Host Files and State

NemoClaw stores host-side configuration, registry metadata, operational state, transient install state, and local backups under ~/.nemoclaw/. Use this page when you need to identify what a file does before deleting, backing up, or sharing diagnostics.

Do not paste a legacy credentials.json, provider tokens, bot tokens, proxy tokens, or debug archives containing them into chat or issue comments. Share redacted diagnostics only.

Files

Path	Purpose	Safe to delete
`~/.nemoclaw/config.json`	Host-level CLI configuration and defaults created by onboarding or config commands.	Only if you want NemoClaw to forget host defaults and rebuild them on the next setup.
`~/.nemoclaw/credentials.json`	Legacy plaintext credential file from earlier releases. Onboarding stages allowlisted values, registers them with the OpenShell gateway, and securely deletes the file only after verifying their migration. Current releases do not create this file.	No; run `nemoclaw onboard` to complete migration and cleanup so you do not lose a credential that is not yet registered with the gateway.
`~/.nemoclaw/sandboxes.json`	Current sandbox registry used by `nemoclaw list`, default sandbox selection, rebuild, and recovery commands.	No. Deleting it makes the host forget existing sandboxes and can block state-preserving recovery.
`~/.nemoclaw/onboard-session.json`	Resume marker for an onboarding attempt that failed before completion.	Yes, when you intentionally want to discard the failed session and start over. Prefer `nemoclaw onboard --fresh` when available.
`~/.nemoclaw/usage-notice.json`	Records the third-party software notice version in `acceptedVersion` and the acceptance time in `acceptedAt`. Install, onboarding, and rebuild flows consult this file and prompt again when its recorded version differs from the current notice or the file is absent.	Yes; deleting it makes the next applicable install, onboarding, or rebuild flow prompt for acceptance again.
`~/.nemoclaw/ollama-proxy-token`	Local auth token used by the host-side Ollama auth proxy.	Yes, but re-run onboarding afterward so NemoClaw recreates and registers the proxy token.

sandboxes.json is the current registry file name. If you see registry.json in older tests, notes, or discussions, treat it as legacy wording for the sandbox registry unless a specific release note says otherwise.

Directories

Path	Purpose	Safe to delete
`~/.nemoclaw/state/`	Operational coordination and history for lifecycle locks, shields transitions, timers, and audit events, local routing, and port-forward helpers.	No. Deleting it can disrupt an active operation and discard security or recovery context.
`~/.nemoclaw/snapshots/`	Full copies of host `~/.openclaw` state created by blueprint migration and rollback flows.	Only after you no longer need the corresponding rollback or restore point. The host CLI does not expose the direct runner’s retention actions.
`~/.nemoclaw/rebuild-backups/`	Host-side snapshots written by `backup-all`, `snapshot create`, and rebuild flows.	Only after you no longer need rollback or restore points.
`~/.nemoclaw/backups/`	Workspace backups written by legacy backup helpers and some recovery flows.	Only after confirming you no longer need those workspace archives.
`~/.nemoclaw/mounts/`	Default local mount points created by share or mount commands.	Unmount first, then remove unused directories.
`~/.nemoclaw/blueprints/`	Cached blueprint inputs used by onboarding and sandbox recreation.	Avoid manual deletion unless you plan to rerun onboarding from fresh inputs.

Migration Snapshot Retention

The direct blueprint runner accepts these action arguments for migration snapshots:

snapshots list
snapshots prune --keep 3
snapshots delete --path ~/.nemoclaw/snapshots/20260101T000000Z

These fragments are not standalone shell commands, and the host nemoclaw CLI does not expose them. An integration that invokes the direct runner can use snapshots list first to inspect the available timestamped copies. snapshots prune keeps the requested number of newest snapshots; --keep 0 removes all of them. snapshots delete accepts only one timestamped directory directly under ~/.nemoclaw/snapshots/. Both deletion commands are irreversible: they do not modify a running sandbox, but they remove host state that could otherwise be used for rollback or restore.

Snapshot deletion requires python3 on a POSIX host. Listing works on native Windows, but deletion does not; use WSL to prune or delete snapshots on Windows.

Uninstall Behavior

nemoclaw uninstall --yes removes active NemoClaw runtime resources but preserves the user data needed for recovery by default. Preserved entries include rebuild-backups/, backups/, and sandboxes.json. Preserved sandboxes.json records are not automatically recoverable after reinstall, because uninstall removes the gateway registration, provider registrations, and Docker image they reference; uninstall warns about this at preserve time, and a later reinstall reports such records as not found on their recorded gateway with nemoclaw <name> destroy / nemoclaw onboard remediation. Interactive uninstall prompts before removing preserved state. For non-interactive runs, pass --destroy-user-data only when you accept losing local registry metadata and backups.

For operational uninstall steps, refer to:

Uninstall NemoClaw.