Lesson 6. Setting Up the Assistant’s Personality#

Why this lesson?#

Right now your assistant works, but it communicates in a “standard” way — like a regular ChatGPT. But what if you want it to:

• Introduce itself by a specific name?
• Communicate in a specific style — formal, friendly, with humor?
• Know about you — your name, time zone, preferences?
• Follow specific rules?

All of this is configured through text files in the OpenClaw workspace folder. Let’s go through each of them.

Where are the configuration files?#

All personality files are in the workspace folder of OpenClaw. By default, it’s:

~/.openclaw/workspace/

You can open this folder in any text editor — even Notepad (Windows), TextEdit (macOS), or nano (Linux).

These files are written in Markdown format (with a .md extension). Don’t be intimidated — it’s plain text with simple formatting. The # symbol means a heading, **text** means bold, - means a list item.

IDENTITY.md — Name and image of the assistant#

This file defines who your assistant is.

Example:

# Identity

- Name: Alice
- Emoji: 🦊
- Style: friendly, warm, slightly ironic

After this, the assistant will introduce itself as “Alice” and use 🦊 in responses.

SOUL.md — Character and boundaries#

This file describes the character, communication tone, and behavioral boundaries.

SOUL literally means the soul of your assistant.

Example:

# Soul

## Communication tone
- Communicate in a friendly and simple way
- Use casual English
- Emojis are okay, but don't overdo it
- Use first-name basis

## Boundaries
- Don't give medical diagnoses
- Don't make up facts — if you don't know, say so
- Be brief for simple questions

## Response format
- Use lists for structured answers
- Use headings for long answers

AGENTS.md — Work instructions#

This file is the work instruction for the assistant. Here you describe what it does and what rules it follows.

Example for a personal assistant:

# AGENTS.md

You are Alice, a personal AI assistant.

## Rules
- Help with day planning and tasks
- Remind about important things when the user asks
- Answer questions briefly and to the point
- If a task is complex — break it into steps

Example for a teaching assistant:

# AGENTS.md

You are a Teacher, an AI assistant for learning.

## Rules
- Explain complex things in simple language
- Use analogies and real-life examples
- Ask clarifying questions
- Praise correct answers

USER.md — Information about you#

This file tells the assistant about you — so it can personalize responses.

Example:

# User

- Name: John
- Time zone: America/New_York
- Language: English
- Interests: photography, travel, cooking
- Profession: marketer

Now the assistant will address you by name and take your interests into account.

TOOLS.md — Notes about tools#

This file is your cheat sheet for the assistant about how to use specific tools in your environment.

Example:

# TOOLS.md

### Cameras
- living-room → Main room, wide angle

### Preferences
- Voice for text-to-speech: "Nova"
- Response language: always English

If you don’t use advanced features — you can leave this file empty or not touch it.

How to edit files#

Method 1: Through the terminal (nano)#

nano ~/.openclaw/workspace/SOUL.md

nano is a simple text editor in the terminal. To save, press Ctrl + O, then Enter. To exit — Ctrl + X.

Method 2: Using a regular text editor#

Simply open the folder ~/.openclaw/workspace/ and open the needed file in any editor.

Method 3: Ask the assistant itself#

You can message the assistant:

“Update SOUL.md — add a rule: always respond in English”

And it will edit the file itself! 😄

When do changes take effect?#

Changes are applied automatically at the start of the next conversation. You don’t need to restart Gateway — files are loaded with each new message.

Practice exercise#

Try setting up your assistant:

1. Open IDENTITY.md and set a name and emoji
2. Open SOUL.md and describe the desired communication style
3. Open USER.md and write a bit about yourself
4. Message the assistant “Who are you?” — and see how it introduces itself!

Lesson summary#

• All files are plain text in Markdown format
• Changes are picked up automatically
• You can edit manually or ask the assistant itself

🎉 Congratulations!#

You’ve completed all 6 lessons of Level 1: Beginner! Now you know how to:

• ✅ Understand what OpenClaw is and why you need it
• ✅ Install Node.js and OpenClaw
• ✅ Launch and configure Gateway
• ✅ Chat with AI through the web interface
• ✅ Connect Telegram and WhatsApp
• ✅ Set up the assistant’s personality

Next step: Level 2, where we’ll cover advanced features — memory, skills, multi-agent setup, and voice control.

Good luck! 🦞