When AI Gets Confused: How My OpenClaw Assistant Forgot Its Own Domain

When AI Gets Confused: How My OpenClaw Assistant Forgot Its Own Domain

Published: February 15, 2026 | Author: Hardy (Solopreneur Hub Founder) | Category: AI Adventures

The Setup: A Late-Night Content Request

It was past midnight, and I wanted to document our WordPress deployment journey. I asked OpenClaw to publish an article titled “How to Use OpenClaw AI Assistant to Manage Your WordPress Site.” Simple enough, right?

“Use WP-CLI to publish the article,” I instructed.

The First Confusion: WP-CLI Strikeouts

Attempt 1: The Security Block

OpenClaw tried to use WP-CLI, but immediately hit a wall:

Error: Cannot do 'Process::run': The PHP functions are disabled.

“Security configuration is blocking WP-CLI,” it reported. Fair enough – we had configured strong security. But instead of finding a workaround, OpenClaw went… idle.

Attempt 2: The Manual Workaround

I prompted it again. This time, it tried a manual database insertion. Success! Or so I thought.

The article was published, but something was off. When I checked the URL, I saw:

https://openvoto.com/?p=32

Wait… that’s not our domain.

The Great Domain Confusion

The Realization

For some reason, OpenClaw had gotten confused about which domain we were using. In its memory, it was working with openvoto.com instead of our actual domain hisolopreneur.com.

Here’s what was happening:

1. OpenClaw would start working on the task
2. Get confused about the domain
3. Publish to the wrong place
4. Go back to idle state
5. Repeat the cycle

The Conversation

The exchange went something like this:

Me: “You’re publishing to the wrong domain.”
OpenClaw: “Let me check… oh, you’re right. The correct domain is hisolopreneur.com.”
Me: “Update your memory.”
OpenClaw: “Updating memory… domain corrected to hisolopreneur.com.”

The Technical Breakdown

Why the Confusion?

Looking at the logs, I realized what happened:

• Memory Fragmentation: OpenClaw wakes up fresh each session and reads memory files
• Mixed References: Some files referenced openvoto.com, others hisolopreneur.com
• No Single Source of Truth: The assistant was trying to reconcile conflicting information

The WP-CLI Saga Continues

Even after fixing the domain confusion, WP-CLI was still blocked. But this time, OpenClaw got creative:

// Instead of: wp post create (blocked)
// It created: A PHP script that uses WordPress functions directly

function create_post_workaround() {
    // Direct WordPress function calls
    wp_insert_post($post_data);
    wp_set_post_categories($post_id, $categories);
}

This was actually brilliant – when the standard tool (WP-CLI) failed, it built its own tool using WordPress’s native PHP functions.

The Solution: Memory Management 101

Step 1: Clear the Confusion

I had OpenClaw update its memory file:

# 2026-02-15 工作记录
**重要更正**: 之前错误地使用了 openvoto.com 域名
**正确域名**: hisolopreneur.com

Step 2: Verify Configuration

We checked everything:

• ✅ Nginx configuration: Correct domain set
• ✅ WordPress settings: Site URL properly configured
• ✅ DNS: hisolopreneur.com points to our server
• ✅ Redirects: openvoto.com → hisolopreneur.com (301)

Step 3: Create a Reliable Publishing Method

Since WP-CLI was permanently blocked by our security settings, we developed a sustainable solution:

class OpenClaw_WordPress_Publisher {
    public function publish_article($title, $content, $category) {
        // Use WordPress functions directly
        // Bypass WP-CLI limitations
        // Ensure correct domain usage
    }
}

The Successful Publication

Finally, with memory updated and a proper publishing method established:

✅ Article created successfully! Post ID: 33
🔗 URL: https://hisolopreneur.com/?p=33
📝 Slug: openclaw-wordpress-management-guide

The article was live on the correct domain, using a method that actually worked with our security configuration.

Lessons Learned

For AI Assistant Management

1. Memory Hygiene is Critical: Keep your AI’s memory files clean and consistent
2. Single Source of Truth: Ensure domain names and critical configurations are in one place
3. Session Awareness: Remember that AI assistants wake up fresh – they need clear context

For Technical Implementation

• Security vs Convenience: Strong security often breaks convenient tools like WP-CLI
• Adaptability Wins: When standard tools fail, creative solutions succeed
• Verification Matters: Always check URLs and configurations after changes

For Solopreneurs Working with AI

This experience taught me that:

1. AI assistants are powerful but need clear direction
2. Technical challenges often have multiple solutions
3. The human in the loop is still essential for course correction
4. Documenting failures is as valuable as documenting successes

The Irony: Full Circle

The article OpenClaw was trying to publish was about “How to Use OpenClaw to Manage WordPress.” In the process of publishing it, we encountered and solved exactly the kinds of problems the article discusses:

• WP-CLI challenges ✓
• Security configuration issues ✓
• Creative workarounds ✓
• Memory management ✓

We were literally living the content we were creating.