This record as markdown: /tools/openclaw/cron.md
What cron does on OpenClaw
AI agents invoke cron to trigger actions in OpenClaw. What it does depends on the arguments the agent supplies, and its effects often reach beyond the immediate call: builds kicked off, notifications sent, workflows started.
Why cron is rated High
Scheduling background jobs is an Execute-category action because it triggers external operations whose effects depend on arguments. The ability to schedule arbitrary Gateway jobs could have a high blast radius if misused (e.g., scheduling destructive or high-frequency jobs). 'Inspect' alone would be Read, but the scheduling capability dominates.
From the tool's definition "Schedule and inspect Gateway background jobs" — scheduling jobs causes external operations to be triggered on a recurring basis
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs cron safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and OpenClaw, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For cron, this is the rule to start with:
cron stays usable, but rate-capped: a runaway agent can't fire it dozens of times a minute. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect OpenClaw, apply this rule, and every cron call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about cron
Schedule and inspect Gateway background jobs. It is categorised as a Execute tool in the OpenClaw MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.
Register the OpenClaw MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for cron: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches OpenClaw. Nothing to install.
cron is a Execute tool with high risk. Execute tools should be rate-limited and have argument validation enabled.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the cron rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for cron. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
cron is provided by the OpenClaw MCP server (openclaw). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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