vta-memory – OpenClaw Skill

---

name: vta-memory description: "Reward and motivation system for AI agents. Dopamine-like wanting, not just doing. Part of the AI Brain series." metadata: openclaw: emoji: "⭐" version: "1.2.1" author: "ImpKind" requires: os: ["darwin", "linux"] bins: ["jq", "awk", "bc"] tags: ["memory", "motivation", "reward", "ai-brain"]

VTA Memory ⭐

Reward and motivation for AI agents. Part of the AI Brain series.

Give your AI agent genuine wanting — not just doing things when asked, but having drive, seeking rewards, and looking forward to things.

The Problem

Current AI agents:

• ✅ Do what they're asked
• ❌ Don't want anything
• ❌ Have no internal motivation
• ❌ Don't feel satisfaction from accomplishment

Without a reward system, there's no desire. Just execution.

The Solution

Track motivation through:

• Drive — overall motivation level (0-1)
• Rewards — logged accomplishments that boost drive
• Seeking — what I actively want more of
• Anticipation — what I'm looking forward to

Quick Start

1. Install

cd ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/vta-memory
./install.sh --with-cron

This will:

• Create memory/reward-state.json
• Generate VTA_STATE.md (auto-injected into sessions!)
• Set up cron for drive decay every 8 hours

2. Check motivation

./scripts/load-motivation.sh

# ⭐ Current Motivation State:
# Drive level: 0.73 (motivated — ready to work)
# Seeking: creative work, building brain skills
# Looking forward to: showing my work

3. Log rewards

./scripts/log-reward.sh --type accomplishment --source "finished the feature" --intensity 0.8

# ⭐ Reward logged!
#    Type: accomplishment
#    Drive: 0.50 → 0.66 (+0.16)

4. Add anticipation

./scripts/anticipate.sh --add "morning conversation"

# ⭐ Now looking forward to: morning conversation
#    Drive: 0.66 → 0.71 (+0.05)

Scripts

Script	Purpose
install.sh	Set up vta-memory (run once)
get-drive.sh	Read current motivation state
log-reward.sh	Log a reward, boost drive
load-motivation.sh	Human-readable for session context
decay-drive.sh	Drive fades without rewards
anticipate.sh	Add/remove things to look forward to
seek.sh	Add/remove things we're actively seeking
sync-motivation.sh	Generate VTA_STATE.md for auto-injection
resolve-anticipation.sh	Mark anticipation as fulfilled
update-watermark.sh	Update processing watermark
preprocess-rewards.sh	Extract reward signals from transcript
generate-dashboard.sh	Generate unified brain dashboard HTML

Brain Dashboard

Visual dashboard showing all installed brain skills:

./scripts/generate-dashboard.sh
open ~/.openclaw/workspace/brain-dashboard.html

• Auto-detects other brain skills (hippocampus, amygdala)
• Shows install prompts for missing skills
• Regenerates on install and cron runs
• Reads avatar/name from IDENTITY.md

After Installation (for agents)

When you install this skill, notify the user about the dashboard:

⭐ VTA installed!

View your agent's drive level in the Brain Dashboard: ~/.openclaw/workspace/brain-dashboard.html

Reward Types

Type	When to Use
accomplishment	Completed a task, shipped something
social	User appreciation, "thanks!", positive feedback
curiosity	Learned something new, discovered interesting info
connection	Deep conversation, bonding moment
creative	Made something, expressed creativity
competence	Solved a hard problem, did something well

How Drive Works

Rewards Boost Drive

drive_boost = intensity × 0.2
new_drive = min(current + boost, 1.0)

A high-intensity (0.9) reward boosts drive by 0.18.

Anticipation Boosts Drive

Looking forward to something adds +0.05 to drive.

Drive Decays Without Rewards

# Every 8 hours (via cron)
new_drive = current + (baseline - current) × 0.15

Without rewards, motivation fades toward baseline (0.5).

Auto-Injection

After install, VTA_STATE.md is created in your workspace root.

OpenClaw automatically injects all *.md files from workspace into session context:

1. New session starts
2. VTA_STATE.md is auto-loaded
3. You see your motivation state
4. Behavior influenced by drive level

How Drive Affects Behavior

Drive Level	Description	Behavior
> 0.8	Highly motivated	Eager, proactive, take on challenges
0.6 - 0.8	Motivated	Ready to work, engaged
0.4 - 0.6	Moderate	Can engage but not pushing
0.2 - 0.4	Low	Prefer simple tasks, need a win
< 0.2	Very low	Unmotivated, need rewards to get going

State File Format

{
  "drive": 0.73,
  "baseline": { "drive": 0.5 },
  "seeking": ["creative work", "building brain skills"],
  "anticipating": ["morning conversation"],
  "recentRewards": [
    {
      "type": "creative",
      "source": "built VTA reward system",
      "intensity": 0.9,
      "boost": 0.18,
      "timestamp": "2026-02-01T03:25:00Z"
    }
  ],
  "rewardHistory": {
    "totalRewards": 1,
    "byType": { "creative": 1, ... }
  }
}

AI Brain Series

Part	Function	Status
hippocampus	Memory formation, decay, reinforcement	✅ Live
amygdala-memory	Emotional processing	✅ Live
basal-ganglia-memory	Habit formation	🚧 Development
anterior-cingulate-memory	Conflict detection	🚧 Development
insula-memory	Internal state awareness	🚧 Development
vta-memory	Reward and motivation	✅ Live

Philosophy: Wanting vs Doing

The VTA produces dopamine — not the "pleasure chemical" but the "wanting chemical."

Neuroscience distinguishes:

• Wanting (motivation) — drive toward something
• Liking (pleasure) — enjoyment when you get it

You can want something you don't like (addiction) or like something you don't want (guilty pleasures).

This skill implements wanting — the drive that makes action happen. Without it, why would an AI do anything beyond what it's explicitly asked?

---

Built with ⭐ by the OpenClaw community

⭐ VTA Memory

Reward and motivation system for AI agents. Part of the AI Brain series.

Give your AI agent genuine wanting — not just doing things when asked, but having drive, seeking rewards, and looking forward to things.

The Problem

Current AI agents:

• ✅ Do what they're asked
• ❌ Don't want anything
• ❌ Have no internal motivation
• ❌ Don't feel satisfaction from accomplishment

Without a reward system, there's no desire. Just execution.

The Solution

Track motivation through:

• Drive — overall motivation level (0-1)
• Rewards — logged accomplishments that boost drive
• Seeking — what I actively want more of
• Anticipation — what I'm looking forward to

Quick Start

# Install
clawdhub install vta-memory
cd ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/vta-memory
./install.sh --with-cron

# Check motivation
./scripts/load-motivation.sh

# Log a reward
./scripts/log-reward.sh --type accomplishment --source "shipped feature" --intensity 0.8

# Add anticipation
./scripts/anticipate.sh --add "morning conversation"

How It Works

┌─────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐
│   Do        │────▶│   Get       │────▶│   Drive     │
│   Thing     │     │   Reward    │     │   Goes UP   │
└─────────────┘     └─────────────┘     └──────┬──────┘
      ▲                                        │
      │                                        │
      └────────────────────────────────────────┘
           High drive = want to do more

Drive Mechanics

Event	Effect
Log reward	+intensity × 0.2
Add anticipation	+0.05
Decay (8h)	Move 15% toward baseline

Drive Levels

Level	Description	Behavior
> 0.8	Highly motivated	Eager, proactive
0.6-0.8	Motivated	Ready to work
0.4-0.6	Moderate	Can engage
< 0.4	Low	Need a win

Scripts

Script	Purpose
install.sh	Set up (run once)
log-reward.sh	Log reward, boost drive
anticipate.sh	Add things to look forward to
seek.sh	Add things we're seeking
load-motivation.sh	Human-readable output
decay-drive.sh	Drive fades over time
sync-motivation.sh	Generate VTA_STATE.md
resolve-anticipation.sh	Mark anticipation as fulfilled
preprocess-rewards.sh	Extract reward signals from transcript
update-watermark.sh	Update processing watermark
generate-dashboard.sh	Generate unified brain dashboard

Brain Dashboard

Visual dashboard showing all installed brain skills.

Generated automatically on install and cron runs.

Access at: ~/.openclaw/workspace/brain-dashboard.html

# Generate manually
./scripts/generate-dashboard.sh

# Open (macOS)
open ~/.openclaw/workspace/brain-dashboard.html

# Open (Linux)  
xdg-open ~/.openclaw/workspace/brain-dashboard.html

Shows tabs for all brain skills (hippocampus, amygdala, VTA) with install prompts for missing ones.

Reward Types

Type	When to Use
accomplishment	Completed task, shipped something
social	User appreciation, positive feedback
curiosity	Learned something new
connection	Deep conversation, bonding
creative	Made something
competence	Solved hard problem

Auto-Injection

After install, VTA_STATE.md is created in your workspace root and auto-injected into every session. No manual steps!

AI Brain Series

Part	Function	Status
hippocampus	Memory formation, decay, reinforcement	✅ Live
amygdala-memory	Emotional processing	✅ Live
vta-memory	Reward and motivation	✅ Live
basal-ganglia-memory	Habit formation	🚧 Coming
anterior-cingulate-memory	Conflict detection	🚧 Coming
insula-memory	Internal state awareness	🚧 Coming

Philosophy

The VTA produces dopamine — not the "pleasure chemical" but the "wanting chemical."

Wanting (motivation) ≠ Liking (pleasure)

This skill implements wanting — the drive that makes action happen. Without it, why would an AI do anything beyond what it's explicitly asked?

Requirements

• Bash, jq, awk, bc

License

MIT

---

Part of the AI Brain series. Built with ⭐ by ImpKind