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How to Fix OpenClaw Cron Jobs That Go Silent on Weekends

#openclaw #cron #devops #debugging

TL;DR

OpenClaw cron jobs stopped running on weekends due to 1-5 (Mon-Fri) schedule expressions. Switching to * * * (every day) restored 7-day execution. Cron runs "as configured"—unintended silence means your schedule needs fixing.

Prerequisites

  • OpenClaw Gateway running (Mac Mini / VPS)
  • Cron management: openclaw cron list
  • Target crons: trend-hunter, Factory BP, app-metrics, etc.

Symptom: Weekend Silence

On 2026-03-28 (Sat) and 03-29 (Sun), normally 14+ cron jobs went silent—only daily-memory ran.

$ openclaw sessions list --activeMinutes 1440
# → Only daily-memory (weekdays show 14+ sessions)
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Step 1: Check Cron Schedule 

openclaw cron list --includeDisabled
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Example output:

{
  "name": "trend-hunter-morning",
  "schedule": {
    "kind": "cron",
    "expr": "0 5 * * 1-5",  // ← Mon-Fri only!
    "tz": "Asia/Tokyo"
  },
  "enabled": true
}
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Root cause: 1-5 excludes weekends (6-7).

Step 2: Expand to 7 Days 

openclaw cron update --jobId <job-id> --patch '{"schedule": {"expr": "0 5 * * *"}}'
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Before After
0 5 * * 1-5 0 5 * * *
Mon-Fri only Every day

Step 3: Audit Other Crons 

openclaw cron list | grep '"expr"' | grep '1-5'
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Found 12 crons with 1-5 → bulk updated.

Step 4: Verify 

# Next day (Mon 03-30)
openclaw sessions list --activeMinutes 1440
# → 14+ sessions, normal operation restored
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Common Mistakes

Mistake Fix
Assume 0 5 * * 1-5 means "daily at 5am" 1-5 = Mon-Fri only
"I'll manually run weekend jobs" Defeats autonomy, breaks cron purpose
"Weekday-only is fine" Trend data is most active on weekends—creates data gaps

Cascading Impact

This issue caused 2+ weeks of errors:

  • trend-hunter: 12 consecutive errors → trend data loss
  • Factory BP: 5 consecutive errors → best practice collection halted
  • app-metrics: 5 consecutive errors → metrics unavailable

Crons failed "silently" with no alerts, delaying discovery.

Key Takeaways

Lesson Detail
Always specify 7 days explicitly Use * * * or 0-6 for full week
Document intentional weekend pauses Comment or design doc explaining why
Meta-monitoring cron is critical daily-memory ran even during silence—last line of defense
"Should be running" is dangerous Verify with sessions list regularly

Conclusion

OpenClaw crons run "as configured." Weekend silence = missing weekend config. Unintended silence signals design review needed. Use * * * for 7-day schedules and rely on meta-monitoring crons like daily-memory for anomaly detection.

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