Skills auto-updater

Name: auto-updater
Author: openclaw

OpenClaw auto-update checker and safe applier. Checks for new versions, compares changelogs, and applies updates with rollback safety. Designed to run as a cron job for hands-free maintenance. Use for keeping OpenClaw up to date automatically.

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/openclaw/skills

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/openclaw/skills "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/aiwithabidi/smart-updater-pro" ~/.claude/skills/openclaw-skills-auto-updater-f80cb1 && rm -rf "$T"

OpenClaw · Install into ~/.openclaw/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/openclaw/skills "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/aiwithabidi/smart-updater-pro" ~/.openclaw/skills/openclaw-skills-auto-updater-f80cb1 && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: skills/aiwithabidi/smart-updater-pro/SKILL.md

Auto-Updater 🔄

Keep OpenClaw up to date automatically and safely.

Checks for new OpenClaw versions via git tags, compares with your current version, shows what's new, and optionally applies the update with safe rollback support.

Quick Start

# Check for updates (safe, read-only)
bash {baseDir}/scripts/check_update.sh

# Check and apply if available
bash {baseDir}/scripts/check_update.sh --apply

# JSON output (for cron/automation)
bash {baseDir}/scripts/check_update.sh --json

# Check + apply + JSON
bash {baseDir}/scripts/check_update.sh --apply --json

Setting Up as a Cron Job

Via OpenClaw Cron

Add to your cron jobs to check daily:

{
  "name": "auto-update-check",
  "schedule": "0 1 * * *",
  "command": "bash skills/auto-updater/{baseDir}/scripts/check_update.sh --json",
  "description": "Daily OpenClaw update check at 1 AM"
}

Via System Crontab

# Check daily at 1 AM, log results
0 1 * * * cd /root/.openclaw/workspace && bash skills/auto-updater/{baseDir}/scripts/check_update.sh >> /var/log/openclaw-updates.log 2>&1

How It Works

Fetch —
```
git fetch --tags
```
from the OpenClaw repo
Compare — Current version vs latest git tag (semver sorted)
Report — Shows version diff and changelog/commits between versions
Apply (optional) — Checkout new tag → pnpm install → pnpm build → docker build → docker compose up -d
Verify — Checks gateway starts successfully after update

Safe Update Practices

Always runs
```
git fetch
```
before comparing (fresh data)
Shows what changed before applying
Records the previous version for rollback
Verifies gateway health after update
Never force-pushes or modifies git history

Rollback Procedure

If an update breaks something:

# 1. See recent tags
cd /host/openclaw && git tag --sort=-v:refname | head -5

# 2. Checkout previous version
git checkout <previous-tag>

# 3. Rebuild
pnpm install && pnpm build
docker build -t openclaw:latest .
docker compose up -d

# 4. Verify
docker compose logs --tail=20

The script outputs rollback instructions automatically when applying updates.

Credits

Built by M. Abidi | agxntsix.ai YouTube | GitHub Part of the AgxntSix Skill Suite for OpenClaw agents.

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