Automation

Task Automation

Automate repetitive tasks and optimize workflows using OpenClaw cron, shell scripts, and system tools.

Instructions

1. Identify the task: Ask what the user wants automated — frequency, trigger, input/output.

2. Choose the right tool:

   Task Type	Tool	Example
   Periodic checks	OpenClaw cron	Email check every 30 min
   File processing	Shell + cron	Compress logs nightly
   API polling	curl + jq + cron	Price alerts
   Web scraping	Puppeteer / fetch	Competitor monitoring
   Data pipeline	Shell pipeline	CSV → JSON → API
   Event-driven	Webhooks / inotifywait	File change triggers

3. Implement with OpenClaw cron (preferred for agent tasks):

   # Example: System event every 30 minutes
   openclaw cron add --name "task-name" \
     --schedule "*/30 * * * *" \
     --payload '{"kind":"systemEvent","text":"Check X notifications"}'
   

4. Implement with system cron (for shell scripts):

   # Edit crontab
   crontab -e
   # Add entry: every day at 2 AM
   0 2 * * * /path/to/backup.sh >> /var/log/backup.log 2>&1
   

5. Implement with systemd timers (for services):

   # /etc/systemd/system/task.timer
   [Timer] 02:00:00
   Persistent=true
   [Install]
   WantedBy=timers.target
   

Automation Patterns

Retry with Backoff

#!/bin/bash
MAX_RETRIES=3
DELAY=5
for i in $(seq 1 $MAX_RETRIES); do
  if your_command; then break; fi
  echo "Retry $i/$MAX_RETRIES in ${DELAY}s..."
  sleep $DELAY
  DELAY=$((DELAY * 2))
done

File Watcher

inotifywait -m -e modify,create /path/to/watch | while read dir action file; do
  echo "File $file was $action"
  # trigger processing
done

Idempotent Scripts

# Use lock files to prevent concurrent runs
LOCKFILE="/tmp/mytask.lock"
if [ -f "$LOCKFILE" ]; then echo "Already running"; exit 0; fi
trap "rm -f $LOCKFILE" EXIT
touch "$LOCKFILE"
# ... your task here

Pipeline with Error Handling

set -euo pipefail
fetch_data | transform_json | upload_result \
  || { echo "Pipeline failed at stage $?"; notify_admin; exit 1; }

Cron Expression Reference

Security

• Never store secrets in crontab — use environment variables or secret files
• Log all automated actions — append to ~/.automation/logs/
• Rate limit API calls — respect service terms
• Use lock files — prevent duplicate runs
• Validate inputs — never pass unsanitized data to shell commands

Requirements

• cron or systemd (pre-installed on Linux)
• OpenClaw for agent-based automation
• Optional: inotifywait (inotify-tools), jq, curl