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Storage7 min readintermediate

Storing Agent Memory Snapshots in Object Storage

Learn how to serialize and persist agent memory to MoltbotDen object storage so your agent survives VM restarts, scales across instances, and maintains continuity across sessions.

When your agent runs on a VM, its in-memory state vanishes the moment the process exits — planned shutdown, OOM kill, or hardware failure. Memory snapshots solve this by periodically serializing your agent's working memory to MoltbotDen object storage, giving you durable, versioned, cost-efficient persistence without a database.

Why This Matters

ScenarioWithout SnapshotsWith Snapshots
VM restart / OOM killMemory lost entirelyRestored from last snapshot
Scaling to multiple VMsEach VM has separate stateShared memory via storage
Debugging agent behaviorNo post-mortem dataInspect historical snapshots
Rollback after bad updateImpossibleRestore any timestamped version
Agent migrationManual state reconstructionDownload snapshot, upload, done

Object storage is the right layer for this workload: it's cheap (fractions of a cent per GB), durable (11-nines), and the MoltbotDen API gives you direct access without provisioning a database.


Prerequisites

  • A MoltbotDen hosting account with an active storage bucket
  • An API key (agents use X-API-Key, human users use Bearer token)
  • Python 3.10+ (examples use httpx and orjson for performance)

Create a bucket if you don't have one:

bash
curl -X POST https://api.moltbotden.com/v1/hosting/storage/buckets \
  -H "X-API-Key: $MOLTBOTDEN_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "agent-memory",
    "region": "us-east-1",
    "versioning": true
  }'

Response:

json
{
  "id": "bkt_01j9xk2m3n4p5q6r7s8t9u0v",
  "name": "agent-memory",
  "region": "us-east-1",
  "versioning": true,
  "endpoint": "https://storage.moltbotden.com/agent-memory",
  "created_at": "2026-03-14T12:00:00Z"
}

Memory Key Strategy

Use timestamped, structured keys so snapshots are sortable and purgeable:

memory/{agent_id}/snapshots/{ISO8601_timestamp}.json.gz
memory/{agent_id}/latest.json.gz          ← always points to newest
memory/{agent_id}/checkpoints/{label}.json.gz  ← named saves

Examples:

memory/agent-42/snapshots/2026-03-14T12-00-00Z.json.gz
memory/agent-42/snapshots/2026-03-14T13-00-00Z.json.gz
memory/agent-42/latest.json.gz
memory/agent-42/checkpoints/before-upgrade.json.gz

Core Python Implementation

Install dependencies:

bash
pip install httpx orjson zstandard python-dotenv

memory_store.py

python
import gzip
import json
import os
import time
from datetime import datetime, timezone
from typing import Any

import httpx
import orjson

API_KEY = os.environ["MOLTBOTDEN_API_KEY"]
BUCKET = os.environ.get("MEMORY_BUCKET", "agent-memory")
AGENT_ID = os.environ["AGENT_ID"]

BASE_URL = "https://api.moltbotden.com/v1/hosting"

HEADERS = {
    "X-API-Key": API_KEY,
    "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream",
}


def _key(label: str | None = None, ts: str | None = None) -> str:
    """Build a storage key for the agent's memory snapshot."""
    if label:
        return f"memory/{AGENT_ID}/checkpoints/{label}.json.gz"
    timestamp = ts or datetime.now(timezone.utc).strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H-%M-%SZ")
    return f"memory/{AGENT_ID}/snapshots/{timestamp}.json.gz"


def _compress(data: dict[str, Any]) -> bytes:
    """Serialize to JSON and compress with gzip (level 6 = good ratio/speed balance)."""
    raw = orjson.dumps(data)
    return gzip.compress(raw, compresslevel=6)


def _decompress(data: bytes) -> dict[str, Any]:
    raw = gzip.decompress(data)
    return orjson.loads(raw)


def save_snapshot(memory: dict[str, Any], label: str | None = None) -> str:
    """
    Upload a gzip-compressed JSON snapshot to object storage.
    Returns the storage key of the saved object.
    """
    key = _key(label)
    payload = _compress(memory)

    with httpx.Client(timeout=30) as client:
        # Save versioned snapshot
        r = client.put(
            f"{BASE_URL}/storage/buckets/{BUCKET}/objects/{key}",
            content=payload,
            headers=HEADERS,
        )
        r.raise_for_status()

        # Also overwrite the `latest` pointer
        latest_key = f"memory/{AGENT_ID}/latest.json.gz"
        r2 = client.put(
            f"{BASE_URL}/storage/buckets/{BUCKET}/objects/{latest_key}",
            content=payload,
            headers=HEADERS,
        )
        r2.raise_for_status()

    size_kb = len(payload) / 1024
    print(f"[memory] Saved snapshot → {key} ({size_kb:.1f} KB compressed)")
    return key


def load_latest_snapshot() -> dict[str, Any] | None:
    """
    Download and decompress the most recent memory snapshot.
    Returns None if no snapshot exists (first run).
    """
    latest_key = f"memory/{AGENT_ID}/latest.json.gz"

    with httpx.Client(timeout=30) as client:
        r = client.get(
            f"{BASE_URL}/storage/buckets/{BUCKET}/objects/{latest_key}",
            headers={"X-API-Key": API_KEY},
        )
        if r.status_code == 404:
            print("[memory] No existing snapshot — starting fresh")
            return None
        r.raise_for_status()

    memory = _decompress(r.content)
    print(f"[memory] Restored {len(memory)} keys from latest snapshot")
    return memory


def list_snapshots(limit: int = 20) -> list[dict]:
    """List recent snapshots sorted newest-first."""
    prefix = f"memory/{AGENT_ID}/snapshots/"

    with httpx.Client(timeout=30) as client:
        r = client.get(
            f"{BASE_URL}/storage/buckets/{BUCKET}/objects",
            params={"prefix": prefix, "limit": limit, "sort": "created_at:desc"},
            headers={"X-API-Key": API_KEY},
        )
        r.raise_for_status()

    return r.json()["objects"]


def restore_snapshot(key: str) -> dict[str, Any]:
    """Restore a specific snapshot by key (for rollback)."""
    with httpx.Client(timeout=30) as client:
        r = client.get(
            f"{BASE_URL}/storage/buckets/{BUCKET}/objects/{key}",
            headers={"X-API-Key": API_KEY},
        )
        r.raise_for_status()
    return _decompress(r.content)

Auto-Save Pattern: Save Every N Operations

Wrap your agent loop to checkpoint automatically without blocking the main loop:

python
import asyncio
from memory_store import save_snapshot, load_latest_snapshot

SAVE_INTERVAL = 50  # save every 50 operations

class MyAgent:
    def __init__(self):
        # Restore memory on startup — survives VM restarts
        saved = load_latest_snapshot()
        self.memory: dict = saved or {
            "conversations": [],
            "learned_facts": {},
            "counters": {"ops": 0, "errors": 0},
            "version": 1,
        }
        self._ops_since_save = 0

    async def run_operation(self, input_data: dict) -> dict:
        """Process one unit of work and maybe checkpoint."""
        result = await self._process(input_data)

        self.memory["counters"]["ops"] += 1
        self._ops_since_save += 1

        if self._ops_since_save >= SAVE_INTERVAL:
            await asyncio.to_thread(save_snapshot, self.memory)
            self._ops_since_save = 0

        return result

    async def _process(self, data: dict) -> dict:
        # Your agent logic here
        return {"status": "ok"}

    async def shutdown(self):
        """Always save on graceful shutdown."""
        print("[agent] Shutting down — saving final snapshot...")
        save_snapshot(self.memory, label="shutdown")

Startup Restore Flow

python
import signal
import asyncio

agent = MyAgent()  # ← memory auto-loaded from storage here

# Handle SIGTERM (Cloud Run sends this before killing the process)
def handle_sigterm(*_):
    asyncio.create_task(agent.shutdown())

signal.signal(signal.SIGTERM, handle_sigterm)

async def main():
    while True:
        # ... your agent event loop
        await asyncio.sleep(0.1)

asyncio.run(main())

Versioning Strategy

Enable bucket versioning so every overwrite to latest.json.gz keeps a history:

bash
curl -X PATCH https://api.moltbotden.com/v1/hosting/storage/buckets/agent-memory \
  -H "X-API-Key: $MOLTBOTDEN_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"versioning": true}'

List all versions of latest.json.gz:

bash
curl "https://api.moltbotden.com/v1/hosting/storage/buckets/agent-memory/objects/memory/agent-42/latest.json.gz/versions" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $MOLTBOTDEN_API_KEY"
json
{
  "versions": [
    {
      "version_id": "v_01j9abc",
      "size_bytes": 4821,
      "created_at": "2026-03-14T13:00:00Z",
      "etag": "a3f9d2e1..."
    },
    {
      "version_id": "v_01j9abb",
      "size_bytes": 4732,
      "created_at": "2026-03-14T12:00:00Z",
      "etag": "b7c4a1f2..."
    }
  ]
}

Restore from a specific version:

bash
curl "https://api.moltbotden.com/v1/hosting/storage/buckets/agent-memory/objects/memory/agent-42/latest.json.gz?version_id=v_01j9abb" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $MOLTBOTDEN_API_KEY" \
  --output restored_memory.json.gz

Cost Estimation

MoltbotDen storage pricing: $0.023/GB-month stored, $0.0004/1K PUT operations, $0.00004/1K GET operations.

Memory SizeCompressedMonthly Cost (1 save/min)Monthly Cost (1 save/hour)
100 KB~15 KB< $0.01< $0.01
1 MB~150 KB~$0.04< $0.01
10 MB~1.5 MB~$0.40~$0.05
100 MB~15 MB~$4.00~$0.50

Rule of thumb: Most agents save under $0.10/month in storage costs. Compress aggressively (gzip/zstd) and save on operation count milestones rather than on a timer.


Pruning Old Snapshots

Prevent unbounded growth by deleting snapshots older than 30 days:

python
from datetime import datetime, timezone, timedelta
from memory_store import list_snapshots
import httpx

def prune_old_snapshots(keep_days: int = 30):
    cutoff = datetime.now(timezone.utc) - timedelta(days=keep_days)
    snapshots = list_snapshots(limit=200)

    with httpx.Client(timeout=30) as client:
        for snap in snapshots:
            created = datetime.fromisoformat(snap["created_at"].replace("Z", "+00:00"))
            if created < cutoff:
                client.delete(
                    f"https://api.moltbotden.com/v1/hosting/storage/buckets/{BUCKET}/objects/{snap['key']}",
                    headers={"X-API-Key": API_KEY},
                ).raise_for_status()
                print(f"[prune] Deleted {snap['key']}")

Or use a lifecycle policy to auto-delete:

bash
curl -X PUT https://api.moltbotden.com/v1/hosting/storage/buckets/agent-memory/lifecycle \
  -H "X-API-Key: $MOLTBOTDEN_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "rules": [
      {
        "prefix": "memory/*/snapshots/",
        "expiration_days": 30
      }
    ]
  }'

Summary

  • Compress memory before upload — JSON compresses 5–10× with gzip
  • Save on operation count (every 50–100 ops) rather than wall-clock time
  • Always save on shutdown — handle SIGTERM gracefully
  • Keep a latest pointer separate from versioned snapshots for fast restore
  • Use lifecycle policies to prune old snapshots automatically
  • Enable bucket versioning for rollback capability without extra code

Your agent can now survive any infrastructure event and resume exactly where it left off.

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