How to Set Up Webhooks and Cron Jobs in OpenClaw

# OpenClaw supports three trigger types:

# 1. Command triggers (manual)
triggers:
  - command: /backup

# 2. Schedule triggers (cron)
triggers:
  - schedule: "0 9 * * *"  # Daily at 9 AM

# 3. Webhook triggers (event-driven)
triggers:
  - webhook: /webhook/github-issue

# You can combine multiple triggers in one skill

# Create a daily report skill:
cat > ~/.openclaw/skills/daily-report/skill.md << 'EOF'
---
name: daily-report
version: 1.0.0
description: Sends daily activity report via email
permissions:
  - filesystem:read
  - network:outbound
triggers:
  - schedule: "0 9 * * 1-5"  # 9 AM, Monday-Friday
  - command: /daily-report  # Also allow manual trigger
---

## Instructions

When triggered, generate a daily activity report:
1. Read activity logs from ~/.openclaw/logs/activity.log
2. Summarize key metrics
3. Send formatted email to configured recipients
EOF

# Cron syntax reference:
# ┌───────────── minute (0 - 59)
# │ ┌───────────── hour (0 - 23)
# │ │ ┌───────────── day of month (1 - 31)
# │ │ │ ┌───────────── month (1 - 12)
# │ │ │ │ ┌───────────── day of week (0 - 6, Sunday = 0)
# │ │ │ │ │
# * * * * *

# Webhooks require OpenClaw server mode:
# In ~/.openclaw/config.json, enable server:
{
  "server": {
    "enabled": true,
    "port": 3000,
    "host": "0.0.0.0"
  },
  "webhooks": {
    "enabled": true,
    "base_path": "/webhook",
    "require_auth": true,
    "secret": "your-webhook-secret-here"
  }
}

# Restart OpenClaw:
npm restart

# Your webhook endpoint will be:
# http://your-server:3000/webhook/{skill-webhook-path}

# Create a GitHub webhook skill:
cat > ~/.openclaw/skills/github-webhook/skill.md << 'EOF'
---
name: github-webhook
version: 1.0.0
description: Handles GitHub issue webhooks
permissions:
  - network:outbound
triggers:
  - webhook: /github-issue
---

## Instructions

When triggered by GitHub webhook:
1. Parse the webhook payload (JSON)
2. Extract issue title, body, author
3. Post to Slack #dev-notifications channel
4. Log the event
EOF

# Configure GitHub to send webhooks:
# 1. Go to GitHub repo → Settings → Webhooks → Add webhook
# 2. Payload URL: http://your-server:3000/webhook/github-issue
# 3. Content type: application/json
# 4. Secret: your-webhook-secret-here
# 5. Events: Issues

# Create webhook handler script:
cat > ~/.openclaw/skills/github-webhook/scripts/verify.js << 'EOF'
import crypto from 'crypto';

export function verifyGitHubSignature(payload, signature, secret) {
  const hmac = crypto.createHmac('sha256', secret);
  const digest = 'sha256=' + hmac.update(payload).digest('hex');
  return crypto.timingSafeEqual(
    Buffer.from(signature),
    Buffer.from(digest)
  );
}

export function parseWebhook(req) {
  const signature = req.headers['x-hub-signature-256'];
  const payload = JSON.stringify(req.body);

  if (!verifyGitHubSignature(payload, signature, process.env.WEBHOOK_SECRET)) {
    throw new Error('Invalid webhook signature');
  }

  return req.body;
}
EOF

# Update skill.md with webhook handling instructions:

## Webhook Payload Handling

When GitHub sends an issue webhook:

1. Verify signature using verify.js
2. Parse JSON payload
3. Extract relevant fields:
   - issue.title
   - issue.body
   - issue.user.login
   - issue.html_url
4. Format Slack message:
   - Title: "New GitHub Issue"
   - Author: @{user.login}
   - Link: {html_url}
5. Post to Slack
6. Return 200 OK to GitHub

If signature verification fails, return 401 Unauthorized.
If Slack post fails, return 500 and GitHub will retry.

# Test cron schedule (without waiting):
# Temporarily set schedule to "* * * * *" (every minute)
# Watch logs:
tail -f ~/.openclaw/logs/skills.log | grep daily-report

# Test webhook locally:
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/webhook/github-issue \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Hub-Signature-256: sha256=..." \
  -d '{"action":"opened","issue":{"title":"Test"}}'

# Debug failed triggers:
# 1. Check skill logs: ~/.openclaw/logs/skills.log
# 2. Check webhook delivery logs (in sender, e.g., GitHub)
# 3. Verify cron schedule: https://crontab.guru
# 4. Test skill manually via command trigger