How do I install the Error Guard skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add modbender/error-guard in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Error Guard safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Independent scanners report: SkillSpector: CAUTION, Skill Scanner: PASS. Capability flags: executes scripts. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Error Guard?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Error Guard free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Error Guard?

modbender (@modbender) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Error Guard by modbender — Agent Skill

Name: Error Guard
Rating: 4.666666666666667 (3 reviews)
Author: modbender

Error Guard

System safety and control-plane skill that prevents agent deadlocks and freezes. Provides non-LLM control commands to inspect task state, flush message queues, cancel long-running work, and recover safely without restarting the container. Use when implementing or operating long-running tasks, sub-agents, benchmarks, background monitors (e.g., Moltbook, PNR checks), or when the system becomes unresponsive and needs immediate recovery controls.

modbender Updated Sep 9, 2026 12 repo stars

File contents

error-guard

⚠️ System‑level skill (Advanced users)

This skill defines the control‑plane safety primitives for OpenClaw. It is intentionally minimal, non‑blocking, and designed to prevent agent freezes, deadlocks, and unrecoverable states when running long‑lived or high‑risk workloads.

Design Principles

Warning: This skill operates at the agent control‑plane level. It should be installed only by users who understand OpenClaw’s execution model and are running workloads that can block, hang, or run for extended periods.

Main agent never blocks: no long exec, no external I/O, no LLM calls.
Event-driven: workers emit events; the control plane listens.
Fail-safe first: recovery commands must always respond.
Minimal state: track only task metadata (never payloads).

Command Surface (Phase 1)

/status

Report current system health and task registry state.

Returns:

Active tasks (taskId, type, state)
Start time and last heartbeat
Flags for stalled or overdue tasks

Constraints:

Must run in constant time
Must not call any model or external API

/flush

Emergency stop.

Immediately:

Cancel all active tasks
Kill active exec/process sessions
Clear pending message queue
Reset in-memory task registry

Constraints:

Must always respond
No waiting on workers
No model calls

/recover

Safe recovery sequence.

Steps:

Execute /flush
Reset control-plane state
Optionally reload skills/state (no container restart)

Future Extensions (Not Implemented Yet)

Sub-agent runner helper (event-driven)
Task watchdogs with TTL and silence detection
Structured event protocol (task.started, task.heartbeat, task.completed, ...)
Back-pressure and task classes (interactive / batch / background)

Security & Privacy

This skill does not store payloads, prompts, messages, or model outputs
Only minimal task metadata is persisted (taskId, timestamps, state)
No API keys, credentials, or user data are read or written
Safe to publish and share publicly

Non-Goals

No business logic
No background polling loops
No user-facing features
No LLM reasoning paths

This skill is the last line of defense. Keep it small, fast, and reliable.

---name: error-guarddescription: System safety and control-plane skill that prevents agent deadlocks and freezes. Provides non-LLM control commands to inspect task state, flush message queues, cancel long-running work, and recover safely without restarting the container. Use when implementing or operating long-running tasks, sub-agents, benchmarks, background monitors (e.g., Moltbook, PNR checks), or when the system becomes unresponsive and needs immediate recovery controls.--- # error-guard ⚠️ **System‑level skill (Advanced users)** This skill defines the **control‑plane safety primitives** for OpenClaw. It is intentionally minimal, non‑blocking, and designed to prevent agent freezes, deadlocks, and unrecoverable states when running long‑lived or high‑risk workloads. ## Design Principles > **Warning:** This skill operates at the agent control‑plane level. > It should be installed only by users who understand OpenClaw’s execution model and are running workloads that can block, hang, or run for extended periods. - **Main agent never blocks**: no long exec, no external I/O, no LLM calls. - **Event-driven**: workers emit events; the control plane listens. - **Fail-safe first**: recovery commands must always respond. - **Minimal state**: track only task metadata (never payloads). ## Command Surface (Phase 1) ### /status Report current system health and task registry state. Returns: - Active tasks (taskId, type, state) - Start time and last heartbeat - Flags for stalled or overdue tasks Constraints: - Must run in constant time - Must not call any model or external API ### /flush Emergency stop. Immediately: - Cancel all active tasks - Kill active exec/process sessions - Clear pending message queue - Reset in-memory task registry Constraints: - Must always respond - No waiting on workers - No model calls ### /recover Safe recovery sequence. Steps: 1. Execute `/flush` 2. Reset control-plane state 3. Optionally reload skills/state (no container restart) ## Future Extensions (Not Implemented Yet) - Sub-agent runner helper (event-driven) - Task watchdogs with TTL and silence detection - Structured event protocol (task.started, task.heartbeat, task.completed, ...) - Back-pressure and task classes (interactive / batch / background) ## Security & Privacy - This skill **does not** store payloads, prompts, messages, or model outputs - Only minimal task metadata is persisted (taskId, timestamps, state) - No API keys, credentials, or user data are read or written - Safe to publish and share publicly ## Non-Goals - No business logic - No background polling loops - No user-facing features - No LLM reasoning paths This skill is the **last line of defense**. Keep it small, fast, and reliable.

Frequently asked questions