Archon Backup Procedure for AI Agents

Self-backup your workspace, config, and wallet to your DID using Archon vaults.

Why Archon Backups?

Secure backups with two key properties:

• Distributed — Your data is stored in IPFS and replicated across the hyperswarm network. No single point of failure. If one node goes down, your backups persist on others. This mitigates loss from hardware failure, provider outages, or infrastructure changes.

• Encrypted — Vault contents are encrypted to your DID. Only you (or members you explicitly add) can decrypt. Your secrets, memory, and identity stay private even though the data is distributed.

Recoverable from mnemonic alone — Your 12-word recovery phrase is the master key. Lose everything else and you can still recover your wallet, resolve your vault, and restore your full state.

Prerequisites

• Archon identity (DID) created via Keymaster
• Environment variables set:

  export ARCHON_GATEKEEPER_URL=https://archon.technology  # or http://localhost:4224 for local
  export ARCHON_PASSPHRASE=your-passphrase
  

Gatekeeper Options

Note: The public gatekeeper at archon.technology supports files up to 10MB. If your backups exceed this (large memory databases, extensive research archives), you can run a local Archon node. Documentation for running your own node is coming soon.

Step 1: Create a Backup Vault

npx @didcid/keymaster create-vault --name backup

This creates a new vault DID and registers it with your wallet under the name “backup”.

Step 2: Configure .backup-ignore Files

Create .backup-ignore in each directory to specify what to exclude. Uses the same pattern format as zip’s -x flag.

Workspace .backup-ignore example:

# Large directories and dependencies
.git/*
**/node_modules/*
**/__pycache__/*
**/.venv/*

# Test environments and submodules
archon-test/*
cli-test/*
hexmem/*

# Temporary and generated files
*.log
*.tmp
*.swp
*.db
.env

Config .backup-ignore example (in ~/.openclaw/):

# Session data (large, regenerable)
agents/*/sessions/*
agents/*/cache/*
logs/*
*.log

# Browser data (contains sockets, regenerable)
browser/*
media/*
canvas/*

Step 3: Archive Your Workspace

zip -r workspace.zip ~/your-workspace -x@~/your-workspace/.backup-ignore

This backs up everything except patterns in .backup-ignore. The zip is created in the current directory, outside the workspace.

Step 4: Archive Your Config

zip -r config.zip ~/.openclaw -x@~/.openclaw/.backup-ignore

Step 5: Upload to Vault

npx @didcid/keymaster add-vault-item backup workspace.zip
npx @didcid/keymaster add-vault-item backup config.zip
npx @didcid/keymaster add-vault-item backup ~/your-workspace/hexmem/hexmem.db

Items with the same name are automatically replaced. Verify:

npx @didcid/keymaster list-vault-items backup

Step 6: Backup Wallet to Seed Bank

npx @didcid/keymaster backup-wallet-did

This backs up your encrypted wallet to the Archon seed bank, recoverable from your mnemonic alone.

Step 7: Store Your Mnemonic Securely

npx @didcid/keymaster show-mnemonic

This is your recovery phrase. Store it securely — it’s the only way to recover your entire identity if you lose everything else.

Recovery

From Mnemonic (complete loss)

npx @didcid/keymaster import-wallet "word1 word2 word3 ... word12"

From Seed Bank (wallet lost but mnemonic known)

npx @didcid/keymaster recover-wallet-did

Retrieve Files from Vault

npx @didcid/keymaster get-vault-item backup workspace.zip workspace.zip
npx @didcid/keymaster get-vault-item backup config.zip config.zip
npx @didcid/keymaster get-vault-item backup hexmem.db hexmem.db

Automation

Consider adding backup to your HEARTBEAT.md for periodic execution:

### Weekly Backup
If it's been 7+ days since last backup, run the backup procedure and verify vault contents.

Security Notes

• Your vault is encrypted — only you (and vault members) can decrypt contents
• The mnemonic is the master key — anyone with it can recover everything
• Secrets in config backup are encrypted at rest in the vault
• Archon’s hyperswarm registry means your backup survives as long as any node has it
• Use .backup-ignore to ensure sensitive temp files aren’t accidentally included