openclaw-json-editing

# OpenClaw JSON Editing

Expert guidance for editing JSON in the OpenClaw ecosystem. OpenClaw uses **JSON5** for configuration (allows comments, trailing commas), has sophisticated config merging, and validates with **Zod schemas**.

## Quick Reference

| Task | Command/Pattern |
|------|-----------------|
| Validate config | `openclaw config validate` |
| Apply config patch | `openclaw config patch <file.json>` |
| Safe JSON parse | Use `safeParseJson()` wrapper |
| Check config location | `openclaw config path` |
| Pretty print | `JSON.stringify(data, null, 2)` |

## OpenClaw JSON5 Config

OpenClaw config files use **JSON5** (not strict JSON):

```json5
{
  // Single-line comments are allowed
  "gateway": {
    "mode": "http",  // Trailing commas are allowed
  },
  /* Multi-line comments
     are also supported */
  "agents": {
    "main": {
      "model": "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6",
    },
  },
}
```

### Key Differences from JSON

- **Comments**: Single-line (`//`) and multi-line (`/* */`)
- **Trailing commas**: Allowed in arrays and objects
- **Unquoted keys**: `{ key: "value" }` is valid
- **Single quotes**: `'string'` is valid

### Config File Locations

| Type | Path |
|------|------|
| User config | `~/.openclaw/config.json` |
| Project config | `./openclaw.config.json` |
| Agent config | `~/.openclaw/agents/<id>/config.json` |
| Session store | `~/.openclaw/sessions/` |
| State dir | `~/.openclaw/` (or `$OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR`) |

## Safe JSON Operations

### Reading Config Files

OpenClaw uses `JSON5.parse()` for configs and safe wrappers:

```typescript
// OpenClaw's safeParseJson pattern
function safeParseJson<T>(raw: string): T | null {
  try {
    return JSON.parse(raw) as T;
  } catch {
    return null;
  }
}

// For OpenClaw configs, use JSON5
import JSON5 from "json5";

function loadConfigFile(path: string): unknown {
  try {
    const raw = fs.readFileSync(path, "utf8");
    return JSON5.parse(raw);  // Allows comments, trailing commas
  } catch {...