---
summary: "Overview of all automation mechanisms: heartbeat, cron, tasks, hooks, webhooks, and more"
read_when:
  - Deciding how to automate work with OpenClaw
  - Choosing between heartbeat, cron, hooks, and webhooks
  - Looking for the right automation entry point
title: "Automation Overview"
---

# Automation

OpenClaw provides several automation mechanisms, each suited to different use cases. This page helps you choose the right one.

## Quick decision guide

```mermaid
flowchart TD
    A{Run on a schedule?} -->|Yes| B{Exact timing needed?}
    A -->|No| C{React to events?}
    B -->|Yes| D[Cron]
    B -->|No| E[Heartbeat]
    C -->|Yes| F[Hooks]
    C -->|No| G[Standing Orders]
```

## Mechanisms at a glance

| Mechanism                                      | What it does                                             | Runs in                  | Creates task record |
| ---------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------ | ------------------- |
| [Heartbeat](/gateway/heartbeat)                | Periodic main-session turn — batches multiple checks     | Main session             | No                  |
| [Cron](/automation/cron-jobs)                  | Scheduled jobs with precise timing                       | Main or isolated session | Yes (all types)     |
| [Background Tasks](/automation/tasks)          | Tracks detached work (cron, ACP, subagents, CLI)         | N/A (ledger)             | N/A                 |
| [Hooks](/automation/hooks)                     | Event-driven scripts triggered by agent lifecycle events | Hook runner              | No                  |
| [Standing Orders](/automation/standing-orders) | Persistent instructions injected into the system prompt  | Main session             | No                  |
| [Webhooks](/automation/webhook)                | Receive inbound HTTP events and route to the agent       | Gateway HTTP             | No                  |

### Specialized automation

| Mechanism                                      | What it does                                    |
| ---------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| [Gmail PubSub](/automation/gmail-pubsub)       | Real-time Gmail notifications via Google PubSub |
| [Polling](/automation/poll)                    | Periodic data source checks (RSS, APIs, etc.)   |
| [Auth Monitoring](/automation/auth-monitoring) | Credential health and expiry alerts             |

## How they work together

The most effective setups combine multiple mechanisms:

1. **Heartbeat** handles routine monitoring (inbox, calendar, notifications) in one batched turn every 30 minutes.
2. **Cron** handles precise schedules (daily reports, weekly reviews) and one-shot reminders.
3. **Hooks** react to specific events (tool calls, session resets, compaction) with custom scripts.
4. **Standing Orders** give the agent persistent context ("always check the project board before replying").
5. **Background Tasks** automatically track all detached work so you can inspect and audit it.
6. **ClawFlow** groups related detached tasks into a single flow when the work needs a higher-level job view.

See [Cron vs Heartbeat](/automation/cron-vs-heartbeat) for a detailed comparison of the two scheduling mechanisms.

## ClawFlow

ClawFlow sits above [Background Tasks](/automation/tasks). Tasks still track the detached runs, while ClawFlow groups related task runs into one job that you can inspect or cancel from the CLI.

See [ClawFlow](/automation/clawflow) for the flow overview and [CLI: flows](/cli/flows) for the command surface.

## Related

- [Cron vs Heartbeat](/automation/cron-vs-heartbeat) — detailed comparison guide
- [ClawFlow](/automation/clawflow) — flow-level orchestration above tasks
- [Troubleshooting](/automation/troubleshooting) — debugging automation issues
- [Configuration Reference](/gateway/configuration-reference) — all config keys