timer

name	timer
description	Set timers and alarms. When a background timer completes, you receive a System notification - respond with the reminder message (NOT HEARTBEAT_OK) to notify the user.
metadata	{"clawdbot":{"emoji":"⏱️","requires":{"bins":["node"]}}}

Timer

Set timers that run in the background. When they complete, you will receive a system notification and MUST respond with the reminder to notify the user.

Quick Start

# Set a 5-minute timer
bash background:true command:"node {baseDir}/timer.js 5m"

# Set a timer with a label
bash background:true command:"node {baseDir}/timer.js 10m 'Check the oven'"

# Set a timer in seconds
bash background:true command:"node {baseDir}/timer.js 30s"

# Set a timer in hours
bash background:true command:"node {baseDir}/timer.js 1h"

Time Formats

Format	Description	Example
Ns	N seconds	30s, 90s
Nm	N minutes	5m, 15m
Nh	N hours	1h, 2h
N	N minutes (default)	5 = 5 minutes
MM:SS	Minutes and seconds	5:30
HH:MM:SS	Hours, minutes, seconds	1:30:00

⚠️ CRITICAL: Timer Completion Notification

When a timer completes, you receive a System: message like:

System: [2026-01-24 21:27:13] Exec completed (swift-me, code 0) :: ⏰ Timer complete! Check the pasta!

❌ WRONG - Do NOT respond like this:

HEARTBEAT_OK

🎉 Your timer is complete! Check the pasta!

This response will be filtered and NOT delivered to the user!

✅ CORRECT - Respond like this:

⏰ Timer Alert! Your timer is complete: Check the pasta!

Start directly with the notification message. Do NOT include HEARTBEAT_OK.

Why? Responses starting with HEARTBEAT_OK followed by less than 300 characters are automatically suppressed and never reach the user. Your timer notification will be lost!

Examples

Cooking Timer

bash background:true command:"node {baseDir}/timer.js 12m 'Pasta is ready!'"

When complete, respond: "⏰ Your 12-minute timer is up! Pasta is ready!"

Quick Reminder

bash background:true command:"node {baseDir}/timer.js 2m 'Take a break'"

Pomodoro Session

# Work session
bash background:true command:"node {baseDir}/timer.js 25m 'Pomodoro done - time for a break!'"
# After user is notified...
# Break
bash background:true command:"node {baseDir}/timer.js 5m 'Break over - back to work!'"

Multiple Timers

bash background:true command:"node {baseDir}/timer.js 5m 'Tea is ready'"
bash background:true command:"node {baseDir}/timer.js 10m 'Eggs are done'"
bash background:true command:"node {baseDir}/timer.js 30m 'Meeting starts soon'"

Managing Timers

# List all running timers
process action:list

# Check specific timer status
process action:poll sessionId:XXX

# View timer output
process action:log sessionId:XXX

# Cancel a timer
process action:kill sessionId:XXX

Notes

• Timers run as background processes with unique sessionIds
• Completed timers exit with code 0
• Cancelled timers (via kill) exit with code 130
• Sound notification plays on macOS when timer completes (if afplay available)
• Progress is logged every second (short timers) or every 10 seconds (long timers)