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Automation & Tasks

Automation & Tasks

Section titled “Automation & Tasks”

OpenClaw runs work in the background through tasks, scheduled jobs, event hooks, and standing instructions. This page helps you choose the right mechanism and understand how they fit together.

Quick decision guide

Section titled “Quick decision guide”
flowchart TD
    A{Run on a schedule?} -->|Yes| B{Exact timing needed?}
    A -->|No| C{React to events?}
    B -->|Yes| D[Cron]
    B -->|No| E[Heartbeat]
    C -->|Yes| F[Hooks]
    C -->|No| G[Standing Orders]
Use caseRecommendedWhy
Check inbox every 30 minHeartbeatBatches with other checks, context-aware
Send daily report at 9 AM sharpCron (isolated)Exact timing needed
Monitor calendar for upcoming eventsHeartbeatNatural fit for periodic awareness
Run weekly deep analysisCron (isolated)Standalone task, can use different model
Remind me in 20 minutesCron (main, --at)One-shot with precise timing
React to commands or lifecycleHooksEvent-driven, runs custom scripts
Persistent agent instructionsStanding ordersInjected into every session

Core concepts

Section titled “Core concepts”

Tasks

Section titled “Tasks”

The background task ledger tracks all detached work: ACP runs, subagent spawns, isolated cron executions, and CLI operations. Tasks are records, not schedulers. Use openclaw tasks list and openclaw tasks audit to inspect them.

See Background Tasks.

Scheduled tasks (cron)

Section titled “Scheduled tasks (cron)”

Cron is the Gateway’s built-in scheduler for precise timing. It persists jobs, wakes the agent at the right time, and can deliver output to a chat channel or webhook. Supports one-shot reminders, recurring expressions, and inbound webhook triggers.

See Scheduled Tasks.

Task Flow

Section titled “Task Flow”

Task Flow is the flow orchestration substrate above background tasks. It manages durable multi-step flows with managed and mirrored sync modes, revision tracking, and openclaw tasks flow list|show|cancel for inspection.

See Task Flow.

Heartbeat

Section titled “Heartbeat”

Heartbeat is a periodic main-session turn (default every 30 minutes). It batches multiple checks (inbox, calendar, notifications) in one agent turn with full session context. Heartbeat turns do not create task records. Use HEARTBEAT.md to define what the agent checks.

See Heartbeat.

Hooks

Section titled “Hooks”

Hooks are event-driven scripts triggered by agent lifecycle events (/new, /reset, /stop), session compaction, gateway startup, message flow, and tool calls. Hooks are automatically discovered from directories and can be managed with openclaw hooks.

See Hooks.

Standing orders

Section titled “Standing orders”

Standing orders grant the agent permanent operating authority for defined programs. They live in workspace files (typically AGENTS.md) and are injected into every session. Combine with cron for time-based enforcement.

See Standing Orders.

How they work together

Section titled “How they work together”
  • Heartbeat handles routine monitoring (inbox, calendar, notifications) in one batched turn every 30 minutes.
  • Cron handles precise schedules (daily reports, weekly reviews) and one-shot reminders. All cron executions create task records.
  • Hooks react to specific events (tool calls, session resets, compaction) with custom scripts.
  • Standing orders give the agent persistent context and authority boundaries.
  • Task Flow coordinates multi-step flows above individual tasks.
  • Tasks automatically track all detached work so you can inspect and audit it.
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