OpenClaw Auto‑Updater (Safe + Scheduled + Summary)

Schedule automatic OpenClaw and skill updates with reliable cron templates, timezone-safe scheduling, and clear summary outputs. Use for hands-off maintenance, scheduled upgrades, and concise update reports.

Security Scan

The skill is internally consistent with its stated purpose — it only instructs scheduling OpenClaw/core and skill updates, creates optional helper scripts and logs in the user's home, and requests no credentials or external installs — but auto-updates can change runtime behavior so test with dry-run and schedule carefully.

Purpose & Capability

Name/description match what the instructions do: create cron entries (via openclaw cron add), run openclaw update and clawdhub update --all, and produce concise summaries. The skill requires no binaries, env vars, or installs beyond existing OpenClaw tooling, which is appropriate for an updater.

Instruction Scope

SKILL.md and the agent-guide are narrowly focused on detecting installation type, optionally creating a helper script under ~/.openclaw, configuring cron via openclaw cron add, running updates and producing a summary. The instructions reference only plausible config paths (~/.openclaw, logs) and standard package managers; they do not ask the agent to read unrelated system files or exfiltrate data.

Install Mechanism

Instruction-only skill with no install spec and no code files to write at install time. No external downloads, package installs, or archive extraction are requested.

Credentials

The skill declares no required environment variables, credentials, or unrelated config paths. The script and instructions operate on user-owned application files (home dir, .openclaw) which is proportionate to updating OpenClaw and its skills.

Persistence & Privilege

always is false and there is no install persistence. Note: the skill's recommended cron jobs will schedule recurring autonomous update actions (platform default allows the agent to invoke skills autonomously); this is expected for an auto-updater but has operational impact (automatic updates, possible gateway restarts) so users should weigh automatic execution vs manual control.

Assessment

This skill appears coherent and limited to scheduling OpenClaw and skill updates, but automatic updates can change runtime behavior and may restart services. Before enabling recurring runs: 1) run the dry-run variant first (clawdhub update --all --dry-run / openclaw update status) and inspect outputs; 2) review the optional helper script (~/.openclaw/scripts/auto-update.sh) and the log file it writes to (~/.openclaw/logs/auto-update.log) to ensure it does only what you expect; 3) schedule updates during off-hours and consider the "core only" or manual modes until you're confident; 4) maintain backups or snapshots if you rely on a stable gateway; and 5) if the skill's source is important to you, try to verify the publisher (source is unknown here) or reproduce the steps manually before enabling automation.

OpenClaw Auto-Updater

Run scheduled updates for OpenClaw and installed skills using cron messages (no scripts required). Focus: safe scheduling, predictable output, and minimal manual work.

What it does

• Runs OpenClaw updates on a fixed schedule
• Updates all installed skills via ClawHub
• Sends a concise, readable summary (updated / unchanged / failed)

Setup (daily updates)

Daily at 03:30 Europe/Berlin:

openclaw cron add \
  --name "OpenClaw Auto-Update" \
  --cron "30 3 * * *" \
  --tz "Europe/Berlin" \
  --session isolated \
  --wake now \
  --deliver \
  --message "Run daily auto-updates: 1) openclaw update --yes --json 2) clawdhub update --all 3) report versions updated + errors."

Weekly (Sunday 04:00)

openclaw cron add \
  --name "OpenClaw Auto-Update (Weekly)" \
  --cron "0 4 * * 0" \
  --tz "Europe/Berlin" \
  --session isolated \
  --wake now \
  --deliver \
  --message "Run weekly auto-updates: openclaw update --yes --json; clawdhub update --all; summarize changes."

Safer modes

Dry run (no changes):

openclaw cron add \
  --name "OpenClaw Auto-Update (Dry)" \
  --cron "30 3 * * *" \
  --tz "Europe/Berlin" \
  --session isolated \
  --wake now \
  --deliver \
  --message "Check updates only: openclaw update status; clawdhub update --all --dry-run; summarize what would change."

Core only (skip skills):

openclaw cron add \
  --name "OpenClaw Auto-Update (Core Only)" \
  --cron "30 3 * * *" \
  --tz "Europe/Berlin" \
  --session isolated \
  --wake now \
  --deliver \
  --message "Update OpenClaw only: openclaw update --yes --json; summarize version change."

Summary format (recommended)

🔄 OpenClaw Auto-Update

OpenClaw: 2026.2.1 → 2026.2.2 (OK)
Skills updated: 3
Skills unchanged: 12
Errors: none

Troubleshooting

• If updates fail, include the error in the summary.
• Schedule off-hours; updates may restart the gateway.
• Use explicit timezones to avoid surprises.

References

• references/agent-guide.md → deeper implementation notes
• references/summary-examples.md → formatting examples