How do I install the Gateway Watchdog skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add modbender/gateway-watchdog-2 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 Gateway Watchdog safe to use?

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

Which AI agents work with Gateway Watchdog?

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 Gateway Watchdog free to use?

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

Who published Gateway Watchdog?

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

Gateway Watchdog by modbender — Agent Skill

Name: Gateway Watchdog
Rating: 4.666666666666667 (3 reviews)
Author: modbender

Gateway Watchdog

Monitor OpenClaw gateway health with a watchdog state machine, Discord alerts, cooldown dedupe, and isolated fallback deployment on macOS. Use when users want gateway failure detection, auto-recovery policy, and low-noise Discord incident notifications.

modbender Updated Sep 22, 2026 12 repo stars

File contents

Gateway Watchdog (Discord)

Discord-first watchdog for OpenClaw gateway incidents.

🛠️ Installation

1. Ask OpenClaw (Recommended)

Tell OpenClaw: "Install the gateway-watchdog skill." The agent will handle the installation and configuration automatically.

2. Manual Installation (CLI)

If you prefer the terminal, run:

clawhub install gateway-watchdog

Isolation model

Watchdog data is isolated under ~/.openclaw/watchdogs/gateway-discord/.
No edits to openclaw.json are required.
Default mode is read-only monitoring (GW_WATCHDOG_ENABLE_RESTART=0).
Automatic restart is opt-in and bounded by max attempts.

Files in this skill

scripts/gateway-watchdog.sh - health checks + state machine + Discord notification.
scripts/install-launchd.sh - installs a user LaunchAgent from template.
references/com.openclaw.gateway-watchdog.plist.template - launchd template.
references/cron-agent-turn.md - isolated cron prompt template.

Health checks

The watchdog checks:

openclaw gateway status --json
openclaw health --json --timeout <ms>

Pass criteria:

gateway runtime is running
RPC probe is healthy (when present)
health snapshot returns successfully

Failure classes:

runtime_stopped
rpc_probe_failed
health_unreachable
auth_mismatch
config_invalid

Quick start (manual run)

bash "{baseDir}/scripts/gateway-watchdog.sh"

Optional env:

export DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL="https://discord.com/api/webhooks/..."
export DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN="discord_bot_token"
export DISCORD_CHANNEL_ID="<your_discord_channel_id>"
export GW_WATCHDOG_SOURCE="manual"
export GW_WATCHDOG_FAIL_THRESHOLD=2
export GW_WATCHDOG_COOLDOWN_SECONDS=300

Delivery priority:

DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL
DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN + DISCORD_CHANNEL_ID

macOS background mode (LaunchAgent)

Install LaunchAgent (does not edit OpenClaw core config):

bash "{baseDir}/scripts/install-launchd.sh" --interval 30 --load

Check status:

launchctl list | rg "com.openclaw.gateway-watchdog"

OpenClaw cron mode (internal path)

Use isolated job and keep messaging in one channel:

openclaw cron add \
  --name "gateway-watchdog-internal" \
  --cron "*/1 * * * *" \
  --session isolated \
  --message "Run bash {baseDir}/scripts/gateway-watchdog.sh and report state changes only." \
  --announce \
  --channel discord \
  --to "channel:<your_channel_id>" \
  --best-effort-deliver

Auto-recovery policy (opt-in)

Enable bounded restart:

export GW_WATCHDOG_ENABLE_RESTART=1
export GW_WATCHDOG_MAX_RESTART_ATTEMPTS=2

Safety constraints:

restart only after failure threshold is met
max attempts enforced per incident window
no reinstall or destructive mutation

Backup and audit artifacts

state file: ~/.openclaw/watchdogs/gateway-discord/state.json
state backups: ~/.openclaw/watchdogs/gateway-discord/backups/state-*.json
event log: ~/.openclaw/watchdogs/gateway-discord/events.jsonl

The script rotates old backups and keeps recent history for rollback/debugging.

---name: gateway-watchdog-2description: Monitor OpenClaw gateway health with a watchdog state machine, Discord alerts, cooldown dedupe, and isolated fallback deployment on macOS. Use when users want gateway failure detection, auto-recovery policy, and low-noise Discord incident notifications.---# Gateway Watchdog (Discord)Discord-first watchdog for OpenClaw gateway incidents.## 🛠️ Installation### 1. Ask OpenClaw (Recommended)Tell OpenClaw: *"Install the gateway-watchdog skill."* The agent will handle the installation and configuration automatically.### 2. Manual Installation (CLI)If you prefer the terminal, run:```bashclawhub install gateway-watchdog```## Isolation model- Watchdog data is isolated under `~/.openclaw/watchdogs/gateway-discord/`.- No edits to `openclaw.json` are required.- Default mode is read-only monitoring (`GW_WATCHDOG_ENABLE_RESTART=0`).- Automatic restart is opt-in and bounded by max attempts.## Files in this skill- `scripts/gateway-watchdog.sh` - health checks + state machine + Discord notification.- `scripts/install-launchd.sh` - installs a user LaunchAgent from template.- `references/com.openclaw.gateway-watchdog.plist.template` - launchd template.- `references/cron-agent-turn.md` - isolated cron prompt template.## Health checksThe watchdog checks:```bashopenclaw gateway status --jsonopenclaw health --json --timeout <ms>```Pass criteria:- gateway runtime is `running`- RPC probe is healthy (when present)- health snapshot returns successfullyFailure classes:- `runtime_stopped`- `rpc_probe_failed`- `health_unreachable`- `auth_mismatch`- `config_invalid`## Quick start (manual run)```bashbash "{baseDir}/scripts/gateway-watchdog.sh"```Optional env:```bashexport DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL="https://discord.com/api/webhooks/..."export DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN="discord_bot_token"export DISCORD_CHANNEL_ID="<your_discord_channel_id>"export GW_WATCHDOG_SOURCE="manual"export GW_WATCHDOG_FAIL_THRESHOLD=2export GW_WATCHDOG_COOLDOWN_SECONDS=300```Delivery priority:1. `DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL`2. `DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN + DISCORD_CHANNEL_ID`## macOS background mode (LaunchAgent)Install LaunchAgent (does not edit OpenClaw core config):```bashbash "{baseDir}/scripts/install-launchd.sh" --interval 30 --load```Check status:```bashlaunchctl list | rg "com.openclaw.gateway-watchdog"```## OpenClaw cron mode (internal path)Use isolated job and keep messaging in one channel:```bashopenclaw cron add \ --name "gateway-watchdog-internal" \ --cron "*/1 * * * *" \ --session isolated \ --message "Run bash {baseDir}/scripts/gateway-watchdog.sh and report state changes only." \ --announce \ --channel discord \ --to "channel:<your_channel_id>" \ --best-effort-deliver```## Auto-recovery policy (opt-in)Enable bounded restart:```bashexport GW_WATCHDOG_ENABLE_RESTART=1export GW_WATCHDOG_MAX_RESTART_ATTEMPTS=2```Safety constraints:- restart only after failure threshold is met- max attempts enforced per incident window- no reinstall or destructive mutation## Backup and audit artifacts- state file: `~/.openclaw/watchdogs/gateway-discord/state.json`- state backups: `~/.openclaw/watchdogs/gateway-discord/backups/state-*.json`- event log: `~/.openclaw/watchdogs/gateway-discord/events.jsonl`The script rotates old backups and keeps recent history for rollback/debugging.

Frequently asked questions