/install cron-watchdog
Watchdog — Cron Health Monitor
Monitors all cron jobs for failures and auto-fixes them. Posts to Slack only when issues are found or unfixable errors exist.
CRITICAL: Slack Routing
When sending messages to Slack, you MUST specify channel: "slack" in every message tool call:
message(action: "send", channel: "slack", target: "C0AHYTV5WP7", message: "...")
Without channel: "slack", messages will fail silently.
Schedule
Every 6 hours: 5, 11, 17, 23 CT
Steps
cron(action: "list")— get all jobs and their current status- For each job, check:
lastStatuserror?consecutiveErrors > 0? What waslastError? - For model not allowed errors: use
cron(action: "update", jobId: "...", patch: { payload: { model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6" } }), then force-run, log change - For timeout errors: use
cron(action: "update", jobId: "...", patch: { payload: { timeoutSeconds: \x3Ccurrent + 60> } })— NEVER edit cron JSON files directly - For other errors: analyze, attempt fix if possible, or flag as unresolved
- Post to Slack
C0AHYTV5WP7(#morning-briefs) ONLY if issues were found/fixed or unfixable errors exist - If everything is healthy: no Slack message (silent pass)
CRITICAL: Never Edit cron/jobs.json Directly
Always use the cron tool with action="update" to modify job settings. Direct file edits break the cron system.
Slack Alert Format
🐺 Watchdog Report — \x3Ctimestamp>
✅ Fixed: \x3Cjob-name> — \x3Cwhat was fixed>
❌ Unfixable: \x3Cjob-name> — \x3Cerror summary>
⚠️ Flagged: \x3Cjob-name> — \x3Cissue description>
Only send if at least one issue exists.
- Make sure OpenClaw is installed (local or Docker)
- Run the install command in chat:
/install cron-watchdog - After installation, invoke the skill by name or use
/cron-watchdog - Provide required inputs per the skill's parameter spec and get structured output
What is Cron Watchdog?
Monitor all OpenClaw cron jobs for failures and auto-fix common errors (model-not-allowed, timeouts). Posts to Slack only when issues are found. Runs every 6... It is an AI Agent Skill for Claude Code / OpenClaw, with 216 downloads so far.
How do I install Cron Watchdog?
Run "/install cron-watchdog" in the OpenClaw or Claude Code chat to install it in one step — no extra setup required.
Is Cron Watchdog free?
Yes, Cron Watchdog is completely free, licensed under MIT-0. You can download, install and use it at no cost.
Which platforms does Cron Watchdog support?
Cron Watchdog is cross-platform and runs anywhere OpenClaw / Claude Code is available (cross-platform).
Who created Cron Watchdog?
It is built and maintained by mpbshhx (@mpbshhx); the current version is v1.0.0.