Skill: Remind Me

When to use

User says "remind me to...", "set a reminder", "set an alarm"
User says "every Monday at 9 AM...", "every 30 minutes check..."
User says "in 20 minutes tell me...", "at 3 PM send me..."
User wants to schedule a recurring cron job via chat
User says "cancel my reminder", "delete that cron", "stop the alert"
User says "list my reminders", "what reminders do I have?"
User wants to know what cron jobs are active in this chat

When NOT to use

User wants to check a stock price right now (not scheduled) → use stock-price-checker-pro
User wants to run a one-time task immediately (no scheduling involved)

⚠️ CRITICAL: Always resolve these FOUR things before creating a reminder

Before calling the script, you MUST have all four resolved:

| Field | Question to answer | Example | |---|---|---| | WHAT | What should happen / be said? | "Check NVDA stock price" | | WHEN / HOW OFTEN | One-time or recurring? At what time/interval? | "Every Monday at 9 AM" | | WHERE | Which channel + chat ID to deliver to? | Auto-detected from session | | TIMEZONE | What timezone should times be interpreted in? | Auto-detected from USER.md |

Missing field rules

WHAT is missing → Ask: "What would you like me to remind you about?"
WHEN is missing AND cannot be reasonably assumed → Ask: "How often, or at what time?"
WHEN is missing BUT can be reasonably assumed as once → Assume one-shot, but confirm: "Just once, right?"
WHERE is always auto-detected → Never ask the user for this. Read it from session context (see below).
TIMEZONE is always auto-detected → Never ask unless unresolvable (see Step 2 below).

Do NOT create the job until all four are confirmed.

Step 1 — Auto-detect channel, chat ID, and timezone from context

Channel and chat ID

The source channel and chat ID are available in your session context. Extract them before doing anything else.

channel: the platform the message arrived on (e.g. telegram, discord)
chatId / to: the specific chat or user ID within that platform (e.g. <chatId>)

These two values are passed as --channel and --to to the script. Never ask the user for these. Never hardcode them. Always read from session context.

Timezone — 3-tier resolution (in priority order)

Resolve the user's timezone using this exact priority chain:

| Priority | Source | How to read it | |---|---|---| | 1 | Message itself | User says "at 9 AM London time" or "remind me at 3 PM EST" → extract from their words | | 2 | USER.md | Read the Timezone: field from /root/.openclaw/workspace/USER.md | | 3 | Ask the user | Only if tiers 1 and 2 both fail — ask once, then offer to save it |

Rules:

If tier 1 applies → use it directly, no need to check USER.md
If tier 2 applies → use it silently, do not mention it to the user
If tier 3 triggers → ask: "What timezone are you in? (e.g. London, New York, Lagos)" — then offer: "Want me to remember your timezone for future reminders?" If they say yes, update USER.md
The resolved timezone is passed as tz:<IANA> to the script
If no timezone can be resolved at all, pass tz:UTC and mention it in the confirmation summary

Step 2 — Parse the user's intent

From the user's natural language request, extract:

Schedule type

Map what the user said to one of three prefixed schedule strings.

⚠️ When the user states a clock time (e.g. "9 AM", "3 PM", "noon"), always interpret it in their resolved timezone (from Step 1), not UTC. The --tz flag passed to the script ensures cron expressions fire at the correct local time.

| What user said | Schedule string to pass | |---|---| | "every 30 minutes" | every:30m | | "every hour" | every:1h | | "every day at 9 AM" | cron:0 9 * * * | | "every Monday at 9 AM" | cron:0 9 * * 1 | | "weekdays at 8 AM" | cron:0 8 * * 1-5 | | "every Friday at 5 PM" | cron:0 17 * * 5 | | "in 20 minutes" | at:20m | | "in 2 hours" | at:2h | | "at 3 PM today" | at:<computed duration from now> | | "once at 9:30 AM tomorrow" | at:<computed duration from now> |

One-shot vs recurring

at: → always one-shot (--once is auto-set by the script)
every: or cron: → recurring by default
If user says "just once" or "one time" with a cron: or every: → pass --once

Job name

Generate a short, descriptive name from the user's request.

"Remind me to check NVDA every Monday" → "NVDA Check - Monday 9AM"
"Alert me in 20 minutes" → "Alert - 20min"
"Grocery reminder at noon" → "Groceries - Noon"

Message

The message is what the agent will say or do when the job fires. Craft it clearly so the agent knows exactly what to do:

"Remind me to do groceries" → "Reminder: Time to do groceries! 🛒"
"Check NVDA every Monday at 9 AM" → "Check the current NVDA stock price and send me a summary."
"Send me a motivational quote every morning" → "Send me an inspiring motivational quote to start the day."

Step 3 — Clarification rules (ask before acting)

Ask when:

No schedule at all: "Remind me to call John" → no time/frequency given

Ask: "Sure! When would you like me to remind you — just once at a specific time, or on a recurring schedule?"
Ambiguous frequency: "Remind me often" or "check regularly"

Ask: "How often? Every hour, every day, or something else?"
Conflicting signals: "Remind me every Monday but just once"

Ask: "Just to confirm — should this be a one-time reminder or repeat every Monday?"

Do NOT ask when:

Everything is clear: "Remind me every Monday at 9 AM to check NVDA" → create immediately
One-shot is obvious from context: "Remind me in 20 minutes" → at:20m, once
User confirms after your clarification question → proceed immediately

Confirmation before creating (always):

Before calling the script, summarise what you're about to set up and get a quick confirmation:

"Got it! Here's what I'll set up: ⏰ Reminder: Check NVDA stock price 🔁 Schedule: Every Monday at 9 AM 🌍 Timezone: Africa/Lagos (UTC+1) 📱 Delivered to: This chat

Shall I go ahead?"

Always include the Timezone line in the confirmation summary. If falling back to UTC because none was found, say so clearly:

🌍 Timezone: UTC (no timezone found — times will be in UTC)

Only proceed after user confirms.

Commands

Create a reminder

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py create \
  "<job name>" \
  "<what to say or do>" \
  "<every:duration | cron:expr | at:duration>" \
  "<channel>" \
  "<chatId>" \
  [once] \
  [tz:<IANA timezone>]

tz: is optional but always include it when a timezone was resolved (tiers 1–2)
Pass tz:UTC explicitly when falling back — makes the stored description accurate
Examples: tz:Africa/Lagos, tz:America/New_York, tz:Europe/London, tz:Asia/Kolkata
Common short names are accepted: tz:EST, tz:IST, tz:CET, tz:Lagos, tz:London

List reminders for this chat

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py list \
  "<channel>" \
  "<chatId>"

Cancel a reminder by name

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py cancel name "<job name>"

Cancel a reminder by ID

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py cancel id "<job id>"

Examples

Example 1 — Clear request, no clarification needed

User: "Remind me every Monday at 9 AM to check NVDA"

Detect: channel=telegram, to=<chatId>
Read USER.md → Timezone: Africa/Lagos → resolves to Africa/Lagos
Parse: WHAT="Check NVDA stock price", WHEN=cron:0 9 * * 1, one-shot=false
Confirm with user (include timezone line)
Run:

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py create \
  "NVDA Check - Monday 9AM" \
  "Check the current NVDA stock price and send me a summary." \
  "cron:0 9 * * 1" \
  "telegram" \
  "<chatId>" \
  "tz:Africa/Lagos"

Example 2 — Missing frequency, ask first

User: "Remind me to go do groceries by 12 PM"

Detect: channel=telegram, to=<chatId>
Read USER.md → Timezone: Africa/Lagos → resolves to Africa/Lagos
Parse: WHAT="Do groceries", WHEN=12 PM but frequency unclear
Ask: "Just to confirm — is this a one-time reminder for today at noon, or should I remind you every day at 12 PM?"
User says: "Just today"
Compute duration from now to today's noon in Africa/Lagos time → e.g. at:3h30m
Confirm (include timezone line), then run:

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py create \
  "Groceries - Noon" \
  "Reminder: Time to go do groceries! 🛒" \
  "at:3h30m" \
  "telegram" \
  "<chatId>" \
  once \
  "tz:Africa/Lagos"

Example 3 — List reminders

User: "What reminders do I have?"

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py list \
  "telegram" \
  "<chatId>"

Format the output as a readable list, not raw JSON. Example response:

You have 2 active reminders in this chat:

NVDA Check - Monday 9AM 🔁 Every Monday at 9 AM "Check the current NVDA stock price..." 🌍 Timezone: Africa/Lagos (UTC+1) Next run: Mon 10 Mar 2026, 09:00

Groceries - Noon (one-time) "Time to go do groceries!" 🌍 Timezone: Africa/Lagos (UTC+1) Runs in: 3h 30m

Example 4 — Cancel a reminder

User: "Cancel my NVDA reminder"

List jobs for this channel/chat first (internally)
Find the matching job by name
Confirm: "Cancel NVDA Check - Monday 9AM? This will stop all future runs."
User confirms
Run:

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py cancel name "NVDA Check - Monday 9AM"

Example 5 — One-shot in-chat reminder

User: "In 30 seconds send me a love letter"

at: schedules are duration-based (relative to now), so timezone does not affect when they fire. Still pass tz: so it is stored in the job description for consistency.

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py create \
  "Love Letter - 30s" \
  "Write a beautiful, heartfelt love letter. Make it romantic and touching." \
  "at:30s" \
  "telegram" \
  "<chatId>" \
  "tz:Africa/Lagos"

Example 6 — Timezone in message, no USER.md entry

User: "Remind me every day at 8 AM New York time to drink water"

Detect: channel=telegram, to=<chatId>
Tier 1 hit: "New York time" → resolves to America/New_York — no need to check USER.md
Parse: WHAT="Drink water", WHEN=cron:0 8 * * *, one-shot=false
Confirm with user
Run:

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py create \
  "Drink Water - 8AM NY" \
  "Reminder: Time to drink water! 💧" \
  "cron:0 8 * * *" \
  "telegram" \
  "<chatId>" \
  "tz:America/New_York"

Example 7 — No timezone anywhere, ask user

User: "Remind me every day at 7 AM to exercise"

Detect: channel=telegram, to=<chatId>
Tier 1: no timezone in message
Tier 2: USER.md Timezone field is empty
Tier 3: Ask — "What timezone are you in? (e.g. London, Lagos, New York)"
User says: "Lagos"
Resolve: Africa/Lagos
Offer: "Want me to remember Lagos time for future reminders?"
If yes → update USER.md: Timezone: Africa/Lagos
Confirm, then run:

uv run /root/.openclaw/workspace/skills/remind-me/src/main.py create \
  "Exercise - 7AM" \
  "Reminder: Time to exercise! 💪" \
  "cron:0 7 * * *" \
  "telegram" \
  "<chatId>" \
  "tz:Africa/Lagos"

Channel scoping rules

Jobs created from Group A are only visible when listing from Group A
Jobs created from Group B are only visible when listing from Group B
Jobs created from the main/private chat are visible only in that main chat
The script handles this automatically via the [remind-me:channel:chatId] tag embedded in each job's description
Never show a user jobs that belong to a different chat

Output formatting

After running any command, always format the result in plain conversational language — never dump raw JSON to the user.

On create success:

✅ Done! I've set up your reminder: ⏰ NVDA Check — Every Monday at 9 AM 📱 Delivered to this chat

On list (empty):

You have no active reminders in this chat.

On cancel success:

✅ Reminder "NVDA Check - Monday 9AM" has been cancelled.

On error:

❌ Something went wrong: <error message> Want me to try again?

Notes

uv run auto-installs dependencies from the inline script header — no pip or venv needed.
The script calls openclaw cron CLI internally — the gateway must be running.
Always use --channel "last" behaviour naturally: since --to is set to the originating chat ID, delivery is always back to the right place.
Do NOT use sessions_spawn, web search, or any other tool to create cron jobs — always go through this script.
Do NOT hardcode channel IDs. Always read from session context.
The at: schedule prefix does not support standard cron expressions — use cron: for those.