Can I choose what time the daily briefing runs?

Yes. The cron expression controls exactly when the briefing fires. `0 7 * * *` runs at 7:00 AM every day. Change the hour number to set your preferred time — `0 6 * * *` for 6 AM, `0 8 * * *` for 8 AM. Times are in UTC by default, so account for your timezone offset. Use crontab.guru to validate the cron expression.

What information can the daily briefing include?

Anything you install skills for: today's weather, calendar events, task list, news headlines, stock prices, sports scores, or a quote of the day. Each skill adds a data source the agent can pull from. Configure which ones appear by adding instructions to SOUL.md for your briefing format.

Does the briefing run if my computer is asleep?

No — cron jobs only run while OpenClaw is running. If your machine sleeps at night, the morning briefing will be skipped. To ensure it always runs, deploy OpenClaw to a VPS (around $5/month) or use `caffeinate -d &` on Mac to prevent sleep overnight.

Project: Daily Briefing

Build an AI morning briefing that sends weather, calendar events, and news to Telegram or Discord every day — fully automated, no cloud needed.

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3 min read

What you will build

A daily briefing that runs automatically every morning and sends you a summary via Telegram (or your preferred channel). It includes:

Current weather and forecast
Today's calendar events
Top news in your areas of interest
Pending tasks and reminders

Install the skills

openclaw skills install weather
openclaw skills install calendar
openclaw skills install news
openclaw skills install tasks

Configure your briefing

Add this to your SOUL.md:

## Daily briefing format
When generating my daily briefing:
1. Start with a one-line greeting using my name
2. Weather: current conditions + high/low for today
3. Calendar: list today's events with times
4. News: 3 headlines relevant to [your interests]
5. Tasks: any overdue or due-today items
Keep the whole briefing under 300 words.

Set up the cron job

Schedule it to run at 7:00 AM every day:

openclaw cron add "0 7 * * *" --message "Generate my daily briefing and send it to me"

Verify it is scheduled:

openclaw cron list

Test it

Run it manually first:

openclaw agent --message "Generate my daily briefing and send it to me"

Review the output. If something is missing or the format is off, adjust your SOUL.md instructions and test again.

Tips

Add --thinking high for more thoughtful news selection
Customize the time based on your schedule
Add more skills (stocks, fitness, social media) as needed

Finished this module?

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FAQ

Can I choose what time the daily briefing runs?: Yes. The cron expression controls exactly when the briefing fires. `0 7 * * *` runs at 7:00 AM every day. Change the hour number to set your preferred time — `0 6 * * *` for 6 AM, `0 8 * * *` for 8 AM. Times are in UTC by default, so account for your timezone offset. Use crontab.guru to validate the cron expression.
What information can the daily briefing include?: Anything you install skills for: today's weather, calendar events, task list, news headlines, stock prices, sports scores, or a quote of the day. Each skill adds a data source the agent can pull from. Configure which ones appear by adding instructions to SOUL.md for your briefing format.
Does the briefing run if my computer is asleep?: No — cron jobs only run while OpenClaw is running. If your machine sleeps at night, the morning briefing will be skipped. To ensure it always runs, deploy OpenClaw to a VPS (around $5/month) or use `caffeinate -d &` on Mac to prevent sleep overnight.