Configuration layers
octo composes its system prompt from several optional layers — later overrides/extends earlier:
| Layer | Scope | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
~/.octo/soul.md |
global | agent identity & behavior, an openclaw/hermes-style persona |
~/.octo/user.md |
global | who you are — a profile injected into every session |
~/.octo/octorules.md |
global | your cross-project rules and preferences |
.octorules |
per-repo | project conventions, committed with the repo |
--system "..." |
one-off | override for a single run |
Running with --profile NAME reads all of these from ~/.octo-NAME instead, keeping a second set of identity, rules, sessions and config side by side with the default one. Octo-managed helper binaries stay shared in ~/.octo/bin either way.
Generate a starting .octorules for the current repo with octo init (or /init in the TUI) —
it inspects the codebase and drafts conventions rather than leaving you with a blank file.
@include
Section titled “@include”Identity and rule files support @include path/to/fragment.md to pull in shared content — useful
for a fragment reused across several .octorules files in related repos.
Next: the memory system layers on top of this as a separate, per-project index — see Give it memory.