task-status – OpenClaw Skill

---

name: task-status description: Send short status descriptions in chat for long-running tasks. Use when you need to provide periodic updates during multi-step operations, confirm task completion, or notify of failures. Includes automated periodic monitoring that sends updates every 5 seconds, status message templates, and a helper function for consistent status reporting.

Task Status Skill

Quick Start

Manual Status Updates

python scripts/send_status.py "Starting data fetch..." "progress" "step1"
python scripts/send_status.py "Processing complete" "success" "final"
python scripts/send_status.py "Error: Missing API key" "error" "auth"

Automatic Periodic Monitoring (Every 5 seconds)

# Start monitoring a long-running task
python scripts/monitor_task.py start "My Long Task" "processing"

# Monitor will send "Still working..." updates every 5 seconds
# When task completes, report final status
python scripts/monitor_task.py stop "My Long Task" "success" "Completed successfully!"

Status Types

• progress: Ongoing work (shows 🔄 or ->)
• success: Task complete (shows ✅ or OK)
• error: Failed task (shows ❌ or !)
• warning: Issue but continuing (shows ⚠️ or ?)

Periodic Monitoring

The monitor_task.py script provides automatic updates:

Starting Monitor

python scripts/monitor_task.py start "<task_name>" "<status_type>" [--interval <seconds>]

• Automatically sends "Still working..." updates every 5 seconds
• Runs in background until stopped
• Can be customized with different intervals

Stopping Monitor

python scripts/monitor_task.py stop "<task_name>" "<final_status>" "<final_message>"

Example: Long File Processing

# Start monitoring
python scripts/monitor_task.py start "video_processing" "progress"

# ... long processing happens here ...

# Stop with final status
python scripts/monitor_task.py stop "video_processing" "success" "Processing complete!"

Manual Updates (Quick Status)

For single status updates without monitoring:

python scripts/send_status.py "Still fetching data..." "progress" "fetch"
python scripts/send_status.py "Processing records: 250/1000" "progress" "process"
python scripts/send_status.py "Complete! 3 files ready" "success" "final"
python scripts/send_status.py "Error: Connection timeout" "error" "api"

When to Use Each Method

Use Manual Updates When:

• Task is short (under 30 seconds)
• You want control over when updates are sent
• Task has discrete, meaningful milestones

Use Periodic Monitoring When:

• Task is long-running (over 1 minute)
• You want consistent "heartbeat" updates every 5 seconds
• Task has long periods of quiet work
• You want to reassure user that work is ongoing

Message Guidelines

Keep status messages under 140 characters. Examples:

• Progress: "Still fetching data..." or "Processing records: 250/1000"
• Success: "Complete! 3 files ready" or "Task finished successfully"
• Error: "Error: Connection timeout" or "Failed: Missing API key"
• Warning: "Continuing despite timeout" or "Partial success: 5/10 files"

Advanced Usage

With Additional Details

python scripts/send_status.py "Uploading..." "progress" "upload" --details "File: report.pdf (2.4MB)"

Different Intervals

python scripts/monitor_task.py start "data_sync" "progress" --interval 10

Importing for Python Scripts

from send_status import send_status

def long_task():
    send_status("Starting...", "progress", "step1")
    # ... work
    send_status("Step complete", "success", "step1")

Automation with Clawdbot Cron

For scheduled tasks, use Clawdbot's cron feature:

# In a script or session
from cron import add

# Every 5 seconds, check status
job = {
    "text": "Check status update",
    "interval": "5s",
    "enabled": True
}
add(job)

This allows status updates even when you're not actively watching.

Installation

To use this skill, copy the task-status folder into your Clawdbot skills directory:

C:\Users\Luffy\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\clawdbot\skills\task-status

Or add it to your workspace and reference it from AGENTS.md or TOOLS.md.

Once installed, the skill will be available for any task where you need periodic status updates.

Task Status Skill

A Clawdbot skill for sending short status descriptions in chat, with automatic periodic monitoring that updates every 5 seconds.

Quick Start

Install into Clawdbot

# Copy to Clawdbot skills directory
copy task-status "C:\Users\Luffy\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\clawdbot\skills\task-status"

Usage

Manual Updates (Single Status Messages)

python scripts/send_status.py "Still working..." "progress" "task_name"
python scripts/send_status.py "Complete!" "success" "task_name"
python scripts/send_status.py "Error!" "error" "task_name"

Automatic Periodic Monitoring (Every 5 seconds)

# Start monitoring before your long task
python scripts/monitor_task.py start "my_long_task" "progress"

# Your long running task/process here...
# Monitor sends "Still working..." updates every 5 seconds automatically

# Stop monitoring with final status
python scripts/monitor_task.py stop "my_long_task" "success" "Task complete!"

Features

• Manual Status Updates: Send one-off status messages
• Automatic Monitoring: Periodic "heartbeat" updates every 5 seconds
• ASCII Fallback: Uses ASCII symbols (->, OK, !, ?) on Windows CMD
• Emoji Support: Uses emojis (🔄, ✅, ❌, ⚠️) on Windows Terminal/PowerShell
• Background Monitoring: Runs independently until stopped
• State Management: Tracks active monitors in .task_status_state.json

Status Types

Type	Emoji	ASCII	Use Case
progress	🔄	->	Ongoing work
success	✅	OK	Completed successfully
error	❌	!	Failed, cannot continue
warning	⚠️	?	Issue but continuing

Examples

Long File Processing

# Start monitor
python monitor_task.py start "video_convert" "progress"

# Convert video (takes 5 minutes)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 output.mp4

# Stop monitor
python monitor_task.py stop "video_convert" "success" "Conversion complete"

Database Migration

# Start monitor with 10-second interval
python monitor_task.py start "db_migration" "progress" --interval 10

# Run migration
python migrate_db.py

# Stop monitor
python monitor_task.py stop "db_migration" "success" "Migrated 50,000 records"

API Rate Limiting

# Start monitor
python monitor_task.py start "api_sync" "progress"

# Make 1000 API calls (takes 10 minutes)
python sync_api.py

# Stop monitor
python monitor_task.py stop "api_sync" "success" "All calls successful"

Monitoring Commands

• monitor_task.py start <name> <status> [--interval <seconds>] - Start monitoring
• monitor_task.py stop <name> <status> <message> - Stop and send final status
• monitor_task.py status - View active monitors
• monitor_task.py cancel_all - Cancel all monitors (no final status)

File Structure

task-status/
├── SKILL.md              # Skill metadata and documentation
├── references/
│   └── usage.md          # Detailed usage guide
├── scripts/
│   ├── send_status.py    # Manual status updates
│   └── monitor_task.py   # Automatic periodic monitoring
├── .task_status_state.json  # Active monitor state (generated)
└── README.md             # This file

Integration with Clawdbot

Add to your workspace in AGENTS.md or TOOLS.md:

### Task Status
- Manual updates: `python scripts/send_status.py "message" "type" "step"`
- Auto monitoring: `python monitor_task.py start "task" "progress"`
- Periodic updates: Every 5 seconds automatically

Tips

1. Short Messages: Keep status messages under 140 characters
2. Specific Names: Use descriptive task names for clarity
3. Always Stop: Remember to stop the monitor with final status
4. Check Status: Use monitor_task.py status to see active monitors
5. Cleanup: Use cancel_all if monitors get stuck

Troubleshooting

• Monitor stuck: Run python monitor_task.py cancel_all
• No output: Check if monitor is running with status command
• Encoding issues: ASCII fallback will be used automatically
• Task done but monitor still running: Stop it manually with stop command