OpenClaw 2.0 moves sessions to SQLite and adds multiplayer controls

OpenClaw has released version 2.0 of its open source AI agent orchestration tool, the largest update in the project’s history. Sessions and transcripts now move into SQLite, and users who want to downgrade to an older file-backed release must first restore archived legacy transcript artifacts using the current CLI.

The update adds guided setup that scans the machine for existing AI access, including verified Codex, ChatGPT or Claude CLI sign-ins, API keys, provider sign-ins, and qualifying Ollama and LM Studio models. It also introduces shared cloud sessions that turn OpenClaw into a multiplayer tool, with owners or administrators controlling whether others can read, suggest changes, work in a draft, or participate directly.

Incognito mode is off by default and narrower than the name suggests: conversations live in process memory, skip normal transcript and automatic memory on disk, and vanish when the Gateway restarts, but the model provider still receives every message and tools can still write files and hit external services. The faster startup relies on a bounded transcript snapshot stored unencrypted in the browser profile.

JavaScript requests during startup dropped from 140 to 45, and startup time from about 1.6 seconds to 575 milliseconds in a simulated test. Automation scripts need one change: setup that deliberately skips service startup can still finish without a reachable Gateway, and requesting –json does not waive risk acknowledgement.