docs/reference/templates/HEARTBEAT.md
HEARTBEAT.md lives in the agent workspace and holds the periodic heartbeat checklist. Keep it empty, or with only whitespace, Markdown comments, ATX headings, empty list stubs (- , * [ ]), or fence markers, to make OpenClaw skip the heartbeat model call entirely (reason=empty-heartbeat-file).
Shipped default content:
<!-- Heartbeat template; comments-only content prevents scheduled heartbeat API calls. -->
# Keep this file empty (or with only comments) to skip heartbeat API calls.
# Add tasks below when you want the agent to check something periodically.
Add short tasks below the comment lines only when you want periodic checks. Keep it small: heartbeat runs read this file every tick (default every 30 minutes), so bloated instructions burn tokens on every wake.
For due-only checks instead of a plain checklist, use a structured tasks: block with per-task interval and prompt fields; see HEARTBEAT.md for the format and behavior.