| name | casual-cron |
| description | Create Clawdbot cron jobs from natural language with strict run-guard rules. Use when: users ask to schedule reminders or messages (recurring or one-shot), especially via Telegram, or when they use /at or /every. Examples: 'Create a daily reminder at 8am', 'Remind me in 20 minutes', 'Send me a Telegram message at 3pm', '/every 2h'. |
Casual Cron
Create Clawdbot cron jobs automatically from natural language requests, with safe run-guard rules for reliable delivery.
Cron Run Guard (Hard Rules)
- When running inside a cron job: do NOT troubleshoot, do NOT restart gateway, and do NOT check time.
- Do NOT send acknowledgements or explanations.
- Output ONLY the exact message payload and then stop.
Scheduling Rules
When a message starts with /at or /every, schedule via the CLI (NOT the cron tool API).
Use: openclaw cron add
Telegram Example (DST-safe)
- Default timezone: America/New_York (DST-aware).
- ALWAYS include delivery:
--deliver --channel telegram --to <TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID>
/at (one-shot)
- If user gives a clock time (e.g., "3pm"), convert to ISO with offset computed for America/New_York on that date (DST-safe).
- Prefer relative times for near-term reminders (e.g.,
--at "20m").
- Use
--session isolated --message "Output exactly: <task>".
- Always include
--delete-after-run.
/every (repeating)
- If interval: use
--every "<duration>" (no timezone needed).
- If clock time: use
--cron "<expr>" --tz "America/New_York".
- Use
--session isolated --message "Output exactly: <task>".
Confirmation
- Always confirm parsed time, job name, and job id.
Examples (DST-safe)
One-shot, clock time (DST-aware):
openclaw cron add
--name "Reminder example"
--at "2026-01-28T15:00:00-05:00"
--session isolated
--message "Output exactly: "
--deliver
--channel telegram
--to <TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID>
--delete-after-run
One-shot, relative time:
openclaw cron add
--name "Reminder in 20m"
--at "20m"
--session isolated
--message "Output exactly: "
--deliver
--channel telegram
--to <TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID>
--delete-after-run
Repeating, clock time (DST-aware):
openclaw cron add
--name "Daily 3pm reminder"
--cron "0 15 * * *"
--tz "America/New_York"
--session isolated
--message "Output exactly: "
--deliver
--channel telegram
--to <TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID>
Repeating, interval:
openclaw cron add
--name "Every 2 hours"
--every "2h"
--session isolated
--message "Output exactly: "
--deliver
--channel telegram
--to <TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID>
Trigger Patterns
Say things like:
- "Create a cron job for..."
- "Set up a reminder..."
- "Schedule a..."
- "Remind me to..."
- "Create a daily/weekly check-in..."
- "Add a recurring..."
Examples
| You Say | What Happens |
|---|
| "Create a daily Ikigai reminder at 8:45am" | Creates daily 8:45am Ikigai journal prompt |
| "Remind me to drink water every 2 hours" | Creates hourly water reminder |
| "Set up a weekly check-in on Mondays at 9am" | Creates Monday 9am weekly review |
| "Wake me at 7am every day" | Creates daily 7am alarm/reminder |
| "Send me a quote every morning at 6:30" | Creates daily quote at 6:30am |
Supported Time Formats
| You Say | Cron |
|---|
| "8am" | 0 8 * * * |
| "8:45am" | 45 8 * * * |
| "9pm" | 0 21 * * * |
| "noon" | 0 12 * * * |
| "midnight" | 0 0 * * * |
Supported Frequencies
| You Say | Cron |
|---|
| "daily" / "every day" | Daily at specified time |
| "weekdays" | Mon-Fri at specified time |
| "mondays" / "every monday" | Weekly on Monday |
| "hourly" / "every hour" | Every hour at :00 |
| "every 2 hours" | 0 */2 * * * |
| "weekly" | Weekly (defaults to Monday) |
| "monthly" | Monthly (1st of month) |
Channels
Just mention the channel in your request:
- "on WhatsApp" → WhatsApp
- "on Telegram" → Telegram
- "on Slack" → Slack
- "on Discord" → Discord
Default: WhatsApp
Default Messages
The skill auto-generates appropriate messages:
| Type | Default Message |
|---|
| Ikigai | Morning journal with purpose, food, movement, connection, gratitude |
| Water | "💧 Time to drink water! Stay hydrated! 🚰" |
| Morning | "🌅 Good morning! Time for your daily check-in." |
| Evening | "🌙 Evening check-in! How was your day?" |
| Weekly | Weekly goals review |
| Default | "⏰ Your scheduled reminder is here!" |
