ollama-memory-embeddings

Installable OpenClaw skill to use Ollama as the embeddings server for memory search (OpenAI-compatible /v1/embeddings).

Embeddings only — chat/completions routing is not affected.

This skill is available on GitHub under the MIT license.

Features

• Interactive embedding model selection:
  • embeddinggemma (default — closest to OpenClaw built-in)
  • nomic-embed-text (strong quality, efficient)
  • all-minilm (smallest/fastest)
  • mxbai-embed-large (highest quality, larger)
• Optional import of a local embedding GGUF into Ollama (ollama create)
  • Detects: embeddinggemma, nomic-embed, all-minilm, mxbai-embed GGUFs
• Model name normalization (handles :latest tag automatically)
• Surgical OpenClaw config update (agents.defaults.memorySearch)
• Post-write config sanity check
• Smart gateway restart (detects available restart method)
• Two-step verification: model existence + endpoint response
• Non-interactive mode for automation (GGUF import is opt-in)
• Optional memory reindex during install (--reindex-memory auto|yes|no)
• Idempotent drift enforcement (enforce.sh)
• Optional auto-heal watchdog (watchdog.sh, launchd on macOS)

Install

bash ~/.openclaw/skills/ollama-memory-embeddings/install.sh

Bulletproof install (enforce + watchdog):

bash ~/.openclaw/skills/ollama-memory-embeddings/install.sh \
  --non-interactive \
  --model embeddinggemma \
  --reindex-memory auto \
  --install-watchdog \
  --watchdog-interval 60

From repo:

bash skills/ollama-memory-embeddings/install.sh

Non-interactive example

bash ~/.openclaw/skills/ollama-memory-embeddings/install.sh \
  --non-interactive \
  --model embeddinggemma \
  --reindex-memory auto \
  --import-local-gguf yes   # explicit opt-in; "auto" = "no" in non-interactive

Verify

~/.openclaw/skills/ollama-memory-embeddings/verify.sh
~/.openclaw/skills/ollama-memory-embeddings/verify.sh --verbose   # dump raw response on failure

Drift guard and self-heal

One-time check/heal:

~/.openclaw/skills/ollama-memory-embeddings/watchdog.sh --once --model embeddinggemma

Manual enforce (idempotent):

~/.openclaw/skills/ollama-memory-embeddings/enforce.sh --model embeddinggemma

Install launchd watchdog (macOS):

~/.openclaw/skills/ollama-memory-embeddings/watchdog.sh \
  --install-launchd \
  --model embeddinggemma \
  --interval-sec 60

Remove launchd watchdog:

~/.openclaw/skills/ollama-memory-embeddings/watchdog.sh --uninstall-launchd

Important: re-embed when changing model

If you switch embedding model, existing vectors may be incompatible with the new vector space. Rebuild/re-embed your memory index after model changes to avoid retrieval quality regressions.

Installer behavior:

• --reindex-memory auto (default): reindex only when embedding fingerprint changed (provider, model, baseUrl, apiKey presence).
• --reindex-memory yes: always run openclaw memory index --force --verbose.
• --reindex-memory no: never reindex automatically.

Notes:

• enforce.sh --check-only treats apiKey drift as missing apiKey (empty), not strict equality to "ollama".
• Backups are created only when config changes are actually written.
• Legacy config fallback supported: if canonical agents.defaults.memorySearch is missing, scripts read known legacy paths and mirror updates for compatibility.