Date Night Skill (Published)#

End-to-end date night planning: restaurants, movies, events, logistics, and notifications. Powered by playwright-cli browser automation.

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User Preferences#

This skill uses ~/.openclaw/skills/date-night/config.json. Run onboarding on first use (see below). After that, load config silently at the start of every session.

bash

cat ~/.openclaw/skills/date-night/config.json 2>/dev/null

Config schema:

json

{
  "name": "string",
  "first_name": "string",
  "last_name": "string",
  "user_email": "string",
  "user_phone": "string (digits only, e.g. 8015550155)",
  "partner": "string | null",
  "notify_channel": "iMessage | Telegram | Discord | Signal | SMS",
  "dietary": ["no alcohol", "vegetarian", "..."],
  "has_children": false,
  "children_count": 0,
  "children_ages": "string | null",
  "location": "City, ST",
  "zip": "00000",
  "preferred_theater": "string | null",
  "babysitter_rate": 18,
  "calendar_tool": "gog | gcal | ical",
  "onboarded_at": "ISO timestamp"
}

PII note: user_email, user_phone, first_name, and last_name are used to auto-fill reservation and ticket forms. They are stored locally in config.json and never transmitted except to the booking site during form submission.

---

First Run Onboarding#

Check at every skill invocation:

bash

CONFIG=~/.openclaw/skills/date-night/config.json
if [ ! -f "$CONFIG" ]; then
  echo "ONBOARDING_NEEDED"
fi

If ONBOARDING_NEEDED: run the onboarding flow before doing anything else.

Onboarding Flow#

Ask questions one at a time, conversationally. This is a date night skill — make it feel warm and fun, not like filling out a DMV form.

Opening:

"Hey! Looks like it's your first time using the Date Night skill — exciting. Let me grab a few quick things so I can make it feel personal. Won't take long."

Question sequence (ask naturally, wait for each answer):

1. Name:

   "First — what's your name?" — Collect first name and last name (needed for reservation forms).

2. Email & Phone:

   "What email and phone number should I use for reservations? These go directly into booking forms — I store them locally and nowhere else."

3. Partner:

   "Planning these with a partner, or flying solo? (Solo date nights are completely valid.)" — If partner: "What's their name?"

4. Partner notification:

   "What's the best way to reach {partner}? Like, if I wanted to send them a heads-up about a reservation — iMessage, Telegram, Signal, Discord, something else?" — Skip if solo.

5. Dietary / lifestyle:

   "Any food preferences or restrictions I should know about? Things like no alcohol, vegetarian, gluten-free, shellfish allergy — or just 'none, we eat everything'?"

6. Kids:

   "Do you have kids at home? (I ask because I'll remind you about childcare after every booking.)" — If yes: "How many, and roughly what ages?"

7. Location:

   "What city or zip code are you in? I'll use this for finding nearby restaurants, theaters, and venues."

8. Theater preference (optional):

   "Any favorite movie theater chain, or a go-to theater near you? I can default to that when searching showtimes. (Skip if you don't have one.)"

9. Babysitter rate (optional, only if has_children):

   "What's your babysitter rate — roughly? I use it for budget estimates. Default is $18/hr if you're not sure."

10. Calendar tool:

    "Last one — how do you manage your calendar? I can add events automatically. Options: gog (Google), gcal, ical, or tell me what you use."

Closing:

"Perfect — you're all set! 🎉 Just say 'plan a date night,' 'find us a restaurant,' or 'get us tickets' anytime. I've got the rest."

Save Config#

After collecting all answers, write the file:

bash

mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/skills/date-night
cat > ~/.openclaw/skills/date-night/config.json << 'EOF'
{
  "name": "{name}",
  "first_name": "{first_name}",
  "last_name": "{last_name}",
  "user_email": "{email}",
  "user_phone": "{phone_digits}",
  "partner": "{partner_or_null}",
  "notify_channel": "{channel}",
  "dietary": ["{pref1}", "{pref2}"],
  "has_children": {true|false},
  "children_count": {N},
  "children_ages": "{ages_or_null}",
  "location": "{City, ST}",
  "zip": "{zip}",
  "preferred_theater": "{theater_or_null}",
  "babysitter_rate": {rate},
  "calendar_tool": "{tool}",
  "onboarded_at": "{ISO_TIMESTAMP}"
}
EOF

Applying Config Throughout the Skill#

After loading config, substitute into all references:

Config fieldUsed infirst_name / last_nameAuto-fill reservation and ticket formsuser_emailAuto-fill booking forms, account lookupsuser_phoneAuto-fill booking forms, SMS verificationdietaryRestaurant recommendations (filter per preferences)location / zipAll nearby searches, drive time estimatespartnerNotification drafts, calendar eventsnotify_channelHow to send partner notificationshas_childrenChildcare prompt after every bookingbabysitter_rateBudget estimatespreferred_theaterDefault theater for movie searchescalendar_toolAll calendar event creation commands

Dietary preference enforcement: If dietary includes "no alcohol": never highlight wine lists, cocktail programs, bar scenes, or alcohol features when recommending restaurants or events. Focus on food, ambiance, service.

---

Reconfigure#

If user says "update my date night preferences", "reconfigure date night", or "change my date night settings":

bash

# Back up existing config
cp ~/.openclaw/skills/date-night/config.json \
   ~/.openclaw/skills/date-night/config.backup.json 2>/dev/null || true

Then re-run the onboarding flow with current values shown as defaults:

"Sure — let's update your preferences. I'll show what you have now and you can change anything. Hit Enter to keep the current value."

After re-running, overwrite config.json. Confirm:

"Updated! Changes are live for the next date night."

---

Requirements#

External Binaries (must be installed separately)#

BinaryInstallRequired?playwright-cli``npm install -g @playwright/cli@latestYesChromiumnpx playwright install chromiumYes (used by playwright-cli)goplaces``brew install steipete/tap/goplacesOptional — enhanced restaurant search

PATH setup: export PATH="$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$PATH"

Environment Variables#

VariablePurposeRequired?GOOGLE_PLACES_API_KEYGoogle Places API for goplaces CLIOnly if using goplaces

OpenClaw Built-in Capabilities Used#

These are standard OpenClaw agent tools — not external dependencies. They require no separate installation; they are available to any OpenClaw agent with the appropriate tool policies enabled.

OpenClaw ToolPurpose in This Skillweb_searchFind restaurants, events, movies, reviews (public web)web_fetchExtract menus, reviews, showtimes from URLs (public web)message (send)Draft partner notifications — always shown for approval before sendingCalendar skills ( gog/ ical)Create calendar events after bookingSMS/iMessage skill ( imsg)Retrieve booking verification codes (see Sensitive Access below)

No additional credentials or API tokens are needed for these built-in tools — they use whatever channels and connectors the user has already configured in their OpenClaw instance.

Sensitive Access Declaration#

SMS verification codes: OpenTable and Resy send 6-digit verification codes via SMS during booking. This skill retrieves them by reading the most recent 1–2 messages from the specific sender (e.g., short code 22395 for OpenTable). It does NOT perform broad inbox scans. Specific patterns used:

bash

# OpenTable: read last message from known short code only
imsg history --chat-id {OPENTABLE_CHAT_ID} --limit 1 | grep -oE '[0-9]{6}'
# Resy: read last 10 messages, filter for "resy" or "verification" only
imsg history --limit 10 | grep -i "resy\|verification\|code"

Gmail (modify/cancel only): When the user explicitly asks to modify or cancel a reservation and doesn't have the confirmation number, the skill searches Gmail with a targeted query — e.g., from:opentable reservation confirmed — limited to 5 results. This is never triggered during normal booking flows.

Partner notifications: Notifications are always drafted and shown to the user for approval before sending. The skill never sends messages autonomously. The messaging channel (iMessage/Telegram/Discord/Signal) is whatever the user configures in their OpenClaw instance — no additional credentials are stored by this skill.

Auth state persistence: The Resy flow optionally saves browser session state to ~/.openclaw/skills/date-night/state/resy-auth.json to avoid re-login. This file contains session cookies. To clear: rm -rf ~/.openclaw/skills/date-night/state/. The skill never asks for or stores site passwords — it uses interactive browser login and saves only the resulting session cookies with user consent.

Data Persistence#

PathContentsSensitive?~/.openclaw/skills/date-night/config.jsonPreferences, name, email, phoneYes — PII~/.openclaw/skills/date-night/history.jsonlDate night log (restaurant, date, rating)Low~/.openclaw/skills/date-night/state/*.jsonBrowser session cookies (Resy only, opt-in)Yes — auth tokens

To purge all skill data: rm -rf ~/.openclaw/skills/date-night/

Pre-Flight Check#

bash

# Verify playwright-cli is available
export PATH="$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$PATH"
playwright-cli --version || echo "INSTALL: npm install -g @playwright/cli@latest"

---

References#

TopicFilePlaywright CLIreferences/playwright-cli.mdOpenTable flowreferences/opentable-flow.mdResy flowreferences/resy-flow.mdRestaurant searchreferences/search-restaurants.mdMovie bookingreferences/movie-booking.mdEvent ticketsreferences/event-tickets.mdFinding moviesreferences/search-movies.mdFinding eventsreferences/search-events.mdModify / Cancelreferences/modify-cancel.mdSMS verificationreferences/sms-codes.mdPre-evening intelreferences/pre-evening.mdSmart featuresreferences/smart-features.md

---

Quick Flow: Dinner Reservation#

bash

export PATH="$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$PATH"
CONFIG=$(cat ~/.openclaw/skills/date-night/config.json)

1. Find restaurant — see search-restaurants.md

2. Open restaurant page: bash

   playwright-cli open "https://www.opentable.com/r/{slug}?covers={N}&dateTime={YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM}" --headed
   
   

3. Snapshot → select date → select time

4. Fill guest details (name, phone, email from user's MEMORY.md or config)

5. Submit → handle phone verification (see sms-codes.md)

6. Confirm → post-booking actions (below)

Full flow details: opentable-flow.md | resy-flow.md

---

Quick Flow: Movie Tickets#

1. Start at preferred theater (from config) or search via Fandango
2. Select movie, showtime, seats
3. ⚠️ STOP at payment — show all-in price, confirm with user before purchase
4. Post-purchase actions (below)

Full details: movie-booking.md | search-movies.md

---

Quick Flow: Event Tickets#

Start with SeatGeek (best price discovery + Deal Score):

bash

playwright-cli open "https://seatgeek.com/search?q={event}&location={config.location}" --headed

Then cross-check Ticketmaster (official) and StubHub (resale). ⚠️ Ticketmaster has aggressive bot protection — see event-tickets.md. ⚠️ STOP at payment — confirm all-in price with user before purchase.

---

Full Date Night Flow#

When user says "plan a date night around [event/movie/idea]":

text

1. LOAD config.json silently
2. FIND the event/movie → SeatGeek + Ticketmaster + StubHub price comparison
3. PRESENT options + prices to user → get approval to proceed
4. BOOK tickets (with explicit user confirmation at payment)
5. NOTE venue and show time
6. SEARCH restaurants within 1 mile of venue, open before the show
7. SUGGEST 2-3 dinner options with ratings and OpenTable availability
8. BOOK dinner (with approval) at time that ends ~1 hr before show
9. CHECK weather for that evening → include in summary
10. CALCULATE timeline: leave home → dinner → venue → showtime
11. ADD both events to calendar ({config.calendar_tool})
12. DRAFT partner notification → show draft → send with approval
13. IF has_children: PROMPT about childcare — every time, no exceptions
14. OFFER dessert spot near venue (optional extension)
15. PRESENT budget estimate: dinner + tickets + babysitter total

Example timeline for 7:30 PM show:

text

6:00 PM  Leave home
6:30 PM  Dinner (2-block walk from venue)
8:00 PM  Walk to venue
7:30 PM  Show
10:30 PM Done — dessert optional

---

Post-Booking Actions#

Execute after every reservation or ticket purchase:

1. Add to Calendar#

bash

{config.calendar_tool} calendar create primary \
  --summary "{Event/Dinner} @ {Venue/Restaurant}" \
  --from "{datetime}" \
  --to "{datetime+duration}" \
  --location "{address}" \
  --description "{details + confirmation number}" \
  --reminder "popup:2h" --reminder "popup:1d"

2. Notify Partner (if configured)#

Draft in user's casual voice → show draft → require approval before sending.

text

"Hey {partner}, got us a reservation at {Restaurant} on {date} at {time} 🍽️"

3. Childcare Prompt#

If has_children: true — ALWAYS ask, no exceptions:

"Do you have childcare sorted for that evening? {N} kid(s) to account for."

4. Log to History#

bash

mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/skills/date-night
cat >> ~/.openclaw/skills/date-night/history.jsonl << 'EOF'
{"date":"{YYYY-MM-DD}","restaurant":"{name}","event":"{event_or_null}","total_cost":null,"rating":null,"would_return":null,"weather":null,"notes":""}
EOF

---

Error Recovery#

ErrorRecoveryConfig not foundRun onboarding before proceedingOT timer expiredRestart from restaurant page URLVerification code not receivedWait 30s, click Resend, check SMSPhone field clearedKnown OT bug — re-fill before submitTM queue/CAPTCHADocument for user; offer manual assistSeat map won't loadUse playwright-cli screenshot to diagnoseStubHub price changedRe-check before submitting; prices fluctuate

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Checklists#

Before Booking (Any)#

• Config loaded
• Restaurant/movie/event, date, time, party size confirmed with user
• Full price shown to user before any purchase

After Booking (Any)#

• Calendar event created
• Partner notified (draft approved)
• Childcare asked (if has_children)
• Logged to history
• Pre-evening intel offered (weather, parking, drive time)
• Budget estimate presented