OpenClaw Agent Optimization

Use this skill to tune an OpenClaw workspace for cost-aware routing, parallel-first delegation, and lean context.

Quick Start (copy/paste)

1) Full audit (safe, no changes):

Audit my OpenClaw setup for cost, reliability, and context bloat. Output a prioritized plan with rollback notes. Do NOT apply changes.

2) Context bloat / transcript noise:

My OpenClaw context is bloating (slow replies / high cost / lots of transcript noise). Identify the top offenders (tools, crons, bootstrap files) and propose the smallest reversible fixes first. Do NOT apply changes.

3) Model routing / delegation posture:

Propose a model routing plan for (a) coding/engineering, (b) short notifications/reminders, (c) reasoning-heavy research/writing. Include an exact config patch + rollback plan, but do NOT apply changes.

What you will get (output shape)

• Executive summary (what matters + why)
• Top offenders / drivers
  • Cost drivers
  • Context drivers
  • Reliability risks
• Options A/B/C (tradeoffs made explicit)
• Recommended plan (smallest change first)
• Exact change proposals (patch snippets) + rollback

Safety Contract (must follow)

• Treat this skill as advisory by default, not autonomous control-plane mutation.
• Never mutate persistent settings (e.g., config.apply, config.patch, update.run) without explicit user approval.
• Never create/update/remove cron jobs without explicit user approval.
• If an optimization reduces monitoring coverage, present options (A/B/C) and require the user to choose.
• Before any approved persistent change, show: (1) exact change, (2) expected impact, (3) rollback plan.

OpenClaw 2.9+ notes (skills + context)

• Skills are snapshotted per session; if you install/update skills, start a new session (or wait for watcher refresh).
• Prefer short SKILL.md + references/ for long runbooks. Keep injected prompt text lean.
• For risky / heavy skills, consider disable-model-invocation: true so they only run when explicitly invoked.
• Gating matters: use metadata.openclaw.requires (bins/env/config) so skills don’t appear but fail at runtime.
• Sandboxed runs don’t inherit host env; if a skill needs secrets in sandbox, set them via sandbox env config (not skill env).

High-ROI optimization levers (typical wins)

1) Output discipline for automation

Make maintenance loops truly silent on success: - Cron/heartbeat jobs should output exactly NO_REPLY unless something is wrong.

2) Separate “do the work” from “notify the human”

If you want alerts but want the interactive session lean: - Send a short out-of-band alert (Telegram/Slack/etc.), then output NO_REPLY.

3) Prefer isolated agentTurn for autonomous background work

If a job should execute without requiring attention, prefer: - sessionTarget="isolated" + payload.kind="agentTurn"

4) Hardening & guardrails

• Use scripts-first for complex cron jobs (avoid fragile multi-line bash -lc quoting).
• Add circuit breakers / global locks for heavy jobs.

5) Ops hygiene checklist

• Snapshot backups: freshness threshold + retention + failure markers.
• Heartbeat coverage: check model auth, disk/snapshot freshness, and ClawHub CLI auth (npx clawhub whoami) if you rely on publishing/installs.

Workflow (concise)

1. Audit rules + memory: ensure rules are modular/short; memory keeps only restart-critical facts.
2. Model routing: confirm tiered routing (light / mid / deep) matches live config.
3. Context discipline: apply progressive disclosure; move large static data to references/scripts.
   • If transcripts are bloating, run context-clean-up (audit-only) to get a ranked offender list + plan.
4. Delegation protocol: parallelize independent tasks; use isolated sub-agents for long/noisy work.
5. Heartbeat optimization (control-plane only): propose options A/B/C (coverage vs cost).
6. Execution gate: if user approves changes, apply the smallest viable change first, then verify and report.

References

• references/optimization-playbook.md
• references/model-selection.md
• references/context-management.md
• references/agent-orchestration.md
• references/cron-optimization.md
• references/heartbeat-optimization.md
• references/memory-patterns.md
• references/continuous-learning.md
• references/safeguards.md