openclaw/docs/gateway/heartbeat.md

---
summary: "Heartbeat polling messages and notification rules"
read_when:
  - Adjusting heartbeat cadence or messaging
---
# Heartbeat (Gateway)

Heartbeat runs **periodic agent turns** in the main session so the model can
surface anything that needs attention without spamming you.

## Quick start (beginner)

1. Leave heartbeats enabled (default is `30m`) or set your own cadence.
2. Create a tiny `HEARTBEAT.md` checklist in the agent workspace (optional but recommended).
3. Decide where heartbeat messages should go (`target: "last"` is the default).
4. Optional: enable heartbeat reasoning delivery for transparency.

Example config:

```json5
{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      heartbeat: {
        every: "30m",
        target: "last",
        // includeReasoning: true, // optional: send separate `Reasoning:` message too
      }
    }
  }
}
```

## Defaults

- Interval: `30m` (set `agents.defaults.heartbeat.every` or per-agent `agents.list[].heartbeat.every`; use `0m` to disable).
- Prompt body (configurable via `agents.defaults.heartbeat.prompt`):
  `Read HEARTBEAT.md if it exists (workspace context). Follow it strictly. Do not infer or repeat old tasks from prior chats. If nothing needs attention, reply HEARTBEAT_OK.`
- The heartbeat prompt is sent **verbatim** as the user message. The system
  prompt includes a “Heartbeat” section and the run is flagged internally.

## What the heartbeat prompt is for

The default prompt is intentionally broad:
- **Background tasks**: “Consider outstanding tasks” nudges the agent to review
  follow-ups (inbox, calendar, reminders, queued work) and surface anything urgent.
- **Human check-in**: “Checkup sometimes on your human during day time” nudges an
  occasional lightweight “anything you need?” message, but avoids night-time spam
  by using your configured local timezone (see [/concepts/timezone](/concepts/timezone)).

If you want a heartbeat to do something very specific (e.g. “check Gmail PubSub
stats” or “verify gateway health”), set `agents.defaults.heartbeat.prompt` (or
`agents.list[].heartbeat.prompt`) to a custom body (sent verbatim).

## Response contract

- If nothing needs attention, reply with **`HEARTBEAT_OK`**.
- During heartbeat runs, Clawdbot treats `HEARTBEAT_OK` as an ack when it appears
  at the **start or end** of the reply. The token is stripped and the reply is
  dropped if the remaining content is **≤ `ackMaxChars`** (default: 300).
- If `HEARTBEAT_OK` appears in the **middle** of a reply, it is not treated
  specially.
- For alerts, **do not** include `HEARTBEAT_OK`; return only the alert text.

Outside heartbeats, stray `HEARTBEAT_OK` at the start/end of a message is stripped
and logged; a message that is only `HEARTBEAT_OK` is dropped.

## Config

```json5
{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      heartbeat: {
        every: "30m",           // default: 30m (0m disables)
        model: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-5",
        includeReasoning: false, // default: false (deliver separate Reasoning: message when available)
        target: "last",         // last | whatsapp | telegram | discord | slack | signal | imessage | none
        to: "+15551234567",     // optional channel-specific override
        prompt: "Read HEARTBEAT.md if it exists (workspace context). Follow it strictly. Do not infer or repeat old tasks from prior chats. If nothing needs attention, reply HEARTBEAT_OK.",
        ackMaxChars: 300         // max chars allowed after HEARTBEAT_OK
      }
    }
  }
}
```

### Per-agent heartbeats

If any `agents.list[]` entry includes a `heartbeat` block, **only those agents**
run heartbeats. The per-agent block merges on top of `agents.defaults.heartbeat`
(so you can set shared defaults once and override per agent).

Example: two agents, only the second agent runs heartbeats.

```json5
{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      heartbeat: {
        every: "30m",
        target: "last"
      }
    },
    list: [
      { id: "main", default: true },
      {
        id: "ops",
        heartbeat: {
          every: "1h",
          target: "whatsapp",
          to: "+15551234567",
          prompt: "Read HEARTBEAT.md if it exists (workspace context). Follow it strictly. Do not infer or repeat old tasks from prior chats. If nothing needs attention, reply HEARTBEAT_OK."
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}
```

### Field notes

- `every`: heartbeat interval (duration string; default unit = minutes).
- `model`: optional model override for heartbeat runs (`provider/model`).
- `includeReasoning`: when enabled, also deliver the separate `Reasoning:` message when available (same shape as `/reasoning on`).
- `target`:
  - `last` (default): deliver to the last used external channel.
  - explicit channel: `whatsapp` / `telegram` / `discord` / `slack` / `signal` / `imessage`.
  - `none`: run the heartbeat but **do not deliver** externally.
- `to`: optional recipient override (E.164 for WhatsApp, chat id for Telegram, etc.).
- `prompt`: overrides the default prompt body (not merged).
- `ackMaxChars`: max chars allowed after `HEARTBEAT_OK` before delivery.

## Delivery behavior

- Heartbeats run in each agent’s **main session** (`agent:<id>:<mainKey>`), or `global`
  when `session.scope = "global"`.
- If the main queue is busy, the heartbeat is skipped and retried later.
- If `target` resolves to no external destination, the run still happens but no
  outbound message is sent.
- Heartbeat-only replies do **not** keep the session alive; the last `updatedAt`
  is restored so idle expiry behaves normally.

## HEARTBEAT.md (optional)

If a `HEARTBEAT.md` file exists in the workspace, the default prompt tells the
agent to read it. Think of it as your “heartbeat checklist”: small, stable, and
safe to include every 30 minutes.

Keep it tiny (short checklist or reminders) to avoid prompt bloat.

Example `HEARTBEAT.md`:

```md
# Heartbeat checklist

- Quick scan: anything urgent in inboxes?
- If it’s daytime, do a lightweight check-in if nothing else is pending.
- If a task is blocked, write down *what is missing* and ask Peter next time.
```

### Can the agent update HEARTBEAT.md?

Yes — if you ask it to.

`HEARTBEAT.md` is just a normal file in the agent workspace, so you can tell the
agent (in a normal chat) something like:
- “Update `HEARTBEAT.md` to add a daily calendar check.”
- “Rewrite `HEARTBEAT.md` so it’s shorter and focused on inbox follow-ups.”

If you want this to happen proactively, you can also include an explicit line in
your heartbeat prompt like: “If the checklist becomes stale, update HEARTBEAT.md
with a better one.”

Safety note: don’t put secrets (API keys, phone numbers, private tokens) into
`HEARTBEAT.md` — it becomes part of the prompt context.

## Manual wake (on-demand)

You can enqueue a system event and trigger an immediate heartbeat with:

```bash
clawdbot wake --text "Check for urgent follow-ups" --mode now
```

If multiple agents have `heartbeat` configured, a manual wake runs each of those
agent heartbeats immediately.

Use `--mode next-heartbeat` to wait for the next scheduled tick.

## Reasoning delivery (optional)

By default, heartbeats deliver only the final “answer” payload.

If you want transparency, enable:
- `agents.defaults.heartbeat.includeReasoning: true`

When enabled, heartbeats will also deliver a separate message prefixed
`Reasoning:` (same shape as `/reasoning on`). This can be useful when the agent
is managing multiple sessions/codexes and you want to see why it decided to ping
you — but it can also leak more internal detail than you want. Prefer keeping it
off in group chats.

## Cost awareness

Heartbeats run full agent turns. Shorter intervals burn more tokens. Keep
`HEARTBEAT.md` small and consider a cheaper `model` or `target: "none"` if you
only want internal state updates.