Memory: move dreaming trail to dreams.md (#61537)

* Memory: move dreaming trail to dreams.md

* docs(changelog): add dreams.md entry

---------

Co-authored-by: Vincent Koc <vincentkoc@ieee.org>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - Providers/CLI: remove bundled CLI text-provider backends and the `agents.defaults.cliBackends` surface, while keeping ACP harness sessions and Gemini media understanding on the native bundled providers.
 - Matrix/exec approvals: clarify unavailable-approval replies so Matrix no longer claims chat approvals are unsupported when native exec approvals are merely unconfigured. (#61424) Thanks @gumadeiras.
 - Docs/IRC: replace public IRC hostname examples with `irc.example.com` and recommend private servers for bot coordination while listing common public networks for intentional use.
+- Memory/dreaming: write dreaming trail content to top-level `dreams.md` instead of daily memory notes, update `/dreaming` help text to point there, and keep `dreams.md` available for explicit reads without pulling it into default recall. Thanks @davemorin.
 
 ### Fixes
 

extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming-command.test.ts

@@ -79,13 +79,11 @@ describe("memory-core /dreaming command", () => {
 
     expect(result.text).toContain("Usage: /dreaming status");
     expect(result.text).toContain("Dreaming status:");
-    expect(result.text).toContain("- light: sorts recent memory traces into the daily note.");
+    expect(result.text).toContain("- light: sorts recent memory traces into dreams.md.");
     expect(result.text).toContain(
       "- deep: promotes durable memories into MEMORY.md and handles recovery when memory is thin.",
     );
-    expect(result.text).toContain(
-      "- rem: writes reflection and pattern notes into the daily note.",
-    );
+    expect(result.text).toContain("- rem: writes reflection and pattern notes into dreams.md.");
   });
 
   it("persists global enablement under plugins.entries.memory-core.config.dreaming.enabled", async () => {

extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming-command.ts

@@ -99,9 +99,9 @@ function formatEnabled(value: boolean): string {
 
 function formatPhaseGuide(): string {
   return [
-    "- light: sorts recent memory traces into the daily note.",
+    "- light: sorts recent memory traces into dreams.md.",
     "- deep: promotes durable memories into MEMORY.md and handles recovery when memory is thin.",
-    "- rem: writes reflection and pattern notes into the daily note.",
+    "- rem: writes reflection and pattern notes into dreams.md.",
   ].join("\n");
 }
 

extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming-markdown.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+import fs from "node:fs/promises";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { writeDailyDreamingPhaseBlock, writeDeepDreamingReport } from "./dreaming-markdown.js";
+
+const tempDirs: string[] = [];
+
+async function createTempWorkspace(): Promise<string> {
+  const workspaceDir = await fs.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "openclaw-dreaming-markdown-"));
+  tempDirs.push(workspaceDir);
+  return workspaceDir;
+}
+
+afterEach(async () => {
+  await Promise.all(tempDirs.splice(0).map((dir) => fs.rm(dir, { recursive: true, force: true })));
+});
+
+describe("dreaming markdown storage", () => {
+  it("writes inline light dreaming output into top-level dreams.md", async () => {
+    const workspaceDir = await createTempWorkspace();
+
+    const result = await writeDailyDreamingPhaseBlock({
+      workspaceDir,
+      phase: "light",
+      bodyLines: ["- Candidate: remember the API key is fake"],
+      storage: {
+        mode: "inline",
+        separateReports: false,
+      },
+    });
+
+    expect(result.inlinePath).toBe(path.join(workspaceDir, "dreams.md"));
+    const content = await fs.readFile(result.inlinePath!, "utf-8");
+    expect(content).toContain("## Light Sleep");
+    expect(content).toContain("- Candidate: remember the API key is fake");
+  });
+
+  it("keeps multiple inline phases in the shared top-level dreams.md file", async () => {
+    const workspaceDir = await createTempWorkspace();
+
+    await writeDailyDreamingPhaseBlock({
+      workspaceDir,
+      phase: "light",
+      bodyLines: ["- Candidate: first block"],
+      storage: {
+        mode: "inline",
+        separateReports: false,
+      },
+    });
+    await writeDailyDreamingPhaseBlock({
+      workspaceDir,
+      phase: "rem",
+      bodyLines: ["- Theme: `focus` kept surfacing."],
+      storage: {
+        mode: "inline",
+        separateReports: false,
+      },
+    });
+
+    const dreamsPath = path.join(workspaceDir, "dreams.md");
+    const content = await fs.readFile(dreamsPath, "utf-8");
+    expect(content).toContain("## Light Sleep");
+    expect(content).toContain("## REM Sleep");
+    expect(content).toContain("- Candidate: first block");
+    expect(content).toContain("- Theme: `focus` kept surfacing.");
+  });
+
+  it("still writes deep reports to the per-phase report directory", async () => {
+    const workspaceDir = await createTempWorkspace();
+
+    const reportPath = await writeDeepDreamingReport({
+      workspaceDir,
+      bodyLines: ["- Promoted: durable preference"],
+      storage: {
+        mode: "separate",
+        separateReports: false,
+      },
+      nowMs: Date.parse("2026-04-05T10:00:00Z"),
+      timezone: "UTC",
+    });
+
+    expect(reportPath).toBe(path.join(workspaceDir, "memory", "dreaming", "deep", "2026-04-05.md"));
+    const content = await fs.readFile(reportPath!, "utf-8");
+    expect(content).toContain("# Deep Sleep");
+    expect(content).toContain("- Promoted: durable preference");
+  });
+});

extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming-markdown.ts

@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ const DAILY_PHASE_LABELS: Record<Exclude<MemoryDreamingPhaseName, "deep">, strin
   rem: "rem",
 };
 
+const DREAMS_FILENAME = "dreams.md";
+
 function resolvePhaseMarkers(phase: Exclude<MemoryDreamingPhaseName, "deep">): {
   start: string;
   end: string;
@@ -57,9 +59,8 @@ function escapeRegex(value: string): string {
   return value.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, "\\$&");
 }
 
-function resolveDailyMemoryPath(workspaceDir: string, epochMs: number, timezone?: string): string {
-  const isoDay = formatMemoryDreamingDay(epochMs, timezone);
-  return path.join(workspaceDir, "memory", `${isoDay}.md`);
+function resolveDreamsPath(workspaceDir: string): string {
+  return path.join(workspaceDir, DREAMS_FILENAME);
 }
 
 function resolveSeparateReportPath(
@@ -94,7 +95,7 @@ export async function writeDailyDreamingPhaseBlock(params: {
   let reportPath: string | undefined;
 
   if (shouldWriteInline(params.storage)) {
-    inlinePath = resolveDailyMemoryPath(params.workspaceDir, nowMs, params.timezone);
+    inlinePath = resolveDreamsPath(params.workspaceDir);
     await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(inlinePath), { recursive: true });
     const original = await fs.readFile(inlinePath, "utf-8").catch((err: unknown) => {
       if ((err as NodeJS.ErrnoException)?.code === "ENOENT") {

extensions/memory-core/src/flush-plan.ts

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ const MEMORY_FLUSH_TARGET_HINT =
 const MEMORY_FLUSH_APPEND_ONLY_HINT =
   "If memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md already exists, APPEND new content only and do not overwrite existing entries.";
 const MEMORY_FLUSH_READ_ONLY_HINT =
-  "Treat workspace bootstrap/reference files such as MEMORY.md, SOUL.md, TOOLS.md, and AGENTS.md as read-only during this flush; never overwrite, replace, or edit them.";
+  "Treat workspace bootstrap/reference files such as MEMORY.md, dreams.md, SOUL.md, TOOLS.md, and AGENTS.md as read-only during this flush; never overwrite, replace, or edit them.";
 const MEMORY_FLUSH_REQUIRED_HINTS = [
   MEMORY_FLUSH_TARGET_HINT,
   MEMORY_FLUSH_APPEND_ONLY_HINT,

packages/memory-host-sdk/src/host/internal.test.ts

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import {
   buildMultimodalChunkForIndexing,
   buildFileEntry,
   chunkMarkdown,
+  isMemoryPath,
   listMemoryFiles,
   normalizeExtraMemoryPaths,
   remapChunkLines,
@@ -157,6 +158,12 @@ describe("listMemoryFiles", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("isMemoryPath", () => {
+  it("allows explicit access to top-level dreams.md", () => {
+    expect(isMemoryPath("dreams.md")).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
+
 describe("buildFileEntry", () => {
   const getTmpDir = setupTempDirLifecycle("memory-build-entry-");
   const multimodal: MemoryMultimodalSettings = {

packages/memory-host-sdk/src/host/internal.ts

@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ export function isMemoryPath(relPath: string): boolean {
   if (!normalized) {
     return false;
   }
-  if (normalized === "MEMORY.md" || normalized === "memory.md") {
+  if (normalized === "MEMORY.md" || normalized === "memory.md" || normalized === "dreams.md") {
     return true;
   }
   return normalized.startsWith("memory/");

src/memory-host-sdk/host/internal.test.ts

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import {
   buildMultimodalChunkForIndexing,
   buildFileEntry,
   chunkMarkdown,
+  isMemoryPath,
   listMemoryFiles,
   normalizeExtraMemoryPaths,
   remapChunkLines,
@@ -157,6 +158,12 @@ describe("listMemoryFiles", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("isMemoryPath", () => {
+  it("allows explicit access to top-level dreams.md", () => {
+    expect(isMemoryPath("dreams.md")).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
+
 describe("buildFileEntry", () => {
   const getTmpDir = setupTempDirLifecycle("memory-build-entry-");
   const multimodal: MemoryMultimodalSettings = {

src/memory-host-sdk/host/internal.ts

@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ export function isMemoryPath(relPath: string): boolean {
   if (!normalized) {
     return false;
   }
-  if (normalized === "MEMORY.md" || normalized === "memory.md") {
+  if (normalized === "MEMORY.md" || normalized === "memory.md" || normalized === "dreams.md") {
     return true;
   }
   return normalized.startsWith("memory/");