Self-Prompt: Forcing Agent Responses

The Problem

When automated scripts (cron, monitoring) send messages via openclaw message send: - Messages appear in chat as "system messages" - Agents may treat them as background info, not tasks - Agents respond to user messages but ignore automated ones - Accountability checks, alerts, and tasks go unanswered

The Solution

Use openclaw agent instead of openclaw message send for messages requiring agent response:

# OLD (agent may ignore):
openclaw message send --target -GROUP_ID --message "TASK: Do something"

# NEW (agent MUST respond):
RESPONSE=$(openclaw agent 
    --agent AGENT_ID 
    --session-id "agent:AGENT_ID:telegram:group:GROUP_ID" 
    --channel telegram 
    --message "TASK: Do something" 
    --timeout 180)

# Send response to chat:
openclaw message send --target -GROUP_ID --message "$RESPONSE"

Why This Works

• openclaw message send → Creates chat message → Agent sees as "notification"
• openclaw agent → Triggers actual agent turn → Agent MUST process and respond

Quick Start

For Bash Scripts

Use scripts/send_agent_task.sh:

# Simple usage:
~/.openclaw/skills/self-prompt/scripts/send_agent_task.sh 
    "AGENT_ID" 
    "GROUP_ID" 
    "Your task message here"

For Python Scripts

Use scripts/send_agent_task.py:

from send_agent_task import send_and_deliver

success, response = send_and_deliver(
    agent_id="stock-trading",
    group_id="-5283045656", 
    message="TASK: Analyze current positions",
    timeout=180
)

Pattern: Data + Task Separation

For monitoring scripts, separate data delivery from task requests:

# 1. Send DATA immediately (informational)
openclaw message send --target "$GROUP_ID" --message "📊 Position Data:
$POSITIONS"

# 2. Send TASK via agent (forces response)
RESPONSE=$(openclaw agent 
    --agent "$AGENT_ID" 
    --session-id "agent:$AGENT_ID:telegram:group:$GROUP_ID" 
    --message "Analyze the data above and report findings" 
    --timeout 180)

# 3. Deliver response
openclaw message send --target "$GROUP_ID" --message "📊 Analysis:
$RESPONSE"

Common Use Cases

Accountability Checks

# Force agent to respond to accountability check
send_agent_task.sh "my-agent" "-123456789" 
    "ACCOUNTABILITY CHECK: Did you complete the required tasks? Respond with status."

Monitoring Alerts

# Force agent to investigate and report
send_agent_task.sh "trading-agent" "-123456789" 
    "ALERT: Position down 5%. Investigate and report findings."

Scheduled Research Tasks

# Force agent to do research
send_agent_task.sh "research-agent" "-123456789" 
    "DAILY TASK: Search for news on $SYMBOLS and summarize findings."

Session Key Format

The session key follows this pattern:

agent:AGENT_ID:CHANNEL:TYPE:TARGET

Examples: - agent:stock-trading:telegram:group:-5283045656 - agent:main:telegram:direct:123456789 - agent:assistant:discord:channel:987654321

Script Reference

send_agent_task.sh

Location: scripts/send_agent_task.sh

send_agent_task.sh AGENT_ID GROUP_ID "message" [timeout]

• Sends task via openclaw agent
• Captures response
• Sends response to group via message send
• Logs to ~/agent_task.log

send_agent_task.py

Location: scripts/send_agent_task.py

from send_agent_task import send_and_deliver

success, response = send_and_deliver(
    agent_id="agent-name",
    group_id="-123456789",
    message="Task message",
    timeout=180,
    channel="telegram"
)

Troubleshooting

Agent not responding

• Verify agent is running: openclaw gateway status
• Check session key format matches your agent/group
• Increase timeout for long-running tasks

Response not appearing in chat

• Ensure script sends response via message send after capturing
• Check GROUP_ID is correct (negative for groups)
• Verify channel is correct (telegram/discord/etc)

Timeout errors

• Increase timeout for research/analysis tasks (300-600 seconds)
• Check if agent is overloaded with concurrent requests