OpenClaw - HydraDB SDK

Quick Start

Install the plugin

openclaw plugins install @hydradb/openclaw

Requires OpenClaw 2026.1.29 or later. Run openclaw --version to check.

Get credentials

Create an API key from the HydraDB dashboard
Create or copy your tenant ID from the HydraDB dashboard

Run interactive onboarding (recommended)

# Basic onboarding
openclaw hydra onboard

# Advanced onboarding
openclaw hydra onboard --advanced

The wizard writes credentials to plugins.entries.openclaw.config inside your OpenClaw settings file.

Restart OpenClaw gateway

openclaw gateway restart

The onboarding wizard auto-detects your config path using OpenClaw’s normal resolution order. Manual path selection is usually not needed.

Config path resolution order

$OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH (if set)
$OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR/openclaw.json (if set)
$OPENCLAW_HOME/.openclaw/openclaw.json (if set)
Default path by OS:
- macOS/Linux: ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
- Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.openclaw\openclaw.json

Manual Configuration

If you prefer not to use the onboarding wizard, configure credentials directly. Two required values: your API key and Tenant ID. Environment variables (recommended for secrets):

macOS/Linux (bash or zsh)
Windows (PowerShell)

export HYDRA_OPENCLAW_API_KEY="your-api-key"
export HYDRA_OPENCLAW_TENANT_ID="your-tenant-id"

[System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("HYDRA_OPENCLAW_API_KEY", "your-api-key", "User")
[System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("HYDRA_OPENCLAW_TENANT_ID", "your-tenant-id", "User")

Or set them directly in your OpenClaw settings file:

macOS/Linux
Windows

~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

%USERPROFILE%\.openclaw\openclaw.json

{
  "plugins": {
    "entries": {
      "openclaw": {
        "enabled": true,
        "config": {
          "apiKey": "${HYDRA_OPENCLAW_API_KEY}",
          "tenantId": "${HYDRA_OPENCLAW_TENANT_ID}"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

After any config change, restart the gateway so the plugin reloads:

openclaw gateway restart

Configuration Options

Key	Type	Default	Description
`subTenantId`	`string`	`"hydra-openclaw-plugin"`	Sub-tenant for data partitioning within your tenant
`autoRecall`	`boolean`	`true`	Inject relevant memories before every AI turn
`autoCapture`	`boolean`	`true`	Store conversation exchanges after every AI turn
`maxRecallResults`	`number`	`10`	Max memory chunks injected into context per turn
`recallMode`	`string`	`"fast"`	`"fast"` for low latency; `"thinking"` for deeper graph-traversal recall
`graphContext`	`boolean`	`true`	Include knowledge graph relations in recalled context
`ignoreTerm`	`string`	`"hydra-ignore"`	Messages containing this string are excluded from recall and capture
`debug`	`boolean`	`false`	Verbose debug logs

How It Works

Auto-Recall - Before every AI turn, queries HydraDB (POST /recall/recall_preferences) for relevant memories and injects graph-enriched context: entity paths, chunk relations, and linked extra context.
Auto-Capture - After every AI turn, the last user/assistant exchange is sent to HydraDB (POST /memories/add_memory) with infer: true and upsert: true. The session ID is used as source_id so HydraDB groups exchanges per session and builds the knowledge graph automatically.

Slash Commands

Command	Description
`/hydra-onboard`	Show current configuration status
`/hydra-remember <text>`	Save something to HydraDB memory
`/hydra-recall <query>`	Search memories with relevance scores
`/hydra-list`	List all stored user memories
`/hydra-delete <id>`	Delete a specific memory by its ID
`/hydra-get <source_id>`	Fetch the full content of a source

AI Tools

Tool	Description
`hydra_store`	Save the recent conversation history to HydraDB as memory
`hydra_search`	Search HydraDB memories (returns graph-enriched context)
`hydra_list_memories`	List all stored user memories (IDs and summaries)
`hydra_get_content`	Fetch full content for a specific `source_id`
`hydra_delete_memory`	Delete a memory by `memory_id` - use only on explicit request

CLI Reference

openclaw hydra onboard             # Interactive onboarding wizard
openclaw hydra onboard --advanced  # Advanced onboarding wizard
openclaw hydra search <query>      # Search memories
openclaw hydra list                # List all user memories
openclaw hydra delete <id>         # Delete a memory
openclaw hydra get <source_id>     # Fetch source content
openclaw hydra status              # Show plugin configuration

Context Injection

Recalled context is injected inside <hydra-context> tags containing:

Entity Paths - Knowledge graph paths connecting entities relevant to the query
Context Chunks - Retrieved memory chunks with source titles, graph relations, and linked extra context

Troubleshooting

`Not configured. Run openclaw hydra onboard`

The plugin is enabled but credentials are missing. Run:

openclaw hydra onboard
openclaw gateway restart

CLI says a command is unknown

The gateway needs to reload plugin commands after installation or config changes:

openclaw gateway restart

Source & Show Support

If this HydraDB plugin makes your OpenClaw workflow smarter, please star the open-source repos that power it.