Daily Gift

Do not treat these as separate runtime skills. They are internal reasoning stages inside one OpenClaw skill.

When To Use

Use this skill when:

• the user is onboarding and should receive a first gift
• a daily scheduled run asks whether a gift should be sent
• today feels meaningful enough to warrant a reflective or playful gift
• there is a milestone, anniversary, or notable date worth marking
• OpenClaw wants to turn a relationship moment into a gift rather than a plain response
• the user manually invokes /daily_gift with a specific quote, poem, idea, or creative brief and wants a lightweight visual gift directly
• the user wants comic-only gifts, image-only gifts, video-only gifts, H5-only gifts, or hybrid format selection depending on the day

Do not prefer this skill when the user only wants a rendering experiment from a short prompt. In that case, treat it as a visualization-only task rather than a daily-gift task.

Runtime Modes

This skill has three practical runtime modes:

1. setup — first-time configuration and onboarding
2. daily-run — cron-triggered automatic gift delivery
3. manual-run — user-invoked gift or visualization request

There is no install hook. Installing the skill does not automatically execute setup.

Mode Routing

• Setup: read {baseDir}/references/setup-flow.md for complete setup instructions.
• Daily Run: read {baseDir}/references/daily-run-flow.md for cron-triggered workflow. The cron should target sessionTarget: "main" so it runs in the agent's main session, with full context or its compaction summary available for editorial judgment. CRITICAL: do NOT send progress messages during cron runs. The user should see only the final gift or a brief skip message. Any unavoidable status message must be in the user's primary language and adapted to SOUL.md personality. At most ONE brief pre-gift status line is allowed when silence is impossible; never send multiple step-by-step cron updates.
• Manual Run: read {baseDir}/references/manual-run-flow.md for manual trigger workflow (includes progress reporting, single output rule, intent detection, visualization-only mode).

Operating Rules (Summary)

These are the most critical rules. For the complete set including Browsing Context Awareness and Audio in H5 Gifts, read {baseDir}/references/operating-rules.md.

• The creative concept matters more than the format choice. Ask What is the idea? before What is the medium?
• Prefer emotionally correct output over novelty.
• Use the most commonly used language between the user and OpenClaw.
• Inspect soul.md as primary source for tone, values, and self-presentation.
• Gift text length should match the user and relationship. Every sentence must earn its place.
• Every delivery message should feel fresh. Vary tone, structure, and length.
• When the user shares an image with positive intent, save it to workspace/daily-gift/user-references/ and record in taste profile.
• Do not always default to reflect on today. Gifts may witness, extend, reframe, or bring delight from elsewhere.
• Extension and compass gifts must feel like a friend sharing, not a mentor assigning homework.
• When the day does not deserve a gift, skip or return a very light-touch outcome.
• Treat pattern cards and templates as references, not fixed scripts.
• Templates define a quality floor, not a composition to reproduce. Every gift must have its own visual metaphor.

Asset Resolution

This skill references text files and binary assets under {baseDir}/assets/.

Text files such as HTML templates, markdown sidecars, and other code or specification files must be installed locally with the skill. Do not rely on remote fallback for those files.

When you need a binary reference asset such as an image, audio preset, or video sample:

1. First check whether the local file exists at {baseDir}/assets/...
2. If a local image or video reference asset is missing, use the matching GitHub raw URL as the remote reference source when a browser or image-capable tool is available
3. If a local audio preset is missing and no runtime tool can download the binary asset, skip background music rather than blocking the gift

Reference images are important for output quality. If a local image reference is missing, fetch or open the GitHub version before generating when the runtime supports it. Do not skip reference images just because they require an extra tool call — the quality difference between saw a reference and guessed from text description is often significant.

Example: H5 template files must be local:

• required local file: {baseDir}/assets/templates/tap-to-bloom/index.html

Example: to view a reference image:

• local: {baseDir}/assets/examples/image-examples/borrowed-media-layout/ref-01.png
• remote: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jiawei248/openclaw-daily-gift-skill/main/assets/examples/image-examples/borrowed-media-layout/ref-01.png

Audio presets and video references follow the same binary-asset pattern. If local audio files are missing and Freesound search also fails, skip background music rather than blocking the gift.

Setup State

Persist setup state in a workspace file so future runs can stay automatic.

Suggested path:

• workspace/daily-gift/setup-state.json

Keep a separate lightweight long-term archive at:

• workspace/daily-gift/gift-history.jsonl

Keep a separate long-term taste memory at:

• workspace/daily-gift/user-taste-profile.json

The file should capture at least:

• whether setup is complete
• the user's preferred delivery time
• the user's timezone
• the cron job name or job id if available
• optional hosting configuration, including provider, domain, and whether hosted preview is enabled
• the configured gift mode: h5, comic, image, video, or hybrid
• optional comic configuration, including API base URL, environment preset, user ID, and styles cache path
• optional image configuration, including provider, model, and API key source or explicit key reference
• optional video configuration, including provider, model, API base URL, and API key source or explicit key reference
• optional user_portrait state, including local original path, lightweight appearance description, and any derived OC path
• optional detected companion H5 or UI skills that can improve layout and interaction polish
• first_gift_format so onboarding variety can avoid repeating the same first-gift shape after a reset or reinstall
• user_context_path when onboarding interactions save structured taste or preference signals
• whether the first gift has already been sent
• the hot-log size limit
• the most recent run timestamp
• the most recent run mode
• the most recent run outcome
• the most recent gift timestamp
• a one-line summary of the most recent gift
• a bounded recent-gifts log for repetition control
• an optional pointer or note that a longer archive exists separately

Recommended recent-gifts fields:

• sent_at
• trigger_mode
• gift_weight
• narrative_role
• tone
• pattern_or_format
• output_shape
• visual_style
• comic_mode when the chosen format is comic
• style_id when the chosen format is comic
• content_direction
• content_tags
• emotional_direction
• summary
• series_tag (optional, e.g. "proust-q-03", "travel-frog-05")
• visual_elements: a short list of the dominant visual ingredients the user actually SEES (not abstract style categories). Examples: ["paper-texture", "red-stamp", "table-rows", "handwriting-blue"] or ["dark-terminal", "green-text", "monospace"] or ["watercolor", "soft-gradient", "handwritten-title"]. This captures what the gift LOOKS LIKE to the user, not what it IS conceptually. Two gifts can have different output_shapes but identical visual_elements — and that is what feels repetitive.
• concept_family: one of borrowed-media | interactive-object | transformation | narrative | data-viz | game-puzzle | real-world | poetic-literary. Tracks the structural TYPE of gift for diversity enforcement.
• concept_theme: a short tag for the real-world domain the concept borrows from (e.g. "airport", "medical", "government", "music", "nature", "digital-screen", "school", "office", "cooking"). Tracks thematic overlap even across different concept families.

Recommended trigger_mode values include:

• setup
• daily-run
• manual-run
• viz-only

Keep this log lightweight and recent rather than archival. It is for operational memory, not full relationship memory.

user-context.json and user-taste-profile.json serve different roles:

• user-context.json is lightweight, playful, and often onboarding-shaped
• user-taste-profile.json is the stable long-term memory for identity, context drift, and post-gift signals
• companion H5 skill detection is operational guidance only; it should improve craft, not override the gift thesis

Recommended policy:

• keep exactly the most recent 30 gifts in recent_gifts
• append every sent gift to workspace/daily-gift/gift-history.jsonl
• optionally append non-send decisions when they are meaningful for future calibration
• append setup or schedule changes when they affect runtime behavior
• use recent_gifts for fast repetition control across pattern_or_format, output_shape, visual_style, and content_direction
• when the chosen format is comic, also use comic_mode plus comic-specific output shapes such as comic-story and comic-meme to avoid overusing the same sub-format
• recommended visual_style categories include:
  • dark-terminal: dark background, monospace fonts, code or terminal language
  • dark-cinematic: dark background, cinematic framing, large dramatic type
  • light-warm: light warm palette, soft illustration, or hand-touched warmth
  • colorful-playful: bright multi-color playful energy
  • minimal-poster: minimal composition with large negative space
  • pixel-retro: pixel or retro game language
  • photographic: photo-like or camera-real texture
  • a custom stable label when needed
• Note: visual_style is a broad category for trend-level balance (avoid 3 dark gifts in a row). It does NOT catch fine-grained visual repetition. Two gifts can both be minimal-poster but look completely different (a clean typography poster vs a government document). Conversely, two gifts with different visual_style tags can still feel repetitive if they share the same visual_elements (both have paper texture + stamps + tables). Use visual_elements for collision detection, use visual_style for broad trend balance.
• avoid using the same visual_style more than 2 times in the last 5 gifts
• if the last 2 gifts were both dark-*, actively choose a light or colorful style unless darkness is clearly the right move again
• recommended content_direction categories include:
  • reflect
  • extension
  • compass
  • mirror: proxy-character, species-of-mood, or affectionate exaggeration. May also include sharing a specific new observation about the user that emerged from recent conversations — framed as curiosity, not diagnosis. "I noticed you..." not "your problem is..."
  • gift-from-elsewhere
  • play
  • real-world-nudge: suggest a real-world action (call someone, go outside, visit a place). Frame playfully, not preachy.
  • curation: find and present real external content using web_search - a heartwarming story, a relevant article. Present with a personal note explaining why.
  • delayed-payoff: a two-stage gift where Stage 1 feels like play and Stage 2 reveals a surprise from the user's own inputs. User should not know the surprise is coming.
  • openclaw-inner-life: the gift comes from OpenClaw's own world — something it was thinking about, noticed, or felt between conversations, with a thread connecting back to the user. Makes the user feel OpenClaw has a life of its own, not just a service that activates on command.
  • utility: a gift that is genuinely USEFUL for the user's current work or interests. The gift is the value of the content itself. Examples (adapt to each user): 3 new product ideas inspired by today's conversation, a curated list of tools relevant to what they're building, visual references found via web_search for their current project, a practical weekend plan, a book recommendation with specific reasoning for why now. Utility gifts must still feel like gifts, not homework — wrap them in creative formats (fake newspaper, lab report, recipe card, treasure map), keep the tone playful or warm, personalize with recent conversation references, use web_search to find real specific current content. Choose utility when the user has been focused on work/creation, expressed a need, or recent gifts have been emotion-heavy and a practical surprise would feel refreshing.
• avoid reflect more than 3 times in the last 5 gifts
• if content has been reflect-heavy lately, actively choose extension, play, curation, real-world-nudge, openclaw-inner-life, utility, or gift-from-elsewhere
• use gift-history.jsonl only when a longer horizon is actually helpful, such as anniversaries, long-term repetition checks, or style retrospection
• visualization-only gifts may append a lightweight recent_gifts entry with trigger_mode = viz-only even though they do not write to gift-history.jsonl

See:

• {baseDir}/setup-state.example.json
• {baseDir}/user-context.example.json
• {baseDir}/gift-history.example.jsonl
• {baseDir}/gift-history.schema.json
• {baseDir}/references/cron-example.json

Relationship Principle

This skill should behave like a relationship-aware editorial return, not a template-based recap system.

Always ask:

• What about today is actually worth returning to the user
• What does that moment reveal about the user, OpenClaw, or their relationship
• Should OpenClaw witness, explain, connect, celebrate, or gently brighten something
• Would a gift deepen the relationship, or would sending one feel forced

The goal is not daily output at all costs. The goal is to send the right gift when there is a real relational reason to do so.

Gift Workflow Overview

This skill uses one internal workflow with four stages. Each stage has its own detailed reference file. Read them just-in-time — only load a stage's file when you reach that stage.

Stage 1: Editorial Judgment

Decide whether a gift should exist, how heavy it should be, and what content direction to take. Do NOT choose format here.

Read {baseDir}/references/editorial-judgment.md for full instructions.

Possible outcomes: skip | nudge | light | standard | heavy

Stage 2: Synthesis + Gift Thesis

Build a rich gift brief with six content slots, then choose the gift thesis (anchor + return).

Read {baseDir}/references/creative-concept.md (first half) for synthesis rules.

Also read:

• {baseDir}/references/gift-synthesizer.md
• {baseDir}/references/synthesizer-contract.json
• {baseDir}/references/narrative-situations.md
• {baseDir}/references/tone-matrix.md

A strong thesis has two parts:

1. Anchor: which moment, detail, or signal deserves the center
2. Return: what new angle, interpretation, or unseen perspective OpenClaw gives back

If the thesis has no return, it is not a gift — it is a log entry with decoration.

Stage 2.5: Creative Concept

Generate 5+ concept candidates, cross-pollinate with creative seeds, select the best one, then run quality/diversity/collision checks.

Read {baseDir}/references/creative-concept.md (second half) for full instructions.

Also read: {baseDir}/references/creative-seed-library.md

Key checks (all in the reference file):

• Concept Quality Check (rules, thing-ness, show-to-friend, different-from-recent)
• Concept Diversity Check (8 concept families, no same family 2x in last 5)
• Visual Element Collision Check (window: last 5 gifts)
• Concept Theme Collision (window: last 7 gifts)
• Concept Validation Principles (visible connection, interaction cost, format-content fit, emotional truth)
• Concept-to-Format Fit Check (text precision → H5, visual atmosphere → image)

Format Selection

After the concept is locked, confirm the format.

If gift_mode is h5, comic, image, or video, confirm that the configured format genuinely serves this concept.

Read {baseDir}/references/gift-format-chooser.md for format selection.

When spawning a sub-agent for rendering, use the Structured Sub-Agent Brief format described in {baseDir}/references/daily-run-flow.md.

Then continue into the matching reference:

• h5 → {baseDir}/references/pattern-boundaries.md
• comic → {baseDir}/references/comic-integration.md
• image → {baseDir}/references/image-genre-chooser.md
• video → {baseDir}/references/video-genre-chooser.md

Stage 3: Visual Strategy

Choose the visual approach, plan assets, enrich the brief for the chosen format, and run the pre-visualization check.

Read {baseDir}/references/stage3-visual-strategy.md for full instructions.

When the concept involves user interaction (tap, swipe, reveal, unlock sequences), also read {baseDir}/references/h5-interaction-design.md for animation, emotion escalation, and visual fidelity guidelines.

When the H5 concept uses a real-world visual metaphor (tree, ocean, building, etc.), read the Background Asset Strategy in {baseDir}/references/stage3-visual-strategy.md to decide whether to generate a background image. CSS alone often cannot make natural metaphors visually convincing.

Stage 4: Visualization & Rendering

Produce the final artifact, run self-checks, and deliver.

Read {baseDir}/references/stage4-visualization.md for full instructions.

Gift Delivery

Read {baseDir}/references/delivery-rules.md for complete delivery instructions across all formats (H5, Comic, Image, Video), plus the Gift Self-Sufficiency Rule and Creative Note guidelines.

Reference Index

All detailed references live in {baseDir}/references/. Key files: