Runtime Instructions Control Plane#

Use this skill to run OpenClaw jobs from a Google Sheet control plane without editing cron/jobs.json manually.

What this provides#

• Fetches per-job instructions from Google Sheets and writes local runtime cache files.
• Supports local-only fallback from cache when Sheets or auth is unavailable.
• Reconciles cron job enabled flags from sheet rows in dry-run or apply mode.
• Includes a schema reference and starter CSV template for sheet setup.

Included files#

• scripts/load-sheet-instructions.mjs
• scripts/reconcile-cron-from-sheet.mjs
• references/google-sheet-instructions-schema.md
• templates/job_instructions_template.csv

Environment#

Set these before running:

• GOOGLE_SHEETS_SPREADSHEET_ID
• GOOGLE_SHEETS_RANGE (optional, default in scripts)
• Either service account creds:
  • GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_EMAIL
  • GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_PRIVATE_KEY
• Or authenticated gcloud for token fallback in loader script.

Optional path overrides:

• OPENCLAW_ROOT (default: ~/.openclaw)
• OPENCLAW_RUNTIME_INSTRUCTIONS_DIR (default: $OPENCLAW_ROOT/memory/runtime-instructions)
• OPENCLAW_CRON_JOBS_PATH (default: $OPENCLAW_ROOT/cron/jobs.json)

Usage#

Load one job's runtime instructions:

bash

node scripts/load-sheet-instructions.mjs \
  --job-id "<job-id>" \
  --job-name "<job-name>"

Load from cache only (no network):

bash

node scripts/load-sheet-instructions.mjs --job-id "<job-id>" --local-only

Preview cron enable/disable changes from sheet:

bash

node scripts/reconcile-cron-from-sheet.mjs

Apply cron enable/disable changes:

bash

node scripts/reconcile-cron-from-sheet.mjs --apply

Safety notes#

• Always run dry-run first before --apply.
• Reconcile script creates a timestamped backup before writing jobs.json.
• Keep this focused on operational control-plane toggles, not content generation.