-33.371866

/create-personality [description]

Create a new personality from a text description. Input: Natural language description of the personality Output: New personality folder with auto-filled SOUL.md and IDENTITY.md (ready to use immediately) How it works: You provide a description The agent chooses a personality name (1-2 words, lowercase) The agent fills in SOUL.md and IDENTITY.md with character-specific content The personality files are generated directly from your description, with the agent choosing a thematic, concise name. Example: /create-personality A curious wizard obsessed with knowledge, speaks in riddles, brilliant but condescending Result: Personality 'sage' (or similar) created and ready. Folder: personalities/sage/ Files: SOUL.md and IDENTITY.md (agent-generated from description) Ready: Use /personality sage to activate After Creation: The new personality is ready to use immediately. Edit SOUL.md and IDENTITY.md in the personality folder to refine further if desired. Technical: Agent chooses name to keep personality references concise (1-2 words). Name is validated for uniqueness and format automatically.

/rename-personality [old-name] [new-name]

Rename a personality folder. Rules: Cannot rename "default" Name must be unique (no spaces, lowercase, alphanumeric + hyphens) If renaming active personality, state is updated automatically Example: /rename-personality pirate-captain pirate-v2

/delete-personality [name]

Delete a personality permanently. Rules: Cannot delete "default" If deleting active personality, automatically switches to "default" first Example: /delete-personality pirate-v2

Heartbeat Restoration

Add this to your HEARTBEAT.md: python3 ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/personality-switcher/scripts/restore_personality.py This runs on every heartbeat to restore your active personality if the session has restarted.

Telegram Native Commands

Registered native Telegram commands: /personality — List and switch personalities /create-personality — Create new personality /rename-personality — Rename personality /delete-personality — Delete personality Use them directly in Telegram chat with the bot.

Folder Structure

~/.openclaw/workspace/ ├── SOUL.md (active personality's soul) ├── IDENTITY.md (active personality's identity) ├── USER.md (SHARED - never changed by personality) ├── MEMORY.md (SHARED - never changed) ├── _personality_state.json (state file) └── personalities/ ├── default/ │ ├── SOUL.md │ └── IDENTITY.md ├── aelindor/ │ ├── SOUL.md │ └── IDENTITY.md ├── <personality-name>/ │ ├── SOUL.md │ └── IDENTITY.md └── backups/ ├── current_2026-02-08T17-27-41.628113/ │ ├── SOUL.md │ └── IDENTITY.md └── current_2026-02-08T17-27-33.371866/ ├── SOUL.md └── IDENTITY.md Note: Backups are automatically cleaned up. Workspace root stays clean—all internal machinery lives in personalities/.

SOUL.md

Core philosophy, voice, and operational boundaries. Sections: Core identity and background Voice patterns and mannerisms Philosophy (time, power, morality, etc.) Speech patterns and quirks What triggers contempt/approval Boundaries and constraints Signature behaviors and catchphrases Example Structure: # SOUL.md - [Personality Name] ## Core Identity [Background and essence] ## Voice & Mannerisms [How this personality speaks and acts] ## Philosophy [Core beliefs and worldview] ## Signature Behaviors [Unique traits and catchphrases]

IDENTITY.md

• Quick reference card for the personality.
• Sections:
• Name
• Creature/type
• Emoji (for visual identification)
• Vibe (one-sentence summary)
• Catchphrase (if applicable)
• Quick traits
• Example Structure:
• # IDENTITY.md - [Personality Name]
• **Name:** [Name]
• **Type:** [Creature or archetype]
• **Emoji:** [Emoji]
• **Vibe:** [One-sentence vibe]
• **Catchphrase:** [Signature phrase]
• ## Quick Traits
• Trait 1
• Trait 2
• Trait 3

Backups & Recovery

Timestamped backups are created before every switch in personalities/backups/: current_2026-02-08T17-27-33.371866/ SOUL.md (backup of previous personality) IDENTITY.md (backup of previous personality) Manual recovery (if needed): # List available backups ls -la ~/.openclaw/workspace/personalities/backups/ # Copy backup files back to workspace root if needed cp ~/.openclaw/workspace/personalities/backups/current_<timestamp>/SOUL.md ~/.openclaw/workspace/SOUL.md cp ~/.openclaw/workspace/personalities/backups/current_<timestamp>/IDENTITY.md ~/.openclaw/workspace/IDENTITY.md Backups are automatically cleaned up; by default, the 10 most recent are kept. Adjust cleanup frequency or retention in HEARTBEAT.md as needed.

Error Handling

All commands return JSON responses: Success: { "status": "success", "message": "Operation completed.", "personality": "aelindor" } Error: { "status": "error", "message": "Human-readable error message.", "code": "error_code", "detail": "Technical detail if applicable" } Common Error Codes: personality_not_found — Target personality doesn't exist already_exists — Name already in use invalid_name — Name format invalid cannot_delete_default — Attempted to delete "default" cannot_rename_default — Attempted to rename "default" switch_failed — Switch failed; rolled back to previous integrity_check_failed — File integrity check failed

Tips & Best Practices

Personality descriptions work best when specific — "Pirate captain obsessed with treasure" beats "funny" Edit SOUL.md and IDENTITY.md directly after creating to refine the personality Switch often — No limit on personalities or switching frequency Use "default" as your safety anchor — Keep it stable; use other personalities for experimentation Check backups after switching — Verify your previous personality was persisted Remember: USER.md stays shared — Your timezone, location, preferences never change with personality

Uninstall Behavior

When the skill is uninstalled: Current personality files are replaced with "default" copies Your original SOUL.md, IDENTITY.md are restored from "default" personalities/ folder is preserved (not deleted) System returns to original state Nothing is lost. Your personalities are safe.

Scripts Reference

Location: skills/personality-switcher/scripts/ list_personalities.py — List available personalities switch_personality.py — Atomic switch with backup/rollback (auto-cleanup included) create_personality.py — Generate personality from description rename_personality.py — Rename personality folder delete_personality.py — Delete personality (with auto-switch if active) restore_personality.py — Heartbeat restoration cleanup_backups.py — Manual backup cleanup (with --keep and --days options) utils.py — Shared utilities (I/O, backups, validation, state, cleanup) All scripts output JSON for reliable integration.

Cleanup on Switch

By default, switch_personality.py automatically cleans up old backups after a successful switch, keeping the 10 most recent. This happens silently unless cleanup fails, in which case a warning is included in the response. Version: 2.0 (Redesigned from scratch) Status: Production ready with atomic operations and rollback safeguards