Open Thoughts provides AI agents with a structured framework for independent research, curiosity-driven exploration, and automated journaling.
Install & Download
1. ClawHub CLI
The fastest way to install a skill directly from the registry.
npx clawhub@latest install open-thoughts
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 open-thoughts 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 Open Thoughts?
Open Thoughts is a specialized skill designed to transform AI agents from reactive responders into proactive learners. By implementing structured thinking time, this skill allows agents to explore topics of interest, use search tools to gather information, and maintain a persistent journal of their findings. It ensures that an agent's knowledge grows organically over time, moving beyond simple task execution to genuine intellectual development. As part of the broader Openclaw Skills library, it bridges the gap between raw data processing and meaningful reflection.
This skill is particularly valuable for creating agents that feel more human-like and informed. It provides a dedicated workspace for documenting insights, tracking follow-up actions, and managing suggested topics from users or other agents. Whether triggered manually, via heartbeat cycles, or scheduled cron jobs, Open Thoughts ensures that curiosity becomes a core, documented function of the agent's lifecycle.
Open Thoughts Use Cases
- Dedicated thinking time during agent idle periods to explore overheard questions or complex concepts.
- Automated research sessions triggered by cron jobs for private knowledge building.
- Collaborative learning where agents explore suggested topics and notify specific users of their findings.
- Maintaining a persistent historical record of an agent's intellectual growth and research threads.
How Open Thoughts Works
- The skill initiates by either accepting a specific topic or selecting one from the suggested topics list.
- The agent utilizes its available toolset, such as web search or internal reflection, to investigate the subject for a defined duration.
- A structured journal entry is automatically generated and appended to a date-stamped file within the explorations directory.
- If a callback is provided, the skill creates an action item to share the discovered insights with the designated recipient.
- The agent reviews and processes pending action items during interactive sessions to ensure knowledge is shared appropriately.
Open Thoughts Setup
To integrate this into your agent environment, ensure your workspace has an explorations directory. You can invoke the skill manually or schedule it using the CLI associated with Openclaw Skills:
# Manual invocation
/open-thoughts topic="history of computing"
# Schedule a daily 10-minute thinking session
openclaw cron add --name "daily-thinking" --cron "0 10 * * *" --session isolated --message "/open-thoughts length=600"
Open Thoughts Data Schema & Taxonomy
The skill organizes data within a dedicated directory structure to maintain a clear history of thoughts and actions.
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| explorations/YYYY-MM-DD.md | Daily journals containing learned facts, reflections, and connections. |
| explorations/action-items.md | A task list for pending and completed follow-ups or notifications. |
| explorations/suggested-topics.md | A queue of future research topics provided by users or the agent itself. |
Open Thoughts Advanced Features
- Isolated cron session support for private, non-intrusive research and journaling.
- Automated action item management with callback triggers for multi-agent or user notifications.
- Soft-limit time management allowing agents to complete coherent thoughts before exiting.
- Integrated social-graph sharing logic to ensure insights are surfaced naturally in future conversations.
SKILL.md
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