A durable, SQLite-backed orchestration runtime for scheduling multi-step shell commands and AI agent workflows with automated retries and manual approvals.
Install & Download
1. ClawHub CLI
The fastest way to install a skill directly from the registry.
npx clawhub@latest install durable-scheduler
2. Manual Installation
Copy the skill folder to one of these locations
~/.openclaw/skills/ <project>/skills/ Priority: Workspace > Local > Bundled
3. Prompt Installation
Copy this prompt to OpenClaw to install it automatically.
Help me install durable-scheduler using Clawhub. If Clawhub is not installed, install it first (npm i -g clawhub).
Prefer to download?
Get the raw skill files in a ZIP archive.
What is Openclaw Scheduler?
Openclaw Scheduler is an advanced, enterprise-grade orchestration runtime designed for developers and operators who need robust, audit-logged workflow scheduling. It functions as a standalone daemon (ai.openclaw.scheduler) backed by SQLite, ensuring that tasks survive gateway restarts or system failures. By decoupling complex automations from basic built-in schedulers, it enables seamless execution of both standard shell commands and intelligent agent tasks.
As a crucial addition to the ecosystem of Openclaw Skills, this scheduler excels at executing multi-step pipelines. It safely manages dependencies, handles retries gracefully, supports manual human-in-the-loop approval gates, and maintains a complete, persistent execution history. It is the ideal tool for production-grade automation that demands absolute visibility, reliability, and granular control.
Openclaw Scheduler Use Cases
- Resilient task scheduling requiring a complete run history and audit trail instead of searching through standard system logs.
- Multi-step incident response workflows that need to execute shell commands, feed outputs into AI diagnosis agents, and pause for human operator approval before applying remediation commands.
- Persistent gateway-independent execution ensuring critical background checks run even if the central server is down or restarting.
- Isolated agent operations for executing automated reporting jobs without cluttering active interactive workspace chats.
How Openclaw Scheduler Works
- Service Initialization: The scheduler runs persistently as a separate service daemon (
ai.openclaw.scheduler) using Node.js 22+ with a lightweight SQLite database to maintain state. - Job Definition: Users define cron-based or on-demand jobs and multi-step workflows utilizing the command-line interface.
- Execution & Queueing: When triggered, the scheduler assesses gateway status. If an agent step is scheduled but the gateway is down, it executes the robust
waitForGatewayloop, holding the job safely in the queue until communication is restored. - Workflow Chaining: Multi-step workflows execute in sequence, feeding outputs from prior shell commands into downstream AI agents.
- State & Approval Check: For steps requiring human review, execution pauses, notifies the designated operator, and waits for a manual approve/reject command via the CLI.
- Logging & Persistence: Every run, stdout, stderr, and step transition is captured and stored inside the local database for full auditing capabilities.
Openclaw Scheduler Setup
Follow these steps to initialize and run the scheduler on your system:
Install the package globally using npm:
npm install -g openclaw-scheduler
Initialize the database and configuration files, creating the SQLite database and launch agent configuration:
openclaw-scheduler init
Bootstrap the service using launchd (macOS/Unix environments):
launchctl bootstrap gui/$(id -u) ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.scheduler.plist
Verify that the scheduler is up, running, and communicating with the database:
openclaw-scheduler jobs list
Define a scheduled agent job:
openclaw-scheduler jobs add \
--name "weekly digest" \
--cron "0 9 * * 1" \
--kind agent \
--to "@channel-id" \
--prompt "Summarize last week's incidents and post to #digest"
Openclaw Scheduler Data Schema & Taxonomy
The scheduling runtime stores state, job definitions, and run logs locally. Here is how its data architecture is structured:
| Location | File / Resource | Description |
|---|---|---|
~/.openclaw/scheduler/ |
Directory | Root folder containing all configuration, job, and execution data. |
~/.openclaw/scheduler/scheduler.db |
SQLite Database | Stores configurations, workflow definitions, states, retries, and step transition records. |
~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.scheduler.plist |
launchd Service Plist | Service daemon configuration mapping to Node.js 22+ runtime. |
Run History Taxonomy
Every executed job preserves standard operational details including run duration, step indices, transition timestamps, and explicit stdout/stderr outputs to enable developer debugging via the command-line interface.
Openclaw Scheduler Advanced Features
- Multi-step Workflow Chaining: Design sequences where steps feed outputs to subsequent steps, facilitating sophisticated patterns like
shell:check->agent:diagnose->approval->shell:remediate. - Smart Gateway Reconnects: Uses custom
waitForGateway(timeoutMs, intervalMs)logic, allowing scheduled jobs to survive gateway restarts without failing silently. - Manual Approval Steps: Define human-in-the-loop gates with configurable timeouts (
--timeout 30m) and custom triggers for approved or rejected transitions. - Failure Handling & Retries: Built-in, resilient retry mechanics ensure intermittent networking issues do not disrupt critical automation routines.
- Coexistence & Hybrid Modes: Can operate side-by-side with basic cron utilities or completely replace built-in tools for mission-critical Openclaw Skills.
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