Before any upgrade, take a snapshot of your OpenClaw directory:
cp -r ~/.openclaw/ ~/.openclaw-backup/
This copies your config and credentials. Your agent databases come along too. If the upgrade breaks something, you have a clean restore point.
Config schema changes can land silently in new versions. A key that was valid last week might become unknown after you upgrade. New required fields might appear. That's why you should run openclaw doctor --fix after every upgrade. It fixes permission problems and outdated config formats. Missing directories get created automatically.
If an update causes problems you can't resolve, roll back to a specific version: npm i -g openclaw@2026.2.23. Then restore your backup directory.