Skill: Remind Me

When to use

• User says "remind me to...", "set a reminder", "set an alarm"
• User says "every Monday at 9 AM...", "every 30 minutes check..."
• User says "in 20 minutes tell me...", "at 3 PM send me..."
• User wants to schedule a recurring cron job via chat
• User says "cancel my reminder", "delete that cron", "stop the alert"
• User says "list my reminders", "what reminders do I have?"
• User wants to know what cron jobs are active in this chat

When NOT to use

• User wants to check a stock price right now (not scheduled) → use stock-price-checker-pro
• User wants to run a one-time task immediately (no scheduling involved)

⚠️ CRITICAL: Always resolve these FOUR things before creating a reminder

Before calling the script, you MUST have all four resolved:

Missing field rules

• WHAT is missing → Ask: "What would you like me to remind you about?"
• WHEN is missing AND cannot be reasonably assumed → Ask: "How often, or at what time?"
• WHEN is missing BUT can be reasonably assumed as once → Assume one-shot, but confirm: "Just once, right?"
• WHERE is always auto-detected → Never ask the user for this. Read it from session context (see below).
• TIMEZONE is always auto-detected → Never ask unless unresolvable (see Step 2 below).

Do NOT create the job until all four are confirmed.

Step 1 — Auto-detect channel, chat ID, and timezone from context

Channel and chat ID

The source channel and chat ID are available in your session context. Extract them before doing anything else.

• channel: the platform the message arrived on (e.g. telegram, discord)
• chatId / to: the specific chat or user ID within that platform (e.g. )

These two values are passed as --channel and --to to the script.

Never ask the user for these. Never hardcode them. Always read from session context.

Timezone — 3-tier resolution (in priority order)

Resolve the user's timezone using this exact priority chain:

Rules:

• If tier 1 applies → use it directly, no need to check USER.md
• If tier 2 applies → use it silently, do not mention it to the user
• If tier 3 triggers → ask: _"What timezone are you in? (e.g. London, New York, Lagos)"_ — then offer: _"Want me to remember your timezone for future reminders?"_ If they say yes, update USER.md
• The resolved timezone is passed as tz: to the script
• If no timezone can be resolved at all, pass tz:UTC and mention it in the confirmation summary

Step 2 — Parse the user's intent

From the user's natural language request, extract:

Schedule type

Map what the user said to one of three prefixed schedule strings.

> ⚠️ When the user states a clock time (e.g. "9 AM", "3 PM", "noon"), always interpret it in their resolved timezone (from Step 1), not UTC. The --tz flag passed to the script ensures cron expressions fire at the correct local time.

One-shot vs recurring

• at: → always one-shot (--once is auto-set by the script)
• every: or cron: → recurring by default
• If user says "just once" or "one time" with a cron: or every: → pass --once

Job name

Generate a short, descriptive name from the user's request.

• "Remind me to check NVDA every Monday" → "NVDA Check - Monday 9AM"
• "Alert me in 20 minutes" → "Alert - 20min"
• "Grocery reminder at noon" → "Groceries - Noon"

Message

The message is what the agent will say or do when the job fires.

Craft it clearly so the agent knows exactly what to do:

• "Remind me to do groceries" → "Reminder: Time to do groceries! 🛒"
• "Check NVDA every Monday at 9 AM" → "Check the current NVDA stock price and send me a summary."
• "Send me a motivational quote every morning" → "Send me an inspiring motivational quote to start the day."

Step 3 — Clarification rules (ask before acting)

Ask when:

1. No schedule at all: "Remind me to call John" → no time/frequency given

> Ask: "Sure! When would you like me to remind you — just once at a specific time, or on a recurring schedule?"

1. Ambiguous frequency: "Remind me often" or "check regularly"

> Ask: "How often? Every hour, every day, or something else?"

1. Conflicting signals: "Remind me every Monday but just once"

> Ask: "Just to confirm — should this be a one-time reminder or repeat every Monday?"

Do NOT ask when:

• Everything is clear: "Remind me every Monday at 9 AM to check NVDA" → create immediately
• One-shot is obvious from context: "Remind me in 20 minutes" → at:20m, once
• User confirms after your clarification question → proceed immediately

Confirmation before creating (always):

Before calling the script, summarise what you're about to set up and get a quick confirmation:

> "Got it! Here's what I'll set up:

> ⏰ Reminder: Check NVDA stock price

> 🔁 Schedule: Every Monday at 9 AM

> 🌍 Timezone: Africa/Lagos (UTC+1)

> 📱 Delivered to: This chat

>

> Shall I go ahead?"

Always include the Timezone line in the confirmation summary. If falling back to UTC because none was found, say so clearly:

> 🌍 Timezone: UTC (no timezone found — times will be in UTC)

Only proceed after user confirms.

Commands

Create a reminder

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py create \
  "<job name>" \
  "<what to say or do>" \
  "<every:duration | cron:expr | at:duration>" \
  "<channel>" \
  "<chatId>" \
  [once] \
  [tz:<IANA timezone>]

• tz: is optional but always include it when a timezone was resolved (tiers 1–2)
• Pass tz:UTC explicitly when falling back — makes the stored description accurate
• Examples: tz:Africa/Lagos, tz:America/New_York, tz:Europe/London, tz:Asia/Kolkata
• Common short names are accepted: tz:EST, tz:IST, tz:CET, tz:Lagos, tz:London

List reminders for this chat

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py list \
  "<channel>" \
  "<chatId>"

Cancel a reminder by name

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py cancel name "<job name>"

Cancel a reminder by ID

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py cancel id "<job id>"

Examples

Example 1 — Clear request, no clarification needed

User: "Remind me every Monday at 9 AM to check NVDA"

1. Detect: channel=telegram, to=
2. Read USER.md → Timezone: Africa/Lagos → resolves to Africa/Lagos
3. Parse: WHAT="Check NVDA stock price", WHEN=cron:0 9 1, one-shot=false
4. Confirm with user (include timezone line)
5. Run:

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py create \
  "NVDA Check - Monday 9AM" \
  "Check the current NVDA stock price and send me a summary." \
  "cron:0 9 * * 1" \
  "telegram" \
  "<chatId>" \
  "tz:Africa/Lagos"

Example 2 — Missing frequency, ask first

User: "Remind me to go do groceries by 12 PM"

1. Detect: channel=telegram, to=
2. Read USER.md → Timezone: Africa/Lagos → resolves to Africa/Lagos
3. Parse: WHAT="Do groceries", WHEN=12 PM but frequency unclear
4. Ask: "Just to confirm — is this a one-time reminder for today at noon, or should I remind you every day at 12 PM?"
5. User says: "Just today"
6. Compute duration from now to today's noon in Africa/Lagos time → e.g. at:3h30m
7. Confirm (include timezone line), then run:

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py create \
  "Groceries - Noon" \
  "Reminder: Time to go do groceries! 🛒" \
  "at:3h30m" \
  "telegram" \
  "<chatId>" \
  once \
  "tz:Africa/Lagos"

Example 3 — List reminders

User: "What reminders do I have?"

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py list \
  "telegram" \
  "<chatId>"

Format the output as a readable list, not raw JSON. Example response:

> You have 2 active reminders in this chat:

>

> 1. NVDA Check - Monday 9AM 🔁 Every Monday at 9 AM

> _"Check the current NVDA stock price..."_

> 🌍 Timezone: Africa/Lagos (UTC+1)

> Next run: Mon 10 Mar 2026, 09:00

>

> 2. Groceries - Noon (one-time)

> _"Time to go do groceries!"_

> 🌍 Timezone: Africa/Lagos (UTC+1)

> Runs in: 3h 30m

Example 4 — Cancel a reminder

User: "Cancel my NVDA reminder"

1. List jobs for this channel/chat first (internally)
2. Find the matching job by name
3. Confirm: "Cancel NVDA Check - Monday 9AM? This will stop all future runs."
4. User confirms
5. Run:

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py cancel name "NVDA Check - Monday 9AM"

Example 5 — One-shot in-chat reminder

User: "In 30 seconds send me a love letter"

> at: schedules are duration-based (relative to now), so timezone does not affect when they fire.

> Still pass tz: so it is stored in the job description for consistency.

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py create \
  "Love Letter - 30s" \
  "Write a beautiful, heartfelt love letter. Make it romantic and touching." \
  "at:30s" \
  "telegram" \
  "<chatId>" \
  "tz:Africa/Lagos"

Example 6 — Timezone in message, no USER.md entry

User: "Remind me every day at 8 AM New York time to drink water"

1. Detect: channel=telegram, to=
2. Tier 1 hit: "New York time" → resolves to America/New_York — no need to check USER.md
3. Parse: WHAT="Drink water", WHEN=cron:0 8 *, one-shot=false
4. Confirm with user
5. Run:

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py create \
  "Drink Water - 8AM NY" \
  "Reminder: Time to drink water! 💧" \
  "cron:0 8 * * *" \
  "telegram" \
  "<chatId>" \
  "tz:America/New_York"

Example 7 — No timezone anywhere, ask user

User: "Remind me every day at 7 AM to exercise"

1. Detect: channel=telegram, to=
2. Tier 1: no timezone in message
3. Tier 2: USER.md Timezone field is empty
4. Tier 3: Ask — _"What timezone are you in? (e.g. London, Lagos, New York)"_
5. User says: "Lagos"
6. Resolve: Africa/Lagos
7. Offer: _"Want me to remember Lagos time for future reminders?"_
8. If yes → update USER.md: Timezone: Africa/Lagos
9. Confirm, then run:

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py create \
  "Exercise - 7AM" \
  "Reminder: Time to exercise! 💪" \
  "cron:0 7 * * *" \
  "telegram" \
  "<chatId>" \
  "tz:Africa/Lagos"

Channel scoping rules

• Jobs created from Group A are only visible when listing from Group A
• Jobs created from Group B are only visible when listing from Group B
• Jobs created from the main/private chat are visible only in that main chat
• The script handles this automatically via the [remind-me:channel:chatId] tag embedded in each job's description
• Never show a user jobs that belong to a different chat

Output formatting

After running any command, always format the result in plain conversational language — never dump raw JSON to the user.

On create success:

> ✅ Done! I've set up your reminder:

> ⏰ NVDA Check — Every Monday at 9 AM

> 📱 Delivered to this chat

On list (empty):

> You have no active reminders in this chat.

On cancel success:

> ✅ Reminder "NVDA Check - Monday 9AM" has been cancelled.

On error:

> ❌ Something went wrong:

> Want me to try again?

Notes

• uv run auto-installs dependencies from the inline script header — no pip or venv needed.
• The script calls openclaw cron CLI internally — the gateway must be running.
• Always use --channel "last" behaviour naturally: since --to is set to the originating chat ID, delivery is always back to the right place.
• Do NOT use sessions_spawn, web search, or any other tool to create cron jobs — always go through this script.
• Do NOT hardcode channel IDs. Always read from session context.
• The at: schedule prefix does not support standard cron expressions — use cron: for those.