Set It and Forget It: Automatic Updates with the Auto-Updater Skill

Your Clawdbot agent is only as powerful as its latest version. New features, bug fixes, security patches—they all require staying current. But manually running update commands? That gets old fast. Enter the Auto-Updater Skill: a "set it and forget it" solution that keeps your agent and all installed skills current automatically.

The Problem: Update Fatigue

If you're running Clawdbot seriously, you've probably accumulated a dozen or more skills. Each one evolves independently. Clawdbot itself ships updates regularly. Checking and updating everything manually is tedious—and if you skip it, you miss out on improvements or leave security holes open.

The Solution: Automated Daily Updates

The Auto-Updater Skill sets up a cron job that runs once daily (default: 4 AM) to:

1. Update Clawdbot itself (via your package manager or git)
2. Update all installed skills from ClawdHub
3. Send you a summary of what changed

No intervention required. Wake up to a message telling you what got upgraded overnight.

Installation

clawdhub install auto-updater

That's it for the skill itself. But to activate it, you need to set up the cron job.

Quick Setup

The easiest way? Just ask your agent:

"Set up daily auto-updates for yourself and all your skills."

Clawdbot will create the appropriate cron job automatically.

Manual Setup

If you prefer explicit control:

clawdbot cron add \
  --name "Daily Auto-Update" \
  --cron "0 4 * * *" \
  --tz "America/Los_Angeles" \
  --session isolated \
  --wake now \
  --deliver \
  --message "Run daily auto-updates: check for Clawdbot updates and update all skills. Report what was updated."

Key options:

• --cron "0 4 * * *" — Runs at 4:00 AM daily (adjust to your preference)
• --tz — Your timezone (so 4 AM means 4 AM your time)
• --session isolated — Runs in a clean session, no interference with your chats
• --deliver — Sends the summary to your main session

What Updates Look Like

After the cron job runs, you'll receive a message like:

Clear, actionable, and you know exactly what changed.

Configuration Options

• Time: Default is 4:00 AM. Change via the --cron flag.
• Timezone: Uses system default. Override with --tz.
• Delivery: Summaries go to your main session by default.

Manual Commands When Needed

Want to check what would update without applying?

clawdhub update --all --dry-run

View your currently installed skill versions:

clawdhub list

Check Clawdbot's version:

clawdbot --version

Troubleshooting

Updates not running?

• Verify cron is enabled in your config (cron.enabled: true)
• Confirm Gateway is running continuously
• Check the job exists: clawdbot cron list

Update failures?

• Permission errors: Ensure Gateway can write to skill directories
• Network errors: Check connectivity
• Package conflicts: Run clawdbot doctor to diagnose

Disabling Auto-Updates

Changed your mind? Remove the cron job:

clawdbot cron remove "Daily Auto-Update"

Or temporarily disable all cron jobs in config:

{ "cron": { "enabled": false } }

Security Considerations

Auto-updates carry inherent risk—you're trusting that upstream updates are safe. ClawdHub scans all skills with VirusTotal and OpenClaw's security scanner, but review is always wise for critical systems. If you're running Clawdbot in production or with sensitive access, consider:

• Running --dry-run manually to review changes first
• Setting up a staging environment
• Using version pinning for mission-critical skills

Conclusion

The Auto-Updater Skill eliminates the cognitive overhead of keeping your agent current. Install it once, set up the cron, and let it handle the rest. You'll always have the latest features and fixes without lifting a finger.

Links:

• Auto-Updater on ClawdHub
• Clawdbot Updating Guide
• ClawdHub CLI Docs