OpenClaw Cron Jobs: Scheduled AI Tasks

What Are OpenClaw Cron Jobs?

Cron jobs let your agent execute tasks on a precise schedule. Unlike heartbeats (approximate timing, batched checks), cron jobs run at exact times with isolated sessions.

When to Use Cron vs Heartbeats

	Cron	Heartbeats
Timing	Exact (9:00 AM sharp)	Approximate (~30 min)
Session	Isolated	Main session
Best for	Scheduled reports	Periodic monitoring
Model	Can differ	Uses main model
Context	No chat history	Has recent history

Creating Cron Jobs

Daily Morning Briefing

bash
openclaw cron add \
  --schedule "0 8 * * *" \
  --task "Send me a morning briefing: weather, calendar for today, any urgent emails" \
  --channel discord

Weekly Report

bash
openclaw cron add \
  --schedule "0 17 * * 5" \
  --task "Generate a weekly summary of what we worked on this week based on memory files"

Hourly Uptime Check

bash
openclaw cron add \
  --schedule "0 * * * *" \
  --task "Check if copypastelearn.com is responding. Only alert if it's down." \
  --model "gpt-4o-mini"

Managing Cron Jobs

bash
# List all cron jobs
openclaw cron list

# Remove a cron job
openclaw cron remove <job-id>

# Pause a cron job
openclaw cron pause <job-id>

Practical Examples

Daily Git Summary

Schedule: Every day at 6 PM
Task: "Check git log for today's commits across all repos. Summarize what was done."

SSL Certificate Monitor

Schedule: Every Monday at 9 AM
Task: "Check SSL certificate expiry for all network sites. Alert if any expire within 30 days."

Content Reminder

Schedule: Every Wednesday at 10 AM
Task: "Remind me to publish this week's blog post on CopyPasteLearn."

Database Backup Verification

Schedule: Daily at 2 AM
Task: "Verify the database backup completed successfully. Check file size and timestamp."

Cost Optimization

Each cron job spawns a session and uses LLM tokens. To minimize costs:

Use cheaper models for simple checks (gpt-4o-mini)
Be concise in task descriptions
Set appropriate intervals — don't check every minute if hourly is fine
Combine related checks into single cron jobs
Use conditional alerts — "only message me if something is wrong"

Best Practices

Test cron jobs manually before scheduling
Start with longer intervals and tighten as needed
Include the delivery channel in the job configuration
Log cron results to daily memory files for audit trails