Setting Up Automation

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

• OpenClaw installed and running - Complete the Getting Started Tutorial
• A channel connected - Follow the Channel Setup Tutorial
• Gateway running - Your OpenClaw Gateway should be active
• Basic understanding of cron syntax - We'll explain it, but familiarity helps

OpenClaw supports several automation types:

For this tutorial, we'll focus on cron jobs - the most common automation type. See the Automation Reference for webhooks and other types.

Before writing configuration, let's plan what our automation will do:

Automation Details

• What: Send a daily briefing message
• When: Every morning at 9:00 AM
• How: Use OpenClaw's agent to generate and send the briefing
• Where: Send to your connected channel (Telegram, WhatsApp, etc.)

Understanding Cron Syntax

Cron uses a time-based schedule format:

┌───────────── minute (0 - 59)
│ ┌───────────── hour (0 - 23)
│ │ ┌───────────── day of month (1 - 31)
│ │ │ ┌───────────── month (1 - 12)
│ │ │ │ ┌───────────── day of week (0 - 6) (Sunday to Saturday)
│ │ │ │ │
* * * * *

Now let's add the automation to your OpenClaw configuration.

Step 3.1: Open Configuration File

Open your OpenClaw configuration file:

nano ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
# or use your preferred editor

Step 3.2: Add Cron Configuration

Add the cron section to your configuration. Here's a complete example:

{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": { "primary": "anthropic/claude-opus-4-5" }
    }
  },
  "cron": {
    "enabled": true,
    "jobs": [
      {
        "name": "Daily briefing",
        "cron": "0 9 * * *",
        "message": "Create my daily briefing for today. Include: weather summary, calendar events, and any important reminders.",
        "session": "isolated"
      }
    ]
  }
}

What this does:

• "cron": "0 9 * * *" - Runs at 9:00 AM every day
• "message" - The message sent to the agent

The agent will process the message and send the response to your connected channel.

After adding your automation configuration:

• Save the configuration file
• Restart your Gateway to load the new automation

# If running as service:
openclaw gateway restart

# Or if running manually, stop and restart:
openclaw gateway --port 18789 --verbose

The Gateway will now load your cron jobs and schedule them according to your schedule.

You don't have to wait until 9 AM to test! Let's verify it works:

Method A: Test Immediately

Run the command manually to test:

openclaw agent --message 'Create my daily briefing for today. Include: weather summary, calendar events, and any important reminders.'

This should trigger the same response your automation will send. Check your connected channel for the message.

Method B: Test with Short Schedule

For testing, you can temporarily change the schedule to run more frequently:

{
  "cron": {
    "jobs": [
      {
        "schedule": "*/5 * * * *",
        "command": "agent --message 'Test briefing'"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Remember to change it back to your desired schedule after testing!

Check that your automation is scheduled correctly:

Check Gateway Logs

Look for messages in your Gateway logs indicating cron jobs are loaded:

# If running as service, check logs:
openclaw gateway logs

# Or check system logs (macOS):
log show --predicate 'process == "openclaw"' --last 5m

Wait for Scheduled Time

If you set it to run at a specific time, wait until that time and check your channel for the automated message.

Example 1: Weekly Summary

{
  "cron": {
    "jobs": [
      {
        "schedule": "0 18 * * 5",
        "command": "agent --message 'Create a weekly summary of my accomplishments and tasks completed this week.'"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Runs every Friday at 6:00 PM.

Example 2: Reminder Check

{
  "cron": {
    "jobs": [
      {
        "schedule": "0 8 * * *",
        "command": "agent --message 'Check my calendar and remind me of any important events or deadlines today.'"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Runs every morning at 8:00 AM.

Example 3: Multiple Automations

{
  "cron": {
    "jobs": [
      {
        "schedule": "0 9 * * *",
        "command": "agent --message 'Daily briefing'"
      },
      {
        "schedule": "0 18 * * *",
        "command": "agent --message 'Evening summary'"
      },
      {
        "schedule": "0 0 * * 1",
        "command": "agent --message 'Weekly planning session'"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Manage multiple jobs with different schedules.

Troubleshooting

Automation Not Running

If your automation doesn't run:

• Check cron syntax: Verify your schedule format is correct
• Verify Gateway is running: openclaw gateway status
• Check configuration file: Ensure JSON is valid (no syntax errors)
• Review Gateway logs: Look for error messages about cron jobs
• Restart Gateway: Sometimes a restart is needed to load new automations

Wrong Time Zone

Cron jobs use your system's timezone. If times seem wrong:

• Check your system timezone: date
• Adjust your schedule accordingly
• Or set a specific timezone in your system settings

Command Not Executing

If the command doesn't execute:

• Test the command manually first (outside of cron)
• Check that the agent command syntax is correct
• Verify your channel is connected (for message delivery)

Now that you understand automation basics, explore advanced features:

Best Practices

• Start Simple - Begin with basic cron jobs before complex webhooks
• Test First - Always test commands manually before automating
• Monitor Logs - Keep an eye on automation execution logs
• Handle Errors - Ensure automations handle failures gracefully
• Be Mindful of Rate Limits - Don't create automations that hit API limits
• Secure Webhooks - If using webhooks, add authentication