Automation

Make your agent do things without you asking. Cron jobs, heartbeats, and scheduled tasks.

Why Automate?

Once your agent is running, you'll notice patterns:

• "I check the same thing every morning"
• "I want a daily summary"
• "I need the agent to monitor something"

That's where automation comes in.

Cron Jobs

OpenClaw has a built-in cron system. You define schedules in your agent's config, and the agent runs tasks automatically.

Setting Up a Cron Job

openclaw cron add --agent myagent

Or define them in your agent's config file. A cron job needs:

• A schedule (cron syntax: 30 0 * * * = every day at 12:30 AM)
• A prompt — what the agent should do when triggered

Example: Daily Summary

cron:
  - name: daily-summary
    schedule: "0 9 * * *"  # 9 AM every day
    prompt: "Give me a summary of yesterday's work and today's priorities."

Example: System Health Check

cron:
  - name: health-check
    schedule: "0 */4 * * *"  # Every 4 hours
    prompt: "Check system health. Report any issues."

Heartbeats

Heartbeats are simpler than cron jobs — they're periodic check-ins. If everything is fine, the agent replies HEARTBEAT_OK. If something needs attention, it speaks up.

This is great for monitoring: the agent only bothers you when there's a problem.

Practical Automation Ideas

Tips

• Start simple. One daily cron job. See how it works before adding more.
• Watch the costs. Every cron trigger is an AI API call. Haiku/Flash models are great for routine checks.
• Use heartbeats for monitoring. They're designed for "only alert me if something's wrong."
• Check the logs. If a cron job isn't running: openclaw logs --filter cron

Further Reading

• Cron Jobs — Official Docs
• Heartbeats — Official Docs
• Webhooks — Official Docs