Long-term memory via ChromaDB with local Ollama embeddings. Auto-recall injects relevant context every turn. No cloud APIs required — fully self-hosted.
Install
Documentation
ChromaDB Memory
Long-term semantic memory backed by ChromaDB and local Ollama embeddings. Zero cloud dependencies.
What It Does
- -Auto-recall: Before every agent turn, queries ChromaDB with the user's message and injects relevant context automatically
- -
chromadb_searchtool: Manual semantic search over your ChromaDB collection - -100% local: Ollama (nomic-embed-text) for embeddings, ChromaDB for vector storage
Prerequisites
1. ChromaDB running (Docker recommended):
docker run -d --name chromadb -p 8100:8000 chromadb/chroma:latest
2. Ollama with an embedding model:
ollama pull nomic-embed-text
3. Indexed documents in ChromaDB. Use any ChromaDB-compatible indexer to populate your collection.
Install
1. Copy the plugin extension
mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/extensions/chromadb-memory
cp {baseDir}/scripts/index.ts ~/.openclaw/extensions/chromadb-memory/
cp {baseDir}/scripts/openclaw.plugin.json ~/.openclaw/extensions/chromadb-memory/
2. Add to your OpenClaw config (~/.openclaw/openclaw.json):
{
"plugins": {
"entries": {
"chromadb-memory": {
"enabled": true,
"config": {
"chromaUrl": "http://localhost:8100",
"collectionName": "longterm_memory",
"ollamaUrl": "http://localhost:11434",
"embeddingModel": "nomic-embed-text",
"autoRecall": true,
"autoRecallResults": 3,
"minScore": 0.5
}
}
}
}
}
4. Restart the gateway
openclaw gateway restart
Config Options
| Option | Default | Description |
|--------|---------|-------------|
| chromaUrl | http://localhost:8100 | ChromaDB server URL |
| collectionName | longterm_memory | Collection name (auto-resolves UUID, survives reindexing) |
| collectionId | — | Collection UUID (optional fallback) |
| ollamaUrl | http://localhost:11434 | Ollama API URL |
| embeddingModel | nomic-embed-text | Ollama embedding model |
| autoRecall | true | Auto-inject relevant memories each turn |
| autoRecallResults | 3 | Max auto-recall results per turn |
| minScore | 0.5 | Minimum similarity score (0-1) |
How It Works
1. You send a message
2. Plugin embeds your message via Ollama (nomic-embed-text, 768 dimensions)
3. Queries ChromaDB for nearest neighbors
4. Results above minScore are injected into the agent's context as <chromadb-memories>
5. Agent responds with relevant long-term context available
Token Cost
Auto-recall adds ~275 tokens per turn worst case (3 results × ~300 chars + wrapper). Against a 200K+ context window, this is negligible.
Tuning
- -Too noisy? Raise
minScoreto 0.6 or 0.7 - -Missing context? Lower
minScoreto 0.4, increaseautoRecallResultsto 5 - -Want manual only? Set
autoRecall: false, usechromadb_searchtool
Architecture
User Message → Ollama (embed) → ChromaDB (query) → Context Injection
↓
Agent Response
No OpenAI. No cloud. Your memories stay on your hardware.
Launch an agent with Chromadb Memory Pub on Termo.