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houziershi

Device Heartbeat Monitor

by Guokun Hou · GitHub ↗ · v1.0.0 · MIT-0
cross-platform ⚠ suspicious
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Install in OpenClaw
/install device-heartbeat
Description
Monitor remote device online status via heartbeat pings to healthchecks.io. Use when user asks to check if a device is online or offline, user reports device...
README (SKILL.md)

Device Heartbeat Monitor

Monitor device online status using heartbeat pings to healthchecks.io (free tier).

Architecture

Device → every N min → curl GET → healthchecks.io → missed? → alert user
User asks "device online?" → agent reads state file or queries API → answer

Security Warning

Never share the full ping URL (https://hc-ping.com/UUID) in any chat message. Messaging platforms (Feishu, Slack, etc.) auto-fetch URLs for link previews, which creates false heartbeat pings. Only pass the UUID portion separately.

Quick Commands

Check local status (no API key needed):

bash scripts/status.sh

View recent logs:

tail -20 ~/.openclaw/logs/heartbeat.log

Read state file directly:

cat ~/.openclaw/logs/heartbeat-state.json

Setup

1. Create a Check on healthchecks.io

Register at https://healthchecks.io, create a Check. Set Period = 3 min, Grace = 5 min. See references/healthchecks-setup.md for details.

2. Install heartbeat service

bash scripts/setup.sh "https://hc-ping.com/UUID" 180
  • Arg 1: Full ping URL
  • Arg 2: Interval in seconds (default 180 = 3 min)
  • Installs as macOS LaunchAgent (auto-start on boot, auto-restart on crash)
  • Low priority background process, minimal CPU/battery

3. Verify

bash scripts/status.sh

Remote Status Check (from another device)

bash scripts/check.sh "READONLY_API_KEY" "CHECK_UUID"

Response fields: status (up/down/grace), last_ping (timestamp).

Multi-Device Setup

Create a separate Check per device on healthchecks.io. Each device gets its own UUID. Run setup.sh on each device with its unique URL.

Uninstall

bash scripts/uninstall.sh

Features

  • Log rotation: Auto-truncates at 500 lines
  • State file: ~/.openclaw/logs/heartbeat-state.json for quick local queries
  • Recovery detection: Logs "RECOVERED after N failures" on reconnect
  • Fail counter: Tracks consecutive failures in state file

Troubleshooting

  • Service not running: bash scripts/setup.sh "URL" 180 to reinstall
  • Ping failing: Check network; verify URL with curl -v "URL"
  • Logs: ~/.openclaw/logs/heartbeat.log and heartbeat-error.log
  • False pings from chat platforms: Regenerate UUID, never share full URL in chat
Usage Guidance
This skill appears to do what it says: run a small user-level agent that pings healthchecks.io and track status. Before installing, consider: 1) The scripts are macOS-specific (LaunchAgents) though the registry entry does not declare an OS restriction — only install on a macOS account. 2) The full ping URL (hc-ping UUID) is effectively a secret; setup.sh writes it into ~/Library/LaunchAgents/<label>.plist and the service runs with that value. If you treat that URL as sensitive, store it carefully and avoid sharing the plist or copying the URL into chats. 3) Use a read-only API key for remote queries and pass it as an argument to check.sh rather than embedding it in files. 4) Review file permissions for ~/.openclaw and the plist so other local users/processes cannot read them if that is a concern. If you need cross-platform support or prefer not to persist the ping URL on disk, do not install this service as-is.
Capability Analysis
Type: OpenClaw Skill Name: device-heartbeat Version: 1.0.0 The skill implements a device heartbeat monitor that establishes persistence on macOS using a LaunchAgent (setup.sh) and performs periodic outbound network requests to healthchecks.io (heartbeat.sh). While the behavior is clearly aligned with the stated purpose and includes helpful security warnings and an uninstallation script (uninstall.sh), the use of persistence mechanisms and external network communication constitutes high-risk behavior according to the analysis criteria.
Capability Assessment
Purpose & Capability
The skill is coherent with its purpose: scripts send pings to healthchecks.io, query the API, and provide a user-level service. However the implementation is macOS-specific (uses LaunchAgents/launchctl) while registry metadata lists no OS restriction — this is an inconsistency users should be aware of.
Instruction Scope
Runtime instructions and scripts are largely scoped to heartbeat monitoring. However the full ping URL (which functions as a secret) is written verbatim into the user LaunchAgent plist (~/Library/LaunchAgents/...) as a ProgramArgument, and setup.sh prints a partial URL to stdout. The SKILL.md warns about not sharing the URL, but the install persists the secret on disk (and displays part of it). Consider that the secret will exist in user-level files and logs.
Install Mechanism
No external install/download occurs — this is instruction-only with bundled scripts. That minimizes supply-chain risk; scripts run locally and no remote code fetches are performed.
Credentials
The skill requests no environment variables or platform credentials in metadata. The check script accepts a healthchecks.io read-only API key as a runtime argument, which is proportional to the documented remote-query capability. No unrelated credentials are requested.
Persistence & Privilege
The skill installs a user-level LaunchAgent so the heartbeat runs persistently under the installing user (not system-wide). It does not set always:true in metadata and does not modify other skills. Persisting the PING_URL in the LaunchAgent plist is expected for functionality but increases local secret persistence.
How to Use
  1. Make sure OpenClaw is installed (local or Docker)
  2. Run the install command in chat: /install device-heartbeat
  3. After installation, invoke the skill by name or use /device-heartbeat
  4. Provide required inputs per the skill's parameter spec and get structured output
Version History
v1.0.0
Initial release: heartbeat monitoring via healthchecks.io
Metadata
Slug device-heartbeat
Version 1.0.0
License MIT-0
All-time Installs 0
Active Installs 0
Total Versions 1
Frequently Asked Questions

What is Device Heartbeat Monitor?

Monitor remote device online status via heartbeat pings to healthchecks.io. Use when user asks to check if a device is online or offline, user reports device... It is an AI Agent Skill for Claude Code / OpenClaw, with 242 downloads so far.

How do I install Device Heartbeat Monitor?

Run "/install device-heartbeat" in the OpenClaw or Claude Code chat to install it in one step — no extra setup required.

Is Device Heartbeat Monitor free?

Yes, Device Heartbeat Monitor is completely free, licensed under MIT-0. You can download, install and use it at no cost.

Which platforms does Device Heartbeat Monitor support?

Device Heartbeat Monitor is cross-platform and runs anywhere OpenClaw / Claude Code is available (cross-platform).

Who created Device Heartbeat Monitor?

It is built and maintained by Guokun Hou (@houziershi); the current version is v1.0.0.

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