Tutorial
Document AI: OpenClaw can read, write, search, and organize your documents—turning file management into a conversational experience.
File Access Capabilities
OpenClaw can interact with your file system through:
- Read operations: Read file contents for analysis
- Write operations: Create and modify documents
- Search: Find files by name or content
- Organization: Move, copy, and organize files
Configuring File Access
Set Allowed Directories
openclaw config set files.allowed_dirs="/home/user/Documents,/home/user/Projects"
openclaw config set files.read_only=true # For safety
Enable File Commands
openclaw config set files.commands_enabled=true
File Commands in Chat
Reading Files
Simply ask OpenClaw to read a file:
"Read the file notes.txt and summarize it"
Writing Files
"Create a file called agenda.md with meeting notes from today"
Searching Files
"Find all files containing the word 'deadline' in my Documents folder"
Document Processing
Supported Formats
- Text files (.txt, .md, .csv)
- Code files (.js, .py, .ts, etc.)
- JSON and YAML
- PDF (with additional skill)
- Word documents (with additional skill)
Batch Processing
"Summarize all markdown files in the current directory"
Security Considerations
- Restrict access to specific directories
- Use read-only mode unless write access is needed
- Avoid sensitive files in allowed directories
- Review file operations in logs regularly
Best Practices
- Organize files in dedicated project folders
- Use descriptive filenames for better search
- Set up separate file access rules for different agents
- Regularly review file access logs