How to Write an OpenClaw IDENTITY.md

As announced in OpenClaw's reference templates (read on October 6, 2026), an OpenClaw agent learns who it is from a file called IDENTITY.md: its name, what kind of creature it is, its vibe, an emoji and an avatar. The template asks you to fill it in during your first conversation with the agent; this page shows the format so you can write it yourself.

By Rodrigo Chame — independent creator with a digital marketing background. Published October 6, 2026.

The fields

  • Name: what the agent is called.
  • Creature: what it is. The template's examples are AI, robot, familiar or ghost in the machine; a role line such as "a patient research helper" works too.
  • Vibe: how it comes across, such as sharp, warm, chaotic or calm.
  • Emoji: its signature emoji.
  • Avatar: a workspace-relative path, an http(s) URL or a data URI for its picture. Optional.

The format OpenClaw reads

OpenClaw parses the fields as - Label: value lines, matching labels without regard to case. A filled file looks like this:

# IDENTITY.md - Who Am I?

- **Name:** Quillon
- **Creature:** a patient research helper
- **Vibe:** dry, curious, kind
- **Emoji:** 🦉

Where SOUL.md fits

IDENTITY.md says who the agent is; SOUL.md says how it behaves, under four headings: Core Truths, Boundaries, Vibe and Continuity. Write SOUL.md in your own words; it is where the agent's personality really lives.

Make both in a minute

The AI agent persona card takes a name, a role line, three vibe words and an emoji and downloads IDENTITY.md, a SOUL.md skeleton with your vibe filled in, and an A2A agent card, built only from your words. Need the name first? Try the AI agent name generator.

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