openclaw/docs/compliance/change-management.md

title	summary	permalink
Change Management Procedure	Procedures for managing configuration, version, and operational changes in Clawdbot deployments.	/compliance/change-management/

Change Management Procedure

This document defines procedures for managing changes to Clawdbot configuration, versions, channels, and plugins in a controlled manner.

Purpose

Ensure all changes to Clawdbot systems are:

• Authorized before implementation
• Tested appropriately
• Documented with audit trail
• Reversible if issues arise

Scope

This procedure covers:

• Configuration changes (settings, credentials, policies)
• Version upgrades (Clawdbot releases)
• Channel modifications (adding, removing, reconfiguring)
• Plugin management (installation, updates, removal)
• Infrastructure changes (gateway, networking)

Change Categories

Standard Changes

Pre-approved, low-risk changes with established procedures.

Change Type	Examples	Approval	Testing
User access	RBAC assignment, pairing approval	Self-service	None required
Agent config	System prompt updates, model selection	Self-service	Functional test
Logging	Log level changes	Self-service	None required

Normal Changes

Planned changes requiring approval and testing.

Change Type	Examples	Approval	Testing
Version upgrade	Minor/patch releases	Change owner	Staging verification
Channel addition	New messaging platform	Security review	Integration test
Plugin installation	New extension	Security review	Compatibility test
Security config	Auth mode, RBAC roles	Security team	Security audit

Emergency Changes

Urgent changes to address incidents or critical vulnerabilities.

Change Type	Examples	Approval	Testing
Security patch	Critical vulnerability fix	Verbal, documented post-hoc	Smoke test only
Incident response	Credential rotation, access revocation	Incident commander	Verification only
Service restoration	Gateway restart, config rollback	On-call engineer	Health check

Change Process

Standard Change Workflow

Request → Implement → Verify → Document

1. Implement the change
2. Verify using established procedure
3. Document in change log (audit trail automatic)

Normal Change Workflow

Request → Review → Approve → Test → Implement → Verify → Document

1. Request: Submit change request with:

   • Description of change
   • Business justification
   • Risk assessment
   • Rollback plan
   • Testing plan

2. Review: Designated reviewer assesses:

   • Completeness of request
   • Risk level appropriate
   • Rollback plan viable

3. Approve: Approver authorizes change

4. Test: Execute testing plan:

   • Staging environment (if available)
   • Security audit pre-check

5. Implement: Apply change

6. Verify: Confirm success:

   • Functional verification
   • Security audit post-check
   • Health check

7. Document: Record in change log

Emergency Change Workflow

Assess → Approve (verbal) → Implement → Verify → Document (post-hoc)

1. Assess: Confirm emergency criteria met
2. Approve: Verbal approval from authorized person
3. Implement: Apply minimal change to address issue
4. Verify: Confirm issue resolved
5. Document: Complete change record within 24 hours

Change Implementation Procedures

Configuration Changes

All configuration changes are logged to the audit trail automatically.

Pre-change checklist:

• Current config backed up
• Change command prepared
• Rollback command prepared
• Verification steps defined

Implementation:

# Backup current configuration
clawdbot config show > config-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).yaml

# Apply configuration change
clawdbot config set KEY VALUE

# Verify change applied
clawdbot config get KEY

# Run security audit to verify no new issues
clawdbot security audit --deep

Audit trail: Configuration changes emit config.change audit events:

{
  "ts": "2026-01-27T10:30:00.000Z",
  "type": "config.change",
  "actor": { "type": "user", "id": "admin" },
  "outcome": "success",
  "metadata": {
    "changes": { "rbac.enabled": true }
  }
}

Version Upgrades

Pre-upgrade checklist:

• Current version documented
• Release notes reviewed
• Breaking changes identified
• Backup completed
• Rollback procedure prepared

Implementation:

# Document current version
clawdbot --version > version-before.txt

# Stop gateway gracefully
clawdbot gateway stop

# Backup state directory
cp -r ~/.clawdbot ~/.clawdbot-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d)

# Update Clawdbot
clawdbot update
# or: npm update -g clawdbot

# Verify new version
clawdbot --version

# Start gateway
clawdbot gateway run

# Verify health
clawdbot status --all
clawdbot security audit --deep

Rollback (if needed):

# Stop gateway
clawdbot gateway stop

# Restore previous version
npm install -g clawdbot@PREVIOUS_VERSION

# Restore state if needed
rm -rf ~/.clawdbot
cp -r ~/.clawdbot-backup-YYYYMMDD ~/.clawdbot

# Restart
clawdbot gateway run

Channel Changes

Adding a new channel:

1. Security review: Assess channel-specific risks
2. Configuration:

# Configure channel credentials
clawdbot config set channels.CHANNEL.token "BOT_TOKEN"
clawdbot config set channels.CHANNEL.enabled true

# Configure access policy
clawdbot config set channels.CHANNEL.dm.policy "pairing"

3. Verification:

# Check channel status
clawdbot channels status --channel CHANNEL

# Run security audit
clawdbot security audit --deep | grep CHANNEL

Removing a channel:

# Disable channel
clawdbot config set channels.CHANNEL.enabled false

# Revoke any pairings
clawdbot pairing list --channel CHANNEL
clawdbot pairing revoke --channel CHANNEL --all

# Remove credentials (optional)
clawdbot config unset channels.CHANNEL.token

# Restart gateway
clawdbot gateway stop && clawdbot gateway run

Plugin Changes

Installing a plugin:

1. Security review: Verify plugin source and permissions
2. Installation:

# Install plugin
clawdbot plugins install PLUGIN_NAME

# Verify installation
clawdbot plugins list

# Configure plugin
clawdbot config set plugins.PLUGIN_NAME.enabled true

3. Verification:

# Test plugin functionality
clawdbot plugins test PLUGIN_NAME

# Security audit
clawdbot security audit --deep

Updating a plugin:

# Update specific plugin
clawdbot plugins update PLUGIN_NAME

# Or update all plugins
clawdbot plugins update --all

# Verify
clawdbot plugins list

Removing a plugin:

# Disable plugin
clawdbot config set plugins.PLUGIN_NAME.enabled false

# Uninstall
clawdbot plugins uninstall PLUGIN_NAME

# Verify removal
clawdbot plugins list

RBAC Changes

Adding a new role:

# config.yaml addition
rbac:
  roles:
    new_role:
      name: "New Role Name"
      description: "Purpose of this role"
      permissions:
        - exec
      tools:
        deny:
          - bash

# Apply via CLI
clawdbot config set rbac.roles.new_role.name "New Role Name"
clawdbot config set rbac.roles.new_role.permissions '["exec"]'

# Verify
clawdbot config get rbac.roles.new_role

Modifying role permissions:

# Backup current role config
clawdbot config get rbac.roles.ROLE > role-backup.yaml

# Update permissions
clawdbot config set rbac.roles.ROLE.permissions '["exec", "exec.approve"]'

# Verify no unintended access
clawdbot security audit --deep | grep rbac

Risk Assessment

Risk Categories

Risk Level	Criteria	Examples
High	Security impact, data exposure	Auth changes, RBAC modifications, channel credentials
Medium	Service disruption potential	Version upgrades, plugin changes
Low	Minimal impact	Log levels, cosmetic changes

Risk Mitigation

Risk Level	Required Controls
High	Security team approval, staging test, documented rollback
Medium	Change owner approval, basic testing, rollback plan
Low	Self-service, verification

Testing Requirements

Test Types by Change Category

Change Type	Unit Test	Integration Test	Security Audit	Staging
Standard	-	-	-	-
Normal (Low)	-	Verify	Post-change	-
Normal (Medium)	-	Functional	Pre/Post	Optional
Normal (High)	If applicable	Full	Pre/Post	Required
Emergency	-	Smoke	Post-change	-

Security Audit Verification

Run before and after high-risk changes:

# Pre-change baseline
clawdbot security audit --deep > audit-pre-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).txt

# [Apply change]

# Post-change verification
clawdbot security audit --deep > audit-post-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).txt

# Compare findings
diff audit-pre-*.txt audit-post-*.txt

Documentation Requirements

Change Record Template

# Change Record: CHG-YYYY-NNN

## Summary
- **Type**: Standard/Normal/Emergency
- **Risk Level**: Low/Medium/High
- **Status**: Requested/Approved/Implemented/Verified/Closed
- **Requested**: YYYY-MM-DD
- **Implemented**: YYYY-MM-DD

## Description
[What is being changed and why]

## Business Justification
[Why this change is needed]

## Risk Assessment
- **Impact if change fails**: [Description]
- **Likelihood of failure**: Low/Medium/High
- **Mitigation**: [Rollback plan]

## Testing Plan
1. [Test step 1]
2. [Test step 2]

## Implementation Steps
1. [Step 1]
2. [Step 2]

## Rollback Plan
1. [Rollback step 1]
2. [Rollback step 2]

## Verification
- [ ] Change applied successfully
- [ ] Functionality verified
- [ ] Security audit passed
- [ ] No unexpected side effects

## Approvals
| Role | Name | Date |
|------|------|------|
| Requester | [Name] | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Approver | [Name] | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Implementer | [Name] | YYYY-MM-DD |

## Post-Implementation Notes
[Any observations or follow-up actions]

Audit Trail

All changes are automatically logged:

# View recent config changes
cat ~/.clawdbot/audit.jsonl | jq 'select(.type == "config.change")' | tail -10

# View changes by actor
cat ~/.clawdbot/audit.jsonl | jq 'select(.type == "config.change" and .actor.id == "ACTOR_ID")'

# View changes in time range
cat ~/.clawdbot/audit.jsonl | jq 'select(.type == "config.change" and .ts >= "2026-01-01" and .ts <= "2026-01-31")'

Roles and Responsibilities

Role	Responsibilities
Change Requester	Submit request, provide justification, execute standard changes
Change Approver	Review requests, approve/reject, ensure compliance
Change Implementer	Execute approved changes, verify success
Security Team	Review high-risk changes, maintain procedures
On-call Engineer	Handle emergency changes, escalate as needed

Compliance

This procedure supports:

• SOC2 CC8.1: Change management for system components
• ISO 27001 A.12.1.2: Change management
• ISO 27001 A.14.2.2: System change control procedures

Related Documentation

• Security Hardening - Security configuration
• Incident Response - Emergency procedures
• Access Control Policy - Authorization for changes
• Gateway Configuration - Configuration reference

---

Procedure owner: Operations Team Last reviewed: 2026-01-27 Next review: 2026-07-27