Cron Backup

Export and import OpenClaw cron job configurations as versioned JSON snapshots. Safe, idempotent, and designed for both manual and automated (heartbeat/cron) use.

Why

Cron job configs represent significant investment — schedules, payloads, delivery targets, and preflight checks are all hand-tuned. A misconfigured openclaw cron edit or accidental delete can wipe that work. This skill provides a safety net: point-in-time snapshots you can restore from.

Scripts

• scripts/cron-backup.mjs — Zero dependencies. Node.js 18+.

Requirements

• Node.js 18+ (uses built-in fetch, fs, path)
• openclaw CLI available in PATH (for openclaw cron list --json)

Usage

Export (create a backup)

# Full fleet backup (all jobs)
node cron-backup.mjs export

# Single job by ID or name
node cron-backup.mjs export --job "Solar export WhatsApp nudge"
node cron-backup.mjs export --job 2e0eb8eb-2192-4966-b6cf-f3c0046f901b

# Custom output directory
node cron-backup.mjs export --dir /tmp/my-backups

# Limit number of rotated backups (default: 10)
node cron-backup.mjs export --max-backups 5

Import (restore from backup)

# Show what would be restored (dry run)
node cron-backup.mjs import --dry-run

# Restore most recent backup
node cron-backup.mjs import

# Restore a specific backup file
node cron-backup.mjs import --file backups/cron-backup-2026-05-23T00-00-00.json

# Force restore even if current jobs match (overwrite)
node cron-backup.mjs import --force

# Restore a single job from backup
node cron-backup.mjs import --job "Solar export WhatsApp nudge"

List backups

# Show all available backups
node cron-backup.mjs list

# JSON output
node cron-backup.mjs list --json

Diff

# Compare current fleet vs most recent backup
node cron-backup.mjs diff

# Compare current fleet vs a specific backup
node cron-backup.mjs diff --file backups/cron-backup-2026-05-22T00-00-00.json

Backup Format

Each backup is a JSON file:

{
  "schema": "cron-backup-v1",
  "exportedAt": "2026-05-23T00:00:00.000Z",
  "hostname": "raspberrypi",
  "jobCount": 4,
  "jobs": [
    {
      "id": "2e0eb8eb-...",
      "name": "Solar export WhatsApp nudge",
      "description": "...",
      "enabled": true,
      "schedule": { "kind": "cron", "expr": "0,30 6-21 * * *", "tz": "Europe/Dublin" },
      "sessionTarget": "main",
      "payload": { ... },
      "delivery": { ... }
    }
  ]
}

Jobs are exported without runtime state (state is excluded) — backups capture config, not history.

Import Behaviour

• By default, import is non-destructive: it only restores jobs that are missing from the current fleet (deleted jobs). Existing jobs are not modified unless --force is used.
• --force: overwrites existing jobs that differ from the backup. Shows a diff before proceeding.
• --dry-run: shows exactly what would be added/modified/deleted without making changes.
• Import creates jobs via openclaw cron add and updates via openclaw cron edit.

Rotation

• Default: keeps the last 10 backups per output directory
• Older backups are automatically cleaned up on export
• Use --max-backups to adjust

Flags

Exit Codes

Integration

Scheduled backup via cron

{
  "name": "Weekly cron fleet backup",
  "schedule": { "kind": "cron", "expr": "0 3 * * 0", "tz": "Europe/Dublin" },
  "payload": {
    "kind": "agentTurn",
    "message": "Run: node /path/to/trackhub/skills/cron-backup/scripts/cron-backup.mjs export --max-backups 8\nReport the result briefly."
  }
}

Pre-change safety net

Before editing a cron job manually:

node cron-backup.mjs export --job "my job name"
# ... make changes ...
# if something breaks:
node cron-backup.mjs import --force --job "my job name"