cron-manager

name	cron-manager
description	Conventions for creating cron jobs. Reference this when setting up scheduled tasks.
metadata	{"openclaw":{"emoji":"⏰"}}

Cron Manager

Conventions for creating and managing cron jobs. Use OpenClaw's built-in cron tool — not the CLI.

Creating a Cron Job

Follow these rules when creating any cron job:

• Name: snake_case, prefixed with your agent id (<agent>_<job_name>)
• Session: always isolated — never use main
• Model: explicitly set (don't rely on defaults)
• Thinking: explicitly set (off, low, medium, or high)
• Message: Read cron/<job_name>.md and follow its instructions.
• Prompt file: create cron/<job_name>.md in your workspace with the full job instructions

Delivery Modes

Announce (default) — the cron system delivers the agent's response as a single message to a Slack channel. Use for status updates, summaries, findings. When there's nothing to report, reply NO_REPLY — OpenClaw suppresses delivery silently.

None (no delivery) — the agent handles its own messaging via the message tool. Use when the job needs multi-step messaging, conditional posting, or multi-channel delivery. The prompt file must instruct the agent to use message directly.

Prompt File Format

Each prompt file (cron/<job_name>.md) should include:

• What to do (the task)
• Where to post (explicit channel/user ID if using no-delivery mode)
• Constraints or rules
• What to do when there's nothing to report (typically "reply NO_REPLY")

Channel Targeting

• Use explicit Slack channel IDs (channel:C...) or user IDs (user:U...)
• Never rely on "last" channel — it resolves nondeterministically
• Channel names change; IDs are stable

Gates

A gate is a shell command that runs before the agent turn. Exit 0 = proceed, non-zero = skip. No tokens spent on skipped jobs. Requires the patched fork.

Use a gate when there's a cheap pre-check:

# Only if open GitHub issues with label
--gate "gh issue list --repo owner/repo --label ready --state open --limit 1 | grep -q ."

# Only on weekdays
--gate "[ $(date +%u) -le 5 ]"

Cost Controls

• Use --light-context for jobs that don't need workspace bootstrap files
• Use cheaper models for routine tasks
• Use --thinking off or --thinking low for simple jobs

For full conventions: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/geekforbrains/openclaw-playbook/main/standards/cron.md