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Master OpenClaw's timing systems.
Passed 21 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 9 of 22 without it.
and 11 more in the full report
12 fixed9 passed either way1 still failing0 broke
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
Rule #1: Heartbeats drift. Cron is precise.
This skill provides the definitive guide for managing time in OpenClaw. It solves the "I missed my reminder" problem by enforcing a strict separation between casual checks (heartbeat) and hard schedules (cron).
| 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. |
Never use act:wait or internal loops for long delays (>1 min). Use cron:add with a one-shot at schedule.
Use this payload structure for "remind me in X minutes" tasks:
{
"name": "Remind: Drink Water",
"schedule": {
"kind": "at",
"atMs": <CURRENT_MS + DELAY_MS>
},
"payload": {
"kind": "agentTurn",
"message": "⏰ Reminder: Drink water!",
"deliver": true
},
"sessionTarget": "isolated",
"wakeMode": "next-heartbeat"
}
Note: Even with wakeMode: "next-heartbeat", the cron system forces an event injection at atMs. Use mode: "now" in the cron:wake tool if you need to force an immediate wake outside of a job payload.
test cases passed, vs 9 / 22 without
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