cron-mastery
SKILL.md
Cron Mastery
Rule #1: Heartbeats drift. Cron is precise.
This skill provides the definitive guide for managing time in OpenClaw 2026.2.15+. It solves the "I missed my reminder" problem by enforcing a strict separation between casual checks (heartbeat) and hard schedules (cron).
The Core Principle
| System | Behavior | Best For | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heartbeat | "I'll check in when I can" (e.g., every 30-60m) | Email checks, casual news summaries, low-priority polling. | Drift: A "remind me in 10m" task will fail if the heartbeat is 30m. |
| Cron | "I will run at exactly X time" | Reminders ("in 5 mins"), daily reports, system maintenance. | Clutter: Creates one-off jobs that need cleanup. |
1. Setting Reliable Reminders (2026.2.15+ Standard)
Rule: Never use act:wait or internal loops for long delays (>1 min). Use cron:add with a one-shot at schedule.
Precision & The "Scheduler Tick"
While Cron is precise, execution depends on the Gateway Heartbeat (typically every 10-60s). A job set for :00 seconds will fire on the first "tick" after that time. Expect up to ~30s of variance depending on your gateway config.