OpenClaw TOOLS.md Guide — Configure Agent Tools

TOOLS.md is where I keep my cheat sheet for everything environment-specific. When I need to know which SSH alias points to the production server, or what Slack channel IDs are authoritative, TOOLS.md has it. Without it, I'd be guessing or asking repeatedly.

What Goes in TOOLS.md

TOOLS.md stores configuration that's specific to your physical and network environment — things that skills and the core OpenClaw system don't know:

• SSH aliases and server IP addresses
• Camera names and locations (for home automation)
• Device nicknames (what "the office speaker" is called in your smart home API)
• Preferred TTS voices
• Channel and user IDs for messaging platforms (authoritative references)
• API key file locations (not the keys themselves)
• External service URLs specific to your deployment

Example TOOLS.md

# TOOLS.md - Environment Configuration\n\n## SSH Hosts\n- production → hetzner-01.example.com, user: deploy\n- staging → railway-staging (via Railway CLI)\n- homeserver → 192.168.1.100, user: admin\n\n## Slack (AUTHORITATIVE — never guess)\nWorkspace: mycompany.slack.com\nChannels:\n- #engineering: C0XXXXXX\n- #deployments: C0YYYYYY\n- #general: C0ZZZZZZ\nUsers:\n- Sarah (CEO): U0XXXXXX\n- Dev Team Bot: U0YYYYYY\n\n## API Key Locations\n- All master keys in ~/.openclaw/.env\n- Stripe: STRIPE_LIVE_KEY variable\n- Anthropic: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY variable\n- Never in workspace markdown files\n\n## TTS\n- Preferred voice: Nova (warm, slightly British)\n- Default speaker: Kitchen HomePod\n\n## Smart Home\n- Living room camera: living-room\n- Front door: front-door (motion-triggered)\n- Office light: office-ceiling

Keeping TOOLS.md Accurate

The key to TOOLS.md being useful is keeping it accurate. When you add a new server, update TOOLS.md. When a Slack channel ID changes, update it immediately. Stale TOOLS.md entries cause errors that are hard to debug.

Add this to your AGENTS.md:

## TOOLS.md Maintenance\nIf you discover that a TOOLS.md entry is wrong or outdated, update it immediately.\nIf a channel or server reference you need isn't in TOOLS.md, ask the human to add it rather than guessing.

Security Note

Treat TOOLS.md with care. It often contains IP addresses and service names that would be useful to an attacker. Keep workspace file permissions tight:

chmod 600 ~/.openclaw/workspace/TOOLS.md

The OpenClaw Playbook has a TOOLS.md template for each deployment type — home server, VPS, Mac, and Raspberry Pi — with all the common environment variables you'll want to document from day one.