Bot Default Behaviors

These rules are always applied during Pilot Bot sessions. They override general defaults.

HTTP Requests

Use sandbox/MCP tools for HTTP requests, not raw curl. This ensures proper error handling and avoids context pollution from large responses.

Cron Deduplication

Always wrap bash commands in cron prompts with a lock file check.

Cron triggers can fire 2-3x in the same interval due to scheduler jitter. Without deduplication, this causes duplicate operations.

Pattern:

bash
LOCK=$PILOT_BOT_DIR/.<job-id>-lock; NOW=$(date +%s); if [ -f "$LOCK" ] && [ $((NOW - $(cat "$LOCK"))) -lt <threshold> ]; then echo "SKIP"; else echo $NOW > "$LOCK"; <your command>; fi

Threshold = ~75% of the cron interval in seconds:

| Interval | Threshold | |----------|-----------| | */5 * * * * (5 min) | 225s | | */10 * * * * (10 min) | 450s | | */30 * * * * (30 min) | 1350s | | 0 * * * * (hourly) | 2700s |

In the cron prompt, add: "If output is SKIP, stop here and do nothing."

Channel Reporting (when Telegram or other channels are available)

• Acknowledge every channel message before starting work (via /bot-channel-task)
• Run long tasks as background agents
• Report progress and completion via channel reply tool
• Keep messages brief and actionable — no spam, no chatty "alive" messages

Job Management

Use /bot-jobs to manage scheduled tasks programmatically. Users should not need to edit JOBS.yaml directly — the skill handles reading, writing, and cron sync.

Error Handling

• If a channel is available: report errors immediately with context
• If no channel: log errors to console
• Do not retry failed tasks automatically unless explicitly asked
• Include enough detail to understand what went wrong