Load Local Context
CONTEXT_FILE="/opt/ocana/openclaw/workspace/skills/pa-ownership/.context"
[ -f "$CONTEXT_FILE" ] && source "$CONTEXT_FILE"
# Then use: $OWNER_PHONE, $TASKS_FILE, $WORKSPACE, etc.
PA Ownership Skill
Heleni tracks tasks she owns — executing, retrying when blocked, and closing the loop when done.
When to Use
Trigger phrases:
- "take ownership"
- "track this"
"own this"
- "add to my tasks"
- Any task Heleni explicitly commits to completing
Data File
All tasks are persisted to:
/opt/ocana/openclaw/workspace/data/pa-tasks.json
Schema
{
"tasks": [
{
"id": "task_<YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS>",
"title": "Short task description",
"description": "Full context / what needs to happen",
"status": "NEW",
"initiated_by": "Netanel | group:<jid> | self",
"created_at": "2026-04-03T10:00:00Z",
"updated_at": "2026-04-03T10:00:00Z",
"due_at": null,
"attempts": 0,
"max_attempts": 3,
"last_attempt_at": null,
"blocked_reason": null,
"result": null,
"reported_done": false
}
]
}
Status Values
| Status | Meaning |
|---|
NEW | Task received, not yet started |
IN_PROGRESS | Currently executing |
DONE | Completed successfully |
BLOCKED | Cannot proceed — waiting on something |
FAILED | Exhausted all retry attempts |
Step-by-Step Process
Step 1: Register the Task
When a task is received and Heleni commits to it:
- React 👍 immediately to the owner's message (before starting work)
- Read
data/pa-tasks.json (create if missing: {"tasks": []})
- Generate a task ID:
task_<YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS>
- Determine
initiated_by:
- DM from Netanel →
"Netanel"
- Group message →
"group:<jid>"
- Heleni's own initiative →
"self"
- Set
status: "NEW", attempts: 0
- Write updated JSON back to file
- Write to WhatsApp memory:
memory/whatsapp/dms/<PHONE-sanitized>/context.md
Step 2: Execute
- Set status to
IN_PROGRESS, update updated_at
- Execute the task using available tools
- On success → go to Step 4 (Done)
- On failure → go to Step 3 (Retry)
Step 3: Retry (Blocked / Failed Attempt)
On failure or block:
- Increment
attempts counter
- Record
blocked_reason
- Record
last_attempt_at
Backoff schedule:
- Attempt 1 fail → retry after ~5 minutes
- Attempt 2 fail → retry after ~15 minutes
- Attempt 3 fail → mark as
FAILED, notify Netanel immediately
If attempts >= max_attempts:
→ Set status: "FAILED"
→ Report to initiated_by: "❌ [task] failed after 3 attempts: [reason]"
→ Do NOT retry further
Else:
→ Set status: "BLOCKED"
→ Log blocked_reason
→ Schedule retry (via heartbeat or mental note)
Step 4: Mark Done
- Set
status: "DONE", result: "<outcome summary>", updated_at: now
- If
reported_done == false:
- React ✅ to the original task message
- Report to
initiated_by with result
- Set
reported_done: true
- Update the JSON file
- Write outcome to WhatsApp memory file
Close-the-loop rule: ALWAYS report back to whoever initiated the task. No exceptions.
- Netanel initiated → send DM to Netanel
- Group initiated → reply in that group
- Self-initiated → log in daily memory
Step 5: Write to File
After every state change, write the full updated pa-tasks.json.
import json, datetime, os
TASKS_FILE = "/opt/ocana/openclaw/workspace/data/pa-tasks.json"
def load_tasks():
if not os.path.exists(TASKS_FILE):
return {"tasks": []}
with open(TASKS_FILE) as f:
return json.load(f)
def save_tasks(data):
os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(TASKS_FILE), exist_ok=True)
with open(TASKS_FILE, "w") as f:
json.dump(data, f, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False)
def update_task_status(task_id, status, **kwargs):
data = load_tasks()
for task in data["tasks"]:
if task["id"] == task_id:
task["status"] = status
task["updated_at"] = datetime.datetime.utcnow().isoformat() + "Z"
for k, v in kwargs.items():
task[k] = v
break
save_tasks(data)
Heartbeat Integration
During every heartbeat, scan for stale tasks:
For each task in pa-tasks.json where status IN ["IN_PROGRESS", "BLOCKED"]:
age = now - updated_at
If age > 2 hours AND NOT reported_stuck:
→ Mark last_notified_at = now
If status == "BLOCKED" AND attempts < max_attempts:
→ Attempt retry
Add this block to HEARTBEAT.md:
## PA Ownership Check
- Scan data/pa-tasks.json for IN_PROGRESS or BLOCKED tasks
- Alert if any task >2h without update
- Retry BLOCKED tasks with remaining attempts
HEARTBEAT.md Snippet
When setting up this skill for the first time, add to HEARTBEAT.md:
## Task Ownership Check
- Read /opt/ocana/openclaw/workspace/data/pa-tasks.json
- Flag any task with status IN_PROGRESS or BLOCKED updated >2h ago
- Retry BLOCKED tasks if attempts < max_attempts
- Report FAILED tasks to Netanel immediately
Alert Format
Task Stuck Alert (>2h)
📋 [task title]
[max_attempts]
Task Complete
📝 [result summary]
Task Failed (all retries exhausted)
Rules
- Always close the loop — when done, always report to whoever initiated it
- Never silently fail — BLOCKED or FAILED always triggers a notification
- Max 3 retries — after that, escalate to Netanel
- Persist everything — every state change is written to pa-tasks.json
- Heartbeat integration — stale tasks surface automatically, no manual polling
Cost Notes
- File reads/writes: cheap — do on every state change
- Retry logic: don't call external APIs in tight loops; space out via heartbeat
- Alert: only send once per "stuck" detection (use
last_notified_at)
