OpenClaw Beginner 05 | Knowledge and Context

Goal: understand the role split between knowledge/ and MEMORY.md, and avoid context overflow.

1. Knowledge vs memory

Location	Stores	Usage
MEMORY.md	key decisions and distilled conclusions	evolves over time
knowledge/	durable references (SOPs, docs, reports)	reusable lookup base

Rule of thumb:

• knowledge/ = textbook
• MEMORY.md = strategic notes

2. Why this matters

Without a knowledge base, the assistant restarts from limited chat context.
With one, it can cite persistent sources and answer consistently.

3. Build your folder taxonomy

Suggested:

knowledge/
├── work/
├── people/
├── tech/
└── lessons/

4. Context overflow and the 60% rule

Context window is finite.
When usage exceeds ~60%:

1. archive key conclusions into files
2. continue in a new conversation

Archive first, then start fresh.

5. Monthly maintenance

• archive outdated files
• merge duplicates
• remove empty directories

Keep retrieval clean and fast.

6. Completion checklist

1. You can explain knowledge/ vs MEMORY.md
2. You stored and retrieved at least one knowledge entry
3. You can apply the 60% archive rule