What is a Claude Code agent heartbeat?

Simple timer-state-decide loop via cron, file, and bash—no daemon needed.

How do I migrate from OpenClaw to Claude Code heartbeat?

Set up cronCreate every 5min, pulse.sh predicates, HEARTBEAT.md state. Swap WebSocket for RemoteTrigger.

Is Claude Code heartbeat cheaper than OpenClaw?

Yes—cold starts cache prefixes, idle cycles cost pennies, no warm token burn.

Claude Code's Cron-Powered Heartbeat: Reviving OpenClaw Without the Daemon

A cron job ticks every five minutes. It checks a file, runs a bash script, and decides if your AI agent wakes up. OpenClaw's heartbeat daemon? Dead. But this simpler pulse keeps the magic alive in Claude Code.

DevTools Feed Apr 07, 2026 4 min read

Cron job firing agent heartbeat in Claude Code, with bash script and state file diagram

⚡ Key Takeaways

Replace OpenClaw daemons with cron + bash in Claude Code for cheaper, secure agent heartbeats. 𝕏
Agent heartbeat boils down to timer, state file (HEARTBEAT.md), and predicates—no LLM for checks. 𝕏
This mirrors Unix cron's rise: episodic compute beats always-on for AI agents. 𝕏

Published by

DevTools Feed

Ship faster. Build smarter.

#AI agents #OpenClaw #OpenClaw migration #agent heartbeat #claude-code #cron agents #cron heartbeat #cron jobs

Worth sharing?

Get the best Developer Tools stories of the week in your inbox — no noise, no spam.

Originally reported by dev.to

⚡ Key Takeaways

The 60-Second TL;DR

DevTools Feed

Share this article

Worth sharing?

Related Stories

512,000 Lines Leaked: Claude Code's Permission-Gated Agent Loop Exposed

The 429 Error That's Secretly Killing Your AI Fallback Chains

OpenClaw's 87% Disappointment Rate: Fix It with This Memory Stack

FinancialClaw: Finally, an AI Agent That Actually Manages Your Money

Stay in the loop