⚙️ Task Automation with OpenClaw

Complete tutorial to automate repetitive tasks and create custom workflows

This tutorial will show you how to automate repetitive tasks with OpenClaw (formerly Moltbot, Clawdbot). You'll learn to create cron jobs, set up webhooks, and build custom automation workflows. Estimated time: 25-35 minutes.

What You'll Build

By the end of this tutorial, you'll have:

  • Scheduled tasks running automatically (cron jobs)
  • Webhook endpoints for event-driven automation
  • Custom workflows for repetitive tasks
  • Integration with external services

Prerequisites

Before starting:

Step 1: Create Your First Cron Job

Let's start with a simple daily briefing automation:

Daily Briefing Cron Job 
{
  "cron": {
    "jobs": [
      {
        "schedule": "0 9 * * *",
        "command": "agent --message 'Give me a daily briefing: check my calendar, summarize important emails, and list my tasks for today.'"
      }
    ]
  }
}

This runs every day at 9 AM. The schedule format is: minute hour day month weekday

Common Cron Patterns

  • 0 9 * * * - Every day at 9:00 AM
  • */30 * * * * - Every 30 minutes
  • 0 */2 * * * - Every 2 hours
  • 0 0 * * 1 - Every Monday at midnight

Step 2: Set Up Webhook Automation

Webhooks allow external services to trigger OpenClaw actions:

Webhook Configuration 
{
  "webhooks": {
    "github": {
      "path": "/webhook/github",
      "command": "agent --message 'Process GitHub webhook: {payload}'"
    },
    "sentry": {
      "path": "/webhook/sentry",
      "command": "agent --message 'New Sentry error: {payload}'"
    }
  }
}

Once configured, external services can POST to your webhook URLs to trigger OpenClaw actions.

Step 3: Build a Complete Workflow

Let's create a comprehensive workflow example: Automated Daily Report

Daily Report Automation 
{
  "cron": {
    "jobs": [
      {
        "schedule": "0 18 * * *",
        "command": "agent --message 'Generate my daily report: 1) Summarize today\\'s calendar events, 2) List completed tasks, 3) Check for important emails, 4) Provide tomorrow\\'s agenda. Format as a markdown report and save it.'"
      }
    ]
  }
}

This creates a comprehensive daily report every evening at 6 PM.

Step 4: Integrate with External Services

Connect OpenClaw with external services for powerful automation:

Example: GitHub Webhook

Automatically review pull requests:

  • Set up webhook in GitHub repository settings
  • Point to your OpenClaw webhook endpoint
  • OpenClaw receives PR notifications and can review code

Example: RSS Feed Monitoring

Monitor RSS feeds and get notified of updates:

  • Create a cron job to check RSS feeds
  • Parse new entries
  • Send summaries via your channel

Step 5: Advanced Automation Patterns

Explore advanced automation capabilities:

  • Conditional Automation - Run tasks based on conditions
  • Chained Workflows - Trigger multiple tasks in sequence
  • Error Handling - Set up retry logic and error notifications
  • Data Processing - Automate data collection and analysis
  • File Management - Automate file organization and backups

Step 6: Test Your Automation

Test your automation setup:

  1. Manual Trigger - Run the command manually first to verify it works
  2. Check Logs - Monitor OpenClaw logs to see automation execution
  3. Verify Output - Ensure automation produces expected results
  4. Test Webhooks - Use curl or Postman to test webhook endpoints

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