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Build Your Own Agent-Friendly File Storage

When OpenClaw can't easily talk to an existing service, sometimes the fastest path is to build a simple replacement your agent can actually use.

Agent-Friendly File Storage

What it does

As Jesse Genet shared: "If you're struggling to get your OpenClaw to use an existing service, just build a replacement. In one morning we built a working photos/drive replacement and that's my default file storage now."

Instead of wrestling with complex OAuth flows and API limitations of Google Drive or iCloud, you build a lightweight file storage service that your OpenClaw agent can read from and write to natively. The result:

  • File upload and retrieval via a simple API your agent can call directly
  • Photo library browsing with metadata search (date, tags, location)
  • Folder organization that the agent manages on your behalf
  • Google Takeout import to migrate your existing files from Google Photos and Drive

Setup overview

  1. Set up a simple storage backend -- a VPS with an API layer, or a self-hosted solution like MinIO or Nextcloud
  2. Expose a REST API with basic endpoints: upload, download, list, search, tag
  3. Write a custom OpenClaw skill that wraps these API calls
  4. Write a SOUL.md prompt defining how the agent should organize, tag, and retrieve files
  5. Import your existing data from Google Takeout to populate the library

LLM and tools

Uses Claude 4.5 Sonnet for understanding natural-language file requests ("find that sunset photo from last Tuesday") and organizing files intelligently. The custom skill handles the actual API calls to your storage backend.

Tips

  • Start with Google Takeout: export your Google Photos and Drive data from takeout.google.com to seed your new storage with existing files
  • Keep the API simple: your agent doesn't need a complex file system -- basic CRUD plus search by name/date/tag covers most use cases
  • Add thumbnail generation: makes it easy for the agent to describe or identify photos when you ask about them
  • Don't over-engineer: a morning's worth of work is the right scope -- if it takes longer, you're building too much

Source

Based on @jessegenet on X (Feb 23, 2026)