OpenClaw Auto Update

Keeps OpenClaw and installed ClawHub skills up to date automatically.

Prerequisites

• openclaw CLI — required for openclaw update, openclaw gateway restart, and notifications
• clawhub CLI — required for clawhub list, clawhub inspect, and clawhub update
• python3 — required for loading config.json
• bash 4+ — required by the shell scripts for associative arrays and other modern Bash features

Quick Start

1. Install cron job (runs daily at 2 AM by default)

bash ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/openclaw-auto-update/scripts/install-cron.sh

2. Run manually now

bash ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/openclaw-auto-update/scripts/update.sh

3. Preview what would be updated (no changes)

bash ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/openclaw-auto-update/scripts/update.sh --dry-run

Configuration

Create ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/openclaw-auto-update/config.json:

{
  "schedule": "0 2 * * *",
  "skipSkills": [],
  "skipPreRelease": true,
  "restartGateway": true,
  "notify": true,
  "notifyTarget": null
}

See references/config-schema.md for all options and examples.

What It Does

1. Loads JSON config — reads config.json with python3 and merges defaults
2. Updates OpenClaw — runs openclaw update --yes --no-restart; in preview mode it logs the equivalent openclaw update --dry-run --yes --no-restart command without making changes
3. Finds installed skills — enumerates skills via clawhub list, with workspace directory fallback
4. Checks release channel — uses clawhub inspect to skip pre-releases when skipPreRelease: true
5. Updates skills — runs clawhub update --no-input for each eligible installed skill; in preview mode it only logs clawhub update --all because the installed clawhub CLI does not support update dry runs
6. Protects local changes — skips skills with uncommitted git changes
7. Respects skip list — never touches skills in skipSkills
8. Restarts gateway — only if OpenClaw version actually changed
9. Notifies — sends openclaw message send --target -m when notifyTarget is set, otherwise openclaw system event --text --mode now

Change Schedule

# Change to 3 AM weekly on Sunday
bash ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/openclaw-auto-update/scripts/install-cron.sh --schedule "0 3 * * 0"

# Uninstall cron job
bash ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/openclaw-auto-update/scripts/install-cron.sh --uninstall

Logs

tail -f /tmp/openclaw-auto-update.log

Skip a Specific Skill Permanently

Add to config.json:

{ "skipSkills": ["my-custom-skill", "work-internal"] }