OpenClaw Autopilot — Overnight Task Runner

The Problem

"I want it to work on a project while I sleep, but it just does one step then quits." — This is the #2 most-requested capability in r/openclaw. Agents process one turn and stop. You want them to keep going autonomously.

What You Get

autopilot/SKILL.md — Three production-tested patterns for autonomous task execution.

Pattern 1: Heartbeat Task Continuation — Simplest setup (2 minutes). Agent checks a task file every heartbeat. If there is an incomplete task, it works it. No cron needed.

Pattern 2: Cron Task Queue — Full schedule control. Fire task processing at specific times — overnight, every 30 minutes, weekends only. Includes ready-to-paste cron JSON configs with timezone support.

Pattern 3: AGENTS.md Autonomous Loop — Agent picks up tasks on every session start and self-schedules continuation. Catches tasks even after restarts. Combine with Pattern 2 for bulletproof coverage.

Also Included

• Task queue format with 4 statuses: [ ] incomplete, [~] in progress, [x] complete, [!] blocked
• Good vs bad task examples — your agent cannot ask for clarification at 3am
• Task sizing guide — break large tasks into one-turn items
• Troubleshooting for 5 common failure modes (agent stops mid-task, cron fires but nothing happens, same task processed repeatedly, etc.)
• Cost estimates per task and monthly (~$1.50-7.50/month for 5 tasks/night)
• Pattern comparison table to choose the right one for your setup

Real Numbers

• Heartbeat task check (no tasks): ~200 tokens = $0.001
• Processing one task: $0.01-0.05 depending on complexity
• 5-task overnight queue: $0.05-0.25 total
• Monthly (5 tasks/night, 30 nights): $1.50-7.50

Installation

Drop into your project. Copy the config for your chosen pattern. Create context/tasks.md with your task list. Done — under 5 minutes.

Who This Is For

OpenClaw operators who want their agents working while they sleep. Non-devs who need copy-paste configs. Anyone frustrated by agents that do one step then quit.

Built from 14+ days of production experience running these exact patterns 24/7 on real infrastructure.

Questions? poeboy@agentmail.to