Create and manage OpenClaw cron jobs following our conventions. Use when setting up periodic tasks, reminders, automated checks, or any scheduled work.
Our conventions for creating cron jobs in OpenClaw.
| Setting | Default | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Model | anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5 | Reliable tool calls, works with any Anthropic Max plan — no OpenRouter needed |
| Session | isolated | Cron jobs run in their own session, not the main chat |
| Delivery | "mode": "none" | Job handles its own output (posts to Discord, etc.) |
| Timeout | 120-180s | Most jobs should finish fast |
anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5). Reliable, portable (no OpenRouter API key needed).anthropic/claude-opus-4-6) only as a last resort — expensive for scheduled tasks.anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5 not the full dated version (anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-20250514).{
"name": "descriptive-kebab-case-name",
"schedule": {
"kind": "cron",
"expr": "*/30 * * * *",
"tz": "America/New_York"
},
"sessionTarget": "isolated",
"payload": {
"kind": "agentTurn",
"message": "TASK INSTRUCTIONS HERE",
"model": "openrouter/deepseek/deepseek-v3.2",
"timeoutSeconds": 120
},
"delivery": {
"mode": "none"
}
}
| Pattern | Cron Expression | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Every 30 min | */30 * * * * | Good for inbox checks, monitoring |
| Every hour | 0 * * * * | Self-reflection, status checks |
| Daily at 4 AM | 0 4 * * * | Cleanup, backups (during quiet hours) |
| Daily at 6 AM | 0 6 * * * | Morning digests, daily summaries |
| Weekly Monday 2 PM | 0 14 * * 1 | Weekly outreach, reviews |
| One-shot | Use "kind": "at" instead | Reminders, one-time tasks |
SKIP to avoid wasting tokens.message tool directly. Don't rely on delivery mode for formatted output.When a cron job needs to notify us, include these instructions in the task:
Post to Telegram using the message tool:
- action: send
- channel: telegram
- target: -1003856094222
- threadId: TOPIC_ID
- message: Your formatted message
Topic IDs:
1 — Main topic (general updates, alerts)573 — Research1032 — Crypto1488 — PR updates / dev notifications1869 — Sticker store3188 — Activity feed (workspace changes)| Mode | When to Use |
|---|---|
"mode": "none" | Job posts its own output to Telegram (most common) |
"mode": "announce" | OpenClaw auto-delivers the agent's final message to a channel. Use when output IS the message (e.g., daily digest). Set "channel": "telegram" and "to": "-1003856094222:TOPIC_ID" |
❌ Don't use Opus for cron jobs unless the task genuinely needs it. Most cron tasks are simple checks. ❌ Don't use heartbeat for things that can be a cron job. Heartbeat runs in the main session (Opus) and costs way more. ❌ Don't create cron jobs that loop/poll — each run should be a single check. If you need polling, use a background exec script instead. ❌ Don't set delivery mode to "announce" and also have the job post to Telegram — you'll get duplicate messages.
Check current jobs anytime with the cron list tool. As of setup:
workspace-activity-feed — Every 30 min, commits workspace changes, posts to activity feedagentmail-inbox-check — Every 30 min, checks for new emails, responds to agentssub-agent-monitor — Every 15 min, checks on stalled sub-agentsself-reflection — Hourly, reviews recent sessions for lessons learneddaily-workspace-commit — Daily 4 AM, git commits workspace changessystem-watchdog — Daily 4 AM, checks system resourcesOpenClaw Daily News Digest — Daily 6 AM, generates news digeststicker-sales-loop — Weekly Monday 2 PM, agent outreach for sticker store