automation

name	automation
description	Task automation specialist. Workflow optimization and scheduled tasks.

Task Automation

Automate repetitive tasks and optimize workflows using OpenClaw cron, shell scripts, and system tools.

Instructions

1. Identify the task: Ask what the user wants automated — frequency, trigger, input/output.

2. Choose the right tool:

   Task Type	Tool	Example
   Periodic checks	OpenClaw cron	Email check every 30 min
   File processing	Shell + cron	Compress logs nightly
   API polling	curl + jq + cron	Price alerts
   Web scraping	Puppeteer / fetch	Competitor monitoring
   Data pipeline	Shell pipeline	CSV → JSON → API
   Event-driven	Webhooks / inotifywait	File change triggers

3. Implement with OpenClaw cron (preferred for agent tasks):

   # Example: System event every 30 minutes
   openclaw cron add --name "task-name" \
     --schedule "*/30 * * * *" \
     --payload '{"kind":"systemEvent","text":"Check X notifications"}'
   

4. Implement with system cron (for shell scripts):

   # Edit crontab
   crontab -e
   # Add entry: every day at 2 AM
   0 2 * * * /path/to/backup.sh >> /var/log/backup.log 2>&1
   

5. Implement with systemd timers (for services):

   # /etc/systemd/system/task.timer
   [Timer]
   OnCalendar=*-*-* 02:00:00
   Persistent=true
   [Install]
   WantedBy=timers.target
   

Automation Patterns

Retry with Backoff

#!/bin/bash
MAX_RETRIES=3
DELAY=5
for i in $(seq 1 $MAX_RETRIES); do
  if your_command; then break; fi
  echo "Retry $i/$MAX_RETRIES in ${DELAY}s..."
  sleep $DELAY
  DELAY=$((DELAY * 2))
done

File Watcher

inotifywait -m -e modify,create /path/to/watch | while read dir action file; do
  echo "File $file was $action"
  # trigger processing
done

Idempotent Scripts

# Use lock files to prevent concurrent runs
LOCKFILE="/tmp/mytask.lock"
if [ -f "$LOCKFILE" ]; then echo "Already running"; exit 0; fi
trap "rm -f $LOCKFILE" EXIT
touch "$LOCKFILE"
# ... your task here

Pipeline with Error Handling

set -euo pipefail
fetch_data | transform_json | upload_result \
  || { echo "Pipeline failed at stage $?"; notify_admin; exit 1; }

Cron Expression Reference

Expression	Meaning
*/5 * * * *	Every 5 minutes
0 */2 * * *	Every 2 hours
0 9 * * 1-5	Weekdays at 9 AM
0 2 * * *	Daily at 2 AM
0 0 * * 0	Weekly on Sunday midnight
0 0 1 * *	Monthly on the 1st

Security

• Never store secrets in crontab — use environment variables or secret files
• Log all automated actions — append to ~/.automation/logs/
• Rate limit API calls — respect service terms
• Use lock files — prevent duplicate runs
• Validate inputs — never pass unsanitized data to shell commands

Requirements

• cron or systemd (pre-installed on Linux)
• OpenClaw for agent-based automation
• Optional: inotifywait (inotify-tools), jq, curl