| name | skills-watchdog |
| description | Automatically checks all installed OpenClaw skills for updates. Compares local versions against upstream sources (GitHub, clawhub, CLI tools). Notifies when updates are available.
Trigger manually: "check skills version" / "skill updates?" / "检查 skill 版本"
Runs automatically: daily cron, Discord notification on updates found.
Works with any OpenClaw skills directory. Zero config — first run builds the baseline automatically.
|
| user-invocable | true |
| metadata | {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"👁️"}} |
Skills Watchdog
Monitors all your installed skills for version updates. Zero configuration required.
Design pattern: Google ADK Reviewer — checklist (baseline.json) is separate from execution (check.sh).
How It Works
- First run → scans all skills in your skills directory, saves versions to
baseline.json
- Every run after → compares current versions against baseline, reports changes
- Updates found → send Discord notification (when running via cron)
Baseline
Stored in {skillDir}/baseline.json — auto-generated on first run. Do not edit manually.
To reset baseline (after you've updated skills):
rm {skillDir}/baseline.json
bash {skillDir}/scripts/check.sh
Supported Source Types
| Source type | Detection method | What's checked |
|---|
| Standalone GitHub repo | .git with remote | Latest commit hash |
| Monorepo subdir (e.g. openclaw/skills) | source: field in SKILL.md | Version in remote SKILL.md |
| clawhub / local | _meta.json or version: in SKILL.md | Version number |
| CLI tools | tool --version | Semantic version |
To enable tracking for a skill from a monorepo, add to its SKILL.md:
source: Original (created locally)
Usage
Run manually
bash {skillDir}/scripts/check.sh
Example output
=== Skills Watchdog ===
Date: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM
[ First Run — Building Baseline ]
✓ skill-a: v1.2.0
✓ skill-b: abc1234
...
Baseline saved. Run again to check for updates.
# Second run:
[PASS] skill-a: v1.2.0
[UPDATE] skill-b: abc1234 → def5678 (remote has updates)
[NEW] skill-c: v0.1.0 (not in baseline)
When updates are found
Notify the user. Suggested actions per skill type:
- Git-tracked skill:
cd {skillDir} && git pull
- Clawhub skill:
npx clawhub install <skill-name>
- CLI tool: check the tool's official install page
Cron setup
Add a daily job via your agent's cron system. When updates are found, send a notification to your preferred channel.
Reset baseline
After updating skills:
rm {skillDir}/baseline.json
bash {skillDir}/scripts/check.sh
