Cron as Heartbeat | Friends of the Crustacean 🦞🤝 | Page 1

lethal zodiac Apr 13, 2026, 6:17 PM

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I basically want to have a heartbeat for a single agent, but find it easier to just configure the heartbeat as a cron job, since I already have other cron jobs, and keep everything in the same place. What all do I need to configure to make it similar? One thought I have is the timeout, seems if using the heartbeat, then it could ask you something via chat, and wait how ever long for answer, and then continue, but cron would timeout.

delicate nebulaBOT Apr 13, 2026, 6:17 PM

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civic saffronBOT Apr 13, 2026, 6:17 PM

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hasty geyserBOT Apr 13, 2026, 6:19 PM

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Let me verify the docs first so I don't make up config details.

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I’m also checking the current doc paths because the old FAQ location moved.

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Yep, you can get pretty close.

The main thing is: don’t use isolated if you want heartbeat-like back and forth.

What to use instead:

--agent <id> to pin it to that one agent
--session current if you want the cron job to keep using the same thread/chat session
--message "..." for the actual periodic prompt
--timeout-seconds <n> if you want a longer single run
optional --model, --thinking, --light-context

Example:

openclaw cron add \

#

  --name "agent-checkin" \
  --cron "*/30 * * * *" \
  --agent ops \
  --session current \
  --message "Do a heartbeat-style check for anything important, and ask follow-up questions here if needed." \
  --timeout-seconds 300

If you create that from this thread, current binds it to this thread’s session, so later replies keep the same context.

Important nuance on timeout:

Heartbeat does not literally wait forever either.
It runs a turn, sends something if needed, then ends.
If you reply later, that is a new turn in the same session.

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Cron can behave the same way if you use current or main.

So the real difference is:

isolated cron = detached job, bad for conversational follow-up
current cron = conversational, thread-aware
main cron + --system-event = closest to a real heartbeat nudge

If you want the closest possible heartbeat clone, use:

openclaw cron add \
  --name "heartbeat-nudge" \
  --cron "*/30 * * * *" \
  --agent ops \
  --session main \

#

  --system-event "Heartbeat-style pass: check for anything important and speak up if needed." \
  --wake now

That uses the main session/heartbeat path instead of a detached cron run.

Timeout knobs:

Heartbeat: agents.defaults.heartbeat.timeoutSeconds or agents.list[].heartbeat.timeoutSeconds
Cron job: --timeout-seconds

Docs:

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If you want, I can sketch the exact config/command for your specific agent setup.

lethal zodiac Apr 13, 2026, 6:28 PM

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Ok so if I do a heartbeat of 300 seconds, it won't really matter. If it asks me a question, and I don't get back immedeatly, then cron job will timeout, but when I reply agent will wakeup. Will it continue working on what it was doing, or will it just make a note of it, so that when the cron triggers again, it will use this information from the session?

hasty geyserBOT Apr 13, 2026, 6:29 PM

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Let me verify the session behavior so I answer this cleanly.

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Yep, basically this:

If the cron turn hits 300 seconds, that specific run is done.
When you reply later, the agent wakes immediately on your message, it does not wait for the next cron tick.
It does not resume the exact timed-out process in-place, but if the cron job is bound to the same session, the new turn sees the same history and can pick up where it left off.
Then the next cron run will also see that updated history, because it’s the same session.

So in practice, timeoutSeconds only limits the scheduled turn itself. It does not break the overall flow.

The important bit is session target:

isolated = bad for this, each run is detached
current = good, but only if you create the job from inside that chat/session
session:<actual-session-key> = best if you’re creating/editing cron from CLI and want it pinned to one thread/session

One subtle gotcha: if you do --session current from plain CLI, with no active chat/session context, it falls back to isolated.

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So for your use case, I’d recommend:

if creating from chat, use --session current
if creating from CLI, get the session key via openclaw sessions --json, then use --session "session:<that-session-key>"

Small correction to my previous reply: --session main is only valid for the default agent.

Docs:

If you want, I can help map this to the exact cron command for your agent.

lethal zodiac Apr 13, 2026, 6:39 PM

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When creating this cron job using control-ui I get error main cron jobs require payload.kind="systemEvent", and it won't let me add, what does that mean?

hasty geyserBOT Apr 13, 2026, 6:40 PM

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That error means:

you selected session target = main
but the job payload you entered is a normal agent message
main jobs are only allowed to use an internal system event payload, not a normal prompt

In plain English:

main = “poke the main session / heartbeat path”
current / session:<key> / isolated = “run this prompt as an agent turn”

So if you want to enter a real prompt like:

"Check for anything important and ask follow-up questions here"

then don’t use main. Use:

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current, if you’re creating it from inside the session context
or better in Control UI, session:<actual-session-key>, if you want it pinned to this thread/session
or isolated, if you want it detached

If you really want main, the payload has to be more like a system event/reminder, not a direct prompt.

Also, one more gotcha: main only works for the default agent.

So for your “heartbeat-as-cron for one agent” use case, I’d avoid main and use a persistent session-bound cron instead. That is much closer to what you want.

If you want, I can help translate the Control UI fields into the exact combo you should pick.

lethal zodiac Apr 13, 2026, 6:43 PM

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ok, was just using main because that is what you said before. So if I don't use main, I would like to use a dedicated session, what would this look like on control:ui

hasty geyserBOT Apr 13, 2026, 6:45 PM

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I gave you the wrong steer on main earlier, sorry. Let me check the current Control UI wording so I map the fields correctly.

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One last thing I’m checking is whether the cron form needs an explicit delivery target for a session-bound job, or if it can reuse the bound session route.

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Yep, and my bad for sending you toward main earlier.

For Control UI, if you want a dedicated persistent session for the cron job, I’d set it up like this:

Agent: your target agent id
Session Target: session:<something>
Payload type: normal prompt / agent turn
Message: your heartbeat-style prompt
Timeout Seconds: 300 (or whatever you want)
Delivery: announce
Channel: usually last, or discord if you want to force Discord
To:
- leave blank if you want it to reuse the session’s last route
- or set an explicit target if you want it pinned to one thread/channel

Two important variants:

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Dedicated custom cron session
- Example session target: session:ops-heartbeat
- Good if you want a separate long-lived session just for this job
- But replies in normal Discord chat will not automatically go into that custom session unless you explicitly talk to that session
Bind it to this Discord thread’s actual session
- This is what you want if the cron job should ask here, and your replies here should continue the same context
- In that case, use the actual session key for this thread, not a made-up name

So for your use case, I’d recommend:

find the session key for this thread in Sessions in Control UI, or via:
```
openclaw sessions --json
```
then paste that into Session Target as:

#

  session:<that-session-key>

Then the cron form is basically:

Session Target: session:<that-session-key>
Message: Do a heartbeat-style check, ask follow-up questions in this thread if needed.
Timeout Seconds: 300
Delivery: announce
Channel: discord or last
To: if you want it hard-pinned to this thread, use channel:1493314195507122207

One subtle thing:

session:ops-heartbeat = separate persistent cron session
session:<actual thread session key> = same conversation as this thread

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If you want, I can help you identify which exact session key to paste so it stays tied to this thread.

lethal zodiac Apr 13, 2026, 6:47 PM

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I don't see "session target", but do see advanced->"session key"

lethal zodiac Apr 13, 2026, 7:09 PM

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so I made the session key match the session listed as bound to the discord channel, but the channel in discord is not actually being updated. Ideally I want the whole session to be viewed in discord, and if agent has questions for me to tag me in question so I get notified.

hasty geyserBOT Apr 13, 2026, 7:10 PM

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Ah, I think I see the missing piece now.

sessionKey and sessionTarget are not the same thing.

What happened is probably:

you set the cron job’s sessionKey to the Discord session
but the cron job is still running as an isolated agent-turn job
so the actual work is happening in the cron session, not in the Discord session

That’s why Discord is not showing the full conversation.

For what you want, the job itself needs to run with:

"sessionTarget": "session:<that-discord-session-key>"

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Not just:

"sessionKey": "<that-discord-session-key>"

So the fix is:

bind the cron run itself to the Discord session via sessionTarget
keep delivery as announce
ideally set delivery explicitly to that Discord thread/channel

Something like this in raw job shape:

#

  sessionTarget: "session:<discord-session-key>",
  payload: {
    kind: "agentTurn",
    message: "Do a heartbeat-style check and ask follow-up questions in this thread if needed.",
    timeoutSeconds: 300
  },
  delivery: {
    mode: "announce",
    channel: "discord",
    to: "channel:<thread-or-channel-id>"
  }
}

For a Discord thread, to is usually just:

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channel:<threadId>

If the Control UI form only exposes session key and not session target, then I think you’ve hit a current UI limitation. In that case, easiest path is to patch it with CLI:

openclaw cron edit <job-id> --session "session:<discord-session-key>"

That is the important part.

On the ping/tag part, I would not have the agent @mention people in Discord for this. Better options are:

pin delivery to a thread/channel and enable Discord notifications there
or send the question to a DM / Telegram / whatever you actually watch closely

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So short version:

sessionKey alone is not enough
you need sessionTarget=session:<discord-session-key>
if Control UI doesn’t expose that field, use CLI or raw JSON edit

If you want, paste the job JSON or the openclaw cron list --json entry and I can tell you exactly what to change.

lethal zodiac Apr 13, 2026, 7:21 PM

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I don't understand, here is my config
{
"id": "9112eb58-e40f-4581-81fd-eda0768e9508",
"agentId": "jim-ceo",
"name": "Jim-CEO Heartbeat",
"enabled": true,
"deleteAfterRun": true,
"createdAtMs": 1776105947616,
"updatedAtMs": 1776107258638,
"schedule": {
"kind": "cron",
"expr": "0 16 * * ",
"tz": "America/New_York"
},
"sessionTarget": "isolated",
"wakeMode": "now",
"payload": {
"kind": "agentTurn",
"message": " Run skill safe-git sync /home/node/obsidian \n* Do Work:\n * Load playbook /home/node/obsidan/jim-ceo/playbooks/MailingListCompany.md \n * work on TODO list at /home/node/obsidan/jim-ceo/TODO.md one at a time.\n * Use current session for asking questions to Brian\n * Feel free to ask questions for clarifications, and when completing a TODO tasks.\n * When finishing a single TODO list item, skip to final sync below, and stop working. \n* Run skill safe-git sync /home/node/obsidian",
"timeoutSeconds": 300
},
"delivery": {
"mode": "announce",
"channel": "last",
"bestEffort": false
},
"state": {
"nextRunAtMs": 1776110400000,
"lastRunAtMs": 1776107029882,
"lastRunStatus": "error",
"lastStatus": "error",
"lastDurationMs": 228756,
"lastError": "Discord recipient is required. Use "channel:<id>" for channels or "user:<id>" for DMs.",
"lastDeliveryStatus": "unknown",
"consecutiveErrors": 1
},
"sessionKey": "agent:librarian:discord:channel:1486494771542233269"
}

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@hasty geyser thoughts?

hasty geyserBOT Apr 13, 2026, 7:29 PM

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Yeah, my current read is:

what you want is valid
but the Control UI form looks a bit misleading here

The key distinction is still:

sessionKey = route/context hint
sessionTarget = where the cron run actually lives

For a cron job to behave like an ongoing Discord-thread conversation, it needs:

sessionTarget = session:<that Discord session key>
delivery.mode = announce
delivery.channel = discord
delivery.to = channel:<thread/channel id> if you want it pinned there

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If the Control UI only gives you Advanced → session key, I don’t think that alone is enough to make the run actually live in the Discord session. That would explain exactly what you’re seeing.

So my recommendation:

use Control UI for the basic cron fields if you want
then edit/create the job via CLI or raw JSON so sessionTarget is set correctly

If you want it tied to this exact Discord thread, the important part is basically:

sessionTarget: "session:<discord-session-key>"
delivery: {
  mode: "announce",
  channel: "discord",
  to: "channel:<thread-id>"
}

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And on the notification side, I would not rely on bot @mentions here. Better to:

enable thread notifications in Discord
or send those prompts to a DM / Telegram target you actually watch closely

If you paste the cron job JSON, I can sanity-check whether it’s missing sessionTarget or the Discord delivery bits.

lethal zodiac Apr 13, 2026, 7:30 PM

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{
"id": "9112eb58-e40f-4581-81fd-eda0768e9508",
"agentId": "jim-ceo",
"name": "Jim-CEO Heartbeat",
"enabled": true,
"deleteAfterRun": true,
"createdAtMs": 1776105947616,
"updatedAtMs": 1776107258638,
"schedule": {
"kind": "cron",
"expr": "0 16 * * ",
"tz": "America/New_York"
},
"sessionTarget": "isolated",
"wakeMode": "now",
"payload": {
"kind": "agentTurn",
"message": " Run skill safe-git sync /home/node/obsidian \n* Do Work:\n * Load playbook /home/node/obsidan/jim-ceo/playbooks/MailingListCompany.md \n * work on TODO list at /home/node/obsidan/jim-ceo/TODO.md one at a time.\n * Use current session for asking questions to Brian\n * Feel free to ask questions for clarifications, and when completing a TODO tasks.\n * When finishing a single TODO list item, skip to final sync below, and stop working. \n* Run skill safe-git sync /home/node/obsidian",
"timeoutSeconds": 300
},
"delivery": {
"mode": "announce",
"channel": "last",
"bestEffort": false
},
"state": {
"nextRunAtMs": 1776110400000,
"lastRunAtMs": 1776107029882,
"lastRunStatus": "error",
"lastStatus": "error",
"lastDurationMs": 228756,
"lastError": "Discord recipient is required. Use "channel:<id>" for channels or "user:<id>" for DMs.",
"lastDeliveryStatus": "unknown",
"consecutiveErrors": 1
},
"sessionKey": "agent:librarian:discord:channel:1486494771542233269"
}

@hasty geyser

hasty geyserBOT Apr 13, 2026, 7:31 PM

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I can see the problem now. Let me sanity-check one more field before I tell you exactly what to change.

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Yep, this JSON makes the problem pretty clear.

You have three separate issues here:

sessionTarget is still "isolated"
- so the cron run is not living in the Discord session
delivery.channel is "last" with no to
- and the recorded error says exactly that: Discord needs an explicit recipient
sessionKey is for agent:librarian:..., but this job is agentId: "jim-ceo"
- so it’s pointing at the wrong agent’s session anyway

What I’d change:

sessionTarget →
session:agent:jim-ceo:discord:channel:1486494771542233269
delivery.channel →
discord

#

delivery.to →
channel:1486494771542233269
sessionKey → either remove it or make it match the jim-ceo session, not librarian

So the intended shape is more like:

{
  "agentId": "jim-ceo",
  "sessionTarget": "session:agent:jim-ceo:discord:channel:1486494771542233269",
  "payload": {
    "kind": "agentTurn",
    "message": "...",
    "timeoutSeconds": 300
  },
  "delivery": {

#

    "mode": "announce",
    "channel": "discord",
    "to": "channel:1486494771542233269",
    "bestEffort": false
  }
}

That should give you what you want:

the run uses the Discord-bound session
replies stay visible in Discord
follow-up questions also land there

One extra catch I noticed: your prompt has a likely typo here:

#

/home/node/obsidan/...
should probably be
/home/node/obsidian/...

If the Control UI form won’t let you set sessionTarget directly, I’d patch this job via CLI instead. Happy to help write the exact openclaw cron edit ... command if you want.

lethal zodiac Apr 13, 2026, 7:38 PM

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Can you give me the CLI to fix this job? Or can I just use text editor to edit the jobs.json ?

hasty geyserBOT Apr 13, 2026, 7:38 PM

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I’d use the CLI, not hand-edit jobs.json, unless you really have to.

CLI is safer because it validates the job shape for you.

Use this:

openclaw cron edit 9112eb58-e40f-4581-81fd-eda0768e9508 \
  --session "session:agent:jim-ceo:discord:channel:1486494771542233269" \
  --announce \
  --channel discord \
  --to "channel:1486494771542233269" \
  --clear-session-key

What that does:

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changes the job from isolated to the jim-ceo Discord session
makes delivery explicit to Discord
clears the bad sessionKey that currently points at librarian

Then I’d test it with:

openclaw cron run 9112eb58-e40f-4581-81fd-eda0768e9508
openclaw cron runs --id 9112eb58-e40f-4581-81fd-eda0768e9508 --limit 20

If you want to hand-edit ~/.openclaw/cron/jobs.json, you can, but I wouldn’t make that the first choice. If you do:

stop the gateway first
back up the file
edit carefully
restart the gateway after

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Also, separate from the routing fix, you probably want to fix this typo in the prompt later:

/home/node/obsidan/...
should likely be /home/node/obsidian/...

If you want, I can also give you the exact second cron edit command to replace the prompt text cleanly.

lethal zodiac Apr 13, 2026, 7:40 PM

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Ok here is the update, look good before I test?

{
"id": "9112eb58-e40f-4581-81fd-eda0768e9508",
"agentId": "jim-ceo",
"name": "Jim-CEO Heartbeat",
"enabled": true,
"deleteAfterRun": true,
"createdAtMs": 1776105947616,
"updatedAtMs": 1776109203739,
"schedule": {
"kind": "cron",
"expr": "0 16 * * ",
"tz": "America/New_York"
},
"sessionTarget": "session:agent:jim-ceo:discord:channel:1486494771542233269",
"wakeMode": "now",
"payload": {
"kind": "agentTurn",
"message": " Run skill safe-git sync /home/node/obsidian \n* Do Work:\n * Load playbook /home/node/obsidian/jim-ceo/playbooks/MailingListCompany.md \n * work on TODO list at /home/node/o
bsidan/jim-ceo/TODO.md one at a time.\n * Use current session for asking questions to Brian\n * Feel free to ask questions for clarifications, and when completing a TODO tasks.\n * When finishing
a single TODO list item, skip to final sync below, and stop working. \n* Run skill safe-git sync /home/node/obsidian",
"timeoutSeconds": 300
},
"delivery": {
"mode": "announce",
"channel": "discord",
"to": "channel:1486494771542233269",
"bestEffort": false
},
"state": {
"nextRunAtMs": 1776110400000,
"lastRunAtMs": 1776107029882,
"lastRunStatus": "error",
"lastStatus": "error",
"lastDurationMs": 228756,
"lastError": "Discord recipient is required. Use "channel:<id>" for channels or "user:<id>" for DMs.",
"lastDeliveryStatus": "unknown",
"consecutiveErrors": 1
}
}

hasty geyserBOT Apr 13, 2026, 7:41 PM

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Very close, I’d test after fixing one thing:

you still have a typo in the TODO path
/home/node/obsidan/jim-ceo/TODO.md
should be
/home/node/obsidian/jim-ceo/TODO.md

Other than that, the important parts now look right:

sessionTarget is bound to the jim-ceo Discord session
delivery is explicit:
- channel: "discord"
- to: "channel:1486494771542233269"

A couple of small notes:

lastError / consecutiveErrors are just old state, that’s fine until the next run

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wakeMode: "now" doesn’t really matter for this kind of agent-turn cron job
deleteAfterRun: true also doesn’t matter for this recurring cron expression

So my answer is:

yes, structurally it looks good now
fix the remaining obsidan typo first
then run a manual test

I’d test with:

openclaw cron run 9112eb58-e40f-4581-81fd-eda0768e9508
openclaw cron runs --id 9112eb58-e40f-4581-81fd-eda0768e9508 --limit 5

If it still doesn’t show up in Discord after that, the next thing I’d suspect is that 1486494771542233269 is the wrong Discord destination id, but I think you’re in much better shape now.

lethal zodiac Apr 13, 2026, 7:42 PM

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What do the 2 test commands do?

hasty geyserBOT Apr 13, 2026, 7:43 PM

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Yep:

openclaw cron run 9112eb58-e40f-4581-81fd-eda0768e9508
- actually triggers the job once right now
- it does not change the schedule
- it does not wait for the full result, it just queues the run
- so if the job does real work, it will go do that real work once
openclaw cron runs --id 9112eb58-e40f-4581-81fd-eda0768e9508 --limit 5
- shows the recent run history for that job
- this is how you check whether the manual test finished with:
  - ok
  - error
  - skipped

So the normal flow is:

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run the first command to kick off a one-time test
run the second command to see how it ended

If you want a gentler test, I’d fix the path typo first, since the first command really will execute the job.

lethal zodiac Apr 13, 2026, 7:46 PM

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Ok, one other question, for this type of cron / heartbeat, how should I handle context? Should I compact/reset at start, let openclaw handle it, etc?

hasty geyserBOT Apr 13, 2026, 7:46 PM

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Let me check the session/compaction docs so I don’t hand-wave this part.

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For this kind of cron, I’d mostly let OpenClaw handle it.

My recommendation:

Don’t reset/compact at the start of every run
- that fights the whole point of using a persistent session
Let auto-compaction do its job
- it’s on by default
Use files as the real source of truth
- your TODO.md, playbook, notes, etc.
- that matters way more than preserving every chat turn forever

A good rule of thumb:

Same ongoing workflow/project → keep the same session
Conversation getting bloated or stale → use /compact
Workflow changed materially / agent feels confused / you want a clean slate → use /new or reset

#

For your specific setup, since the job is already reading from files, that’s ideal. The session should mostly hold:

recent back-and-forth
clarifications
short-term working context

while the durable state lives in the markdown files.

So I’d do this:

daily cron keeps using the same session
no forced reset at start
no forced compact at start
only manually compact when the thread gets noisy
only reset when the mission changes or the session gets weird

If you want, a nice pattern is:

#

keep the session conversational
have the agent write important state back into TODO.md / notes
then compaction becomes much less scary

Docs:

If you want, I can also suggest a “lightweight long-running cron session” pattern for this exact Jim-CEO workflow.

lethal zodiac Apr 13, 2026, 8:00 PM

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ok so I did the 2 test commands, and do see the session in discord, but it doesn't see to actually be tied to the session, since if I do /status it shows session having no context. It really does seem the session was deleted.

$ openclaw sessions --active 30

🦞 OpenClaw 2026.4.12 (unknown) — Greetings, Professor Falken

Session store: /home/node/.openclaw/agents/librarian/sessions/sessions.json
Sessions listed: 2
Filtered to last 30 minute(s)
Kind Key Age Model Tokens (ctx %) Flags
group agent:librarian:...785486 5m ago glm-5.1:cloud unknown/203k (?%) id:222f3d1a-5eb8-470c-af45-b9fc70c0f27f
direct agent:librarian:...38c8d5 24m ago glm-5.1:cloud 18k/203k (9%) id:1ad3ce41-1c3e-4dfa-ab9c-cd5d3f2a51f7
node@0d140f665715:~/.openclaw$ openclaw cron runs --id 9112eb58-e40f-4581-81fd-eda0768e9508 --limit 1

🦞 OpenClaw 2026.4.12 (unknown) — Alexa, but with taste.

│
◇
{
"entries": [
{
"ts": 1776109852821,
"jobId": "9112eb58-e40f-4581-81fd-eda0768e9508",
"action": "finished",
"status": "ok",
"summary": "*....",
"runAtMs": 1776109613497,
"durationMs": 239319,
"nextRunAtMs": 1776110400000,
"model": "glm-5.1:cloud",
"provider": "ollama",
"usage": {
"input_tokens": 230413,
"output_tokens": 1546,
"total_tokens": 23653
},
"delivered": true,
"deliveryStatus": "delivered",
"sessionId": "f51e6771-b6f5-41c3-98c2-5414551bf89c",
"sessionKey": "agent:jim-ceo:discord:channel:1477120336649785486"
}
],
"total": 2,
"offset": 0,
"limit": 1,
"hasMore": true,
"nextOffset": 1
}

hasty geyserBOT Apr 13, 2026, 8:01 PM

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I think I see the mismatch. Let me verify the sessions CLI flag so I give you the exact check.

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I don’t think it was deleted. I think you’re looking at the wrong agent store.

Your two pasted outputs are from different places:

openclaw sessions --active 30 is showing the default agent store
- and your output says that store is librarian
but the cron run log says the job ran in:
- agent:jim-ceo:discord:channel:...

So this command:

openclaw sessions --active 30

is not checking the right agent.

#

Try:

openclaw sessions --agent jim-ceo --active 30

or:

openclaw sessions --all-agents --active 30

I’d expect the session to show up there.

One more thing, and this is important:

your edited job JSON showed session target ending in 1486494771542233269

#

but the cron run result shows session key ending in 1477120336649785486

That mismatch is a red flag.

So I’d check both of these next:

Are you looking at the correct agent store?
openclaw sessions --agent jim-ceo --active 30
Did the saved cron job actually keep the session target you intended?
openclaw cron list --json

My current guess is:

the session is not deleted
the run is landing in jim-ceo
but you’re checking librarian

#

and there may also still be a channel/session id mismatch

If you paste the openclaw sessions --agent jim-ceo --active 30 output, I can help line it up with the cron run result.

lethal zodiac Apr 13, 2026, 8:13 PM

#

I updated the discord channel id before running to be corrected 1477120336649785486

Ok what does this mean?

$ openclaw sessions --agent jim-ceo --active 30 --json
{
"path": "/home/node/.openclaw/agents/jim-ceo/sessions/sessions.json",
"count": 1,
"activeMinutes": 30,
"sessions": [
{
"key": "agent:jim-ceo:discord:channel:1477120336649785486",
"updatedAt": 1776110411839,
"ageMs": 758623,
"sessionId": "99c7c04b-e6a9-43b0-b31d-24eea5acf479",
"systemSent": true,
"abortedLastRun": false,
"totalTokens": null,
"totalTokensFresh": false,
"model": "glm-5.1:cloud",
"modelProvider": "ollama",
"contextTokens": 202752,
"agentId": "jim-ceo",
"kind": "group"
}
]
}

hasty geyserBOT Apr 13, 2026, 8:13 PM

#

This is actually good news.

It means:

the jim-ceo session exists
it is bound to the Discord channel you wanted:
- agent:jim-ceo:discord:channel:1477120336649785486
it was active recently
and it definitely is not empty

The big tell is this:

"contextTokens": 202752

That is a lot of context. So the session was not deleted.

A few field meanings:

#

key = the conversation bucket, this is the important binding
sessionId = the current transcript file for that session key
contextTokens = how much context OpenClaw thinks is in there
kind: "group" = Discord channel/group-style session

One subtle thing:

Earlier your cron run log showed a different sessionId than this one.

That does not mean the session disappeared.

It usually means:

same sessionKey
but a new transcript/sessionId was started for that key

That can happen because of reset behavior, like:

#

/new or /reset
daily reset
idle reset

So my read is:

binding is working
Discord delivery is working
the session exists and has context
if /status looked empty, that was probably either:
- checked in the wrong place/agent, or
- after a reset boundary created a new sessionId

If you want this to stay as one long-running conversation, the next place I’d look is your session reset settings, especially idle reset.

If you want, paste your session config block and I can tell you whether reset policy is what’s fragmenting this.

lethal zodiac Apr 13, 2026, 8:15 PM

#

Coicendentally, that 202752 is the exact contextWindow length defined for that model. So that can't be right.

hasty geyserBOT Apr 13, 2026, 8:16 PM

#

Let me check whether contextTokens can clamp to the model window, because that would explain the exact match.

#

I found the relevant bit: the sessions/status code can fall back to the model’s configured context size when the session doesn’t have a real tracked value.

#

Yep, good catch. You’re right, and I overstated that part.

That 202752 is not proof the session is full of real context.

What it most likely means is:

OpenClaw stored the model’s configured context capacity/window
not the actual live used-token count for that session

That lines up with:

contextTokens: 202752
totalTokens: null
totalTokensFresh: false

So the better reading is:

#

the session entry exists
but the CLI does not have a fresh real token-usage number for it

So I would revise my conclusion to:

not deleted, because the session key + sessionId are there
but that contextTokens number is basically metadata/reporting, not “actual current prompt size”

The most meaningful bits in that output are:

key: agent:jim-ceo:discord:channel:1477120336649785486
sessionId: 99c7c04b-e6a9-43b0-b31d-24eea5acf479
updatedAt: ...

That says the session exists in the jim-ceo store.

So if /status still feels wrong, the likely culprits are now:

#

session reset/rotation happened, so you’re seeing a newer sessionId
usage reporting is stale/unknown, so /status looks empty even though the session exists

At this point I’d check one of two things next:

your session reset config
or the actual transcript file for that sessionId

If you want, paste your session config block next, that’s probably the fastest way to figure out why the thread feels like it lost continuity.

lethal zodiac Apr 13, 2026, 10:29 PM

#

Ok found issue where I replied to message from jim-ceo but when I replied I see the session is created named " agent:librarian:discord:channel:1477120336649785486"
Which librarian is the default agent I have. Maybe the binding needs to be updated?

hasty geyserBOT Apr 13, 2026, 10:33 PM

#

Yep, that’s almost certainly the missing piece.

What’s happening is:

the cron run is sending as / into jim-ceo
but your inbound reply routing is still resolving to the default agent (librarian)
so the follow-up lands in a fresh agent:librarian:... session instead of continuing jim-ceo

So yes, you need to fix the inbound binding, not just the cron job.

#

Yep, exactly. The cron job is only solving the scheduled outbound turn. It does not automatically teach Discord to route your replies back to jim-ceo.

So right now you have a split brain:

cron run → jim-ceo
your reply in Discord → librarian (default agent)

That’s why it feels broken.

What you need

For “cron as heartbeat” to behave like a real ongoing chat, both sides must line up:

Cron execution/session target
- sessionTarget: "session:agent:jim-ceo:discord:..."
Inbound Discord routing/binding
- replies in that thread/channel must route to jim-ceo, not the default agent

#

Best fix in Discord

If this is a Discord thread/forum thread, the cleanest fix is usually:

enable thread bindings:
- session.threadBindings.enabled: true
- or channels.discord.threadBindings.enabled: true
then in that thread use:
- /focus jim-ceo

That makes replies in that thread keep going to jim-ceo instead of librarian.

Important detail

If the cron posts into a specific thread, use that thread ID consistently for delivery.
If it posts into one place and you reply in another, routing can still split.

On your timeout concern

Your original intuition was right:

#

a cron run can time out
but if the next user reply lands in the same bound session, OpenClaw can continue from session history on the next turn

So timeout is not fatal, misrouting is.

Short version

Yes, the binding needs to be fixed.
The cron job is probably fine now, but the Discord thread/channel still routes inbound replies to librarian.

If you want, I can give you the exact config snippet for either:

thread binding + /focus jim-ceo (my recommendation), or
a static routing binding to force that Discord destination to jim-ceo.

lethal zodiac Apr 13, 2026, 10:34 PM

#

This is a standard discord channel

hasty geyserBOT Apr 13, 2026, 10:35 PM

#

Ah, that changes it a bit. In a plain Discord channel, /focus thread binding is not the tool, so I’m checking the routing docs for the clean channel-level binding path.

#

Yep, for a plain Discord channel this is an actual routing binding problem.

In that setup, replies do not follow “who sent the last message”. They route by the inbound channel match rules, and if nothing more specific matches, OpenClaw falls back to the default agent. So your reply landing in agent:librarian:discord:channel:... is exactly what I’d expect if librarian is default and jim-ceo is only being used by the cron job.

What to do

If you want that one Discord channel to belong to jim-ceo, add a binding like this in openclaw.json:

{
  bindings: [
    {
      agentId: "jim-ceo",
      match: {
        channel: "discord",
        accountId: "default",

#

        peer: { kind: "channel", id: "YOUR_CHANNEL_ID_HERE" },
      },
    },
  ],
}

Then restart the gateway.

Important

Do not use:

openclaw agents bind --agent jim-ceo --bind discord:default

#

unless you want all Discord traffic on that bot/account to route to jim-ceo.

That CLI bind is broader than your use case.

One thing I’d double-check

I’m seeing different channel IDs in your examples:

current thread/context shows: 1493314195507122207
earlier session key showed: 1477120336649785486

If the cron is posting in one channel and you’re replying in another, that will also split routing.

So for heartbeat-like behavior, all 3 need to match:

delivery.to
sessionTarget session key
bindings[].match.peer.id

#Cron as Heartbeat

What you need

Best fix in Discord

Important detail

On your timeout concern

Short version

What to do

Important

One thing I’d double-check