7 Cron Prompts You Can Copy Today

Fresh OpenClaw

Turn recurring work into reliable agent routines without rewriting the same instructions every time.

Seven ready-to-use cron prompts that follow the skill-first pattern. Copy them into your OpenClaw config and customize.

---

You are using cron jobs wrong (here is the fix)

Stop pasting raw prompts into your cron config. Use skill files instead. One skill file, unlimited crons, consistent output every run.

The problem: what most people do

You set a schedule, paste a one-liner prompt, and hope the agent figures it out. Sometimes it nails it. Sometimes you get two sentences and "not much happening today."

# openclaw.yaml - cron config
schedule: "0 7 * * *"
payload:
  kind: systemEvent
  text: "Research today's top AI news and give me a summary"

# That's it. That's the whole instruction.
# No structure. No format. No sources. No tone.
# The agent is guessing every single time.

Cron fires, raw prompt, agent guesses, random output.

The fix: use a skill file

Instead of a vague prompt, point the cron at a dedicated skill file. The skill is the playbook: what to do, how to format it, what sources to check, what tone to use. Everything.

# openclaw.yaml - skill-based cron
schedule: "0 7 * * *"
payload:
  kind: agentTurn
  message: "Read and follow: ~/skills/daily-ai-brief/SKILL.md"

# That's it. 2 lines.
# The skill file has everything the agent needs.
# Update the skill anytime. The cron never changes.

Cron fires, reads skill file, full playbook, consistent output.

Live build

Step 1: create the skill file

This is the playbook your agent reads on every run. Define the task, output format, sources, and tone. Everything in one versioned file.

# skills/daily-ai-brief/SKILL.md
---
name: daily-ai-brief
description: Daily AI news brief covering the top 5 developments
---

# Daily AI Brief

Generate a daily AI news brief covering the top 5 developments
from the past 24 hours.

## Sources
- Use web search to find the latest stories
- Prioritize: major lab announcements, open source releases, product launches
- Skip: opinion pieces, speculation, rumor threads

## Output Format
For each story, provide:
1. Headline (one line)
2. Summary (two sentences max)
3. Why it matters for builders (one sentence)
4. Source link

## Tone
Casual, direct. No fluff. If fewer than 5 notable stories,
say so. Don't pad the list.

Step 2: wire the cron

Point the cron at the skill file. The schedule handles the "when." The skill handles the "what" and the "how."

Before (raw prompt):

# cron config
name: daily-ai-brief
schedule: "0 7 * * *"
payload:
  kind: systemEvent
  text: |
    Research today's top AI news.
    Check Twitter, Reddit, Hacker News.
    Find at least 5 stories.
    Format each with a headline,
    summary, and source link.
    Use a casual tone. Don't use
    em dashes. Skip opinion pieces.
    If nothing notable, say so.
    Send results to Telegram...
    # ...30 more lines

After (skill-based):

# cron config
name: daily-ai-brief
schedule: "0 7 * * *"
sessionTarget: isolated
payload:
  kind: agentTurn
  message: |
    Read and follow:
    ~/skills/daily-ai-brief/SKILL.md

    # Context (schedule-specific)
    Telegram: 5964210788

# Done. 8 lines. The skill has the rest.

The reveal: same agent, same schedule, different result

The only thing that changed is the skill file. Look at the difference.

Raw prompt output (run #47):

Here are some AI news items for today:

Google released something new. OpenAI also had
some updates. There's a new model from Anthropic
that looks interesting. Not much else happening
today.

No structure, no sources, different format every run, and "not much happening" is padding.

Skill-based output (run #47):

Daily AI Brief - March 16, 2026

1. Chrome DevTools Ships MCP Integration
Google ships native MCP support in Chrome DevTools.
Agents can now inspect, debug, and interact with
browser sessions programmatically.
Why it matters: Browser-native agent tooling
Source: developer.chrome.com

2. Grok 4.20 Preview Date Confirmed
xAI confirms Grok 4.20 preview for March 18-21.
Benchmark claims pending independent verification.
Why it matters: Competitive pressure on reasoning
Source: x.com/xai

Structured every run, sources linked, same format guaranteed.

Anatomy: what goes where

Clear separation. The cron handles scheduling and context. The skill handles workflow and logic. Never mix them.

Cron prompt (max 20 lines):

• Schedule (when to run)
• Skill file path (what to follow)
• Project-specific paths
• Service names and ports
• Who to notify
• Model and session type

Skill file (unlimited):

• Full workflow steps
• Output format and structure
• Sources and data requirements
• Tone and writing rules
• Validation and error handling
• Edge cases and fallbacks

Why this matters

• Single source of truth - update the skill once, every cron that references it picks up the change. No more hunting for 5 cron prompts with slightly different instructions.
• Consistent every run - the skill file is the contract. The agent reads it fresh every time. No prompt drift, no "the agent interpreted it differently."
• Fewer tokens, lower cost - a 50-line inline prompt burns tokens on every run. An 8-line pointer costs almost nothing. The skill is a file read, not prompt tokens.
• Reusable across triggers - the same skill can be referenced by a daily cron, a weekly cron, and a manual trigger. Different schedules, same workflow, zero duplication.

Bonus: real skill templates to copy

Three real skills you can use today. Same pattern, different use cases.

Weekly content audit: Check YouTube analytics for the past 7 days. Identify the top 3 and bottom 3 performing videos. Compare against the content calendar. Flag any gaps or missed uploads. Output: a structured table plus 3 recommended actions.

Social monitoring (every 6 hours): Search for mentions of [brand] on X, LinkedIn, Reddit. Summarize overall sentiment (positive / negative / neutral). Flag anything that needs a response. List the top 3 conversations worth engaging with, with direct links to each post.

Daily task prep (7 AM): Read the project board (PM board JSON). Check what is due today and this week. Output a prioritized list with task name plus assignee, estimated time to complete, and any blockers or dependencies. Sort by priority, not by date added.

Rules to live by

Pin these. Every cron you build from now on follows these rules.

1. Stop pasting raw prompts. They work sometimes. That is the problem.
2. Create a skill file for every cron: task, format, sources, tone, the full playbook.
3. Max 20 lines in the cron prompt. If it is longer, you are duplicating the skill.
4. First line is always Read and follow: [path]. No exceptions.
5. Update the skill, not the cron. Only touch the cron if the schedule changes.
6. One skill per workflow. Multiple crons can reference the same skill.
7. Always use isolated sessions. Never run crons in the main session.
8. Start with one. Pick your worst cron, build the skill, and go from there.

7 cron jobs you can set up today

Each one pairs a complete skill file with the cron config to wire it.

1. Morning brief - wake up to a structured daily briefing: overnight activity, key metrics, calendar, and action items, delivered to your inbox every morning.
2. AI news scanner - scan major AI blogs, tech press, and social platforms every night. Categorize findings by severity. Know what happened before you open Twitter.
3. Automated backup - git commit and push your workspace every 12 hours with descriptive commit messages, not "daily backup." Your work is always safe.
4. Memory maintenance - weekly reconciliation of your agent's memory. Distills daily notes into long-term memory, prunes stale entries, audits the backlog, and catches cron prompt drift.
5. Nightly self-improvement - your dashboard improves itself while you sleep. The agent picks a feature from the backlog, builds it, tests it, and deploys it.
6. Weekly review brief - every Friday, get a comprehensive look at the whole week: what shipped, what stalled, what needs attention next week.
7. Evening debrief - end-of-day summary sent to your phone: what happened today, what is still pending, what needs your attention tomorrow.