What Can OpenClaw Do? 12 Real Automations That Work

ChatGPT writes emails. OpenClaw sends them. While you sleep.

If you are wondering what an AI agent can actually do beyond answering questions, here are 12 automations running in production today. Each uses real skills from the awesome-openclaw-skills repository.

Beyond Chat: What Makes OpenClaw Different

Traditional AI assistants are conversational—you ask, they answer. OpenClaw is operational—you delegate, it executes. This shift from talking about work to doing work is what makes it different.

Here is what that looks like in practice.

12 Automations Using Real Skills

1. Morning Briefing (Calendar + Weather + Tasks)

What it does: Every morning at 8 AM, OpenClaw sends a WhatsApp message with today's schedule, weather, and overdue tasks.

Skills used: calendar-scheduling category (51 skills), browser skill for weather

Install: `npx clawhub@latest install browser`

2. Email Triage and Auto-Responses

What it does: Monitors your inbox, labels urgent emails, drafts responses for approval, and sends auto-responses for common requests.

Skills used: browser skill (pkiv/browse) for Gmail/Outlook access

Install: `npx clawhub@latest install browser`

3. GitHub PR Review Automation

What it does: When a pull request opens, analyzes the diff, runs checks, and posts a summary review comment.

Skills used: github (steipete/github), pr-reviewer (briancolinger)

Install: `npx clawhub@latest install github`

4. Slack Support Monitoring

What it does: Monitors Slack channels for keywords ("urgent", "down", "broken"). Sends you a Telegram message with context when detected.

Skills used: browser skill for Slack web access

5. Automated Flight Check-in

What it does: 24 hours before your flight, automatically checks you in, selects preferred seats, and sends boarding pass via WhatsApp.

Skills used: browser skill for airline websites

6. Docker Container Management

What it does: From WhatsApp: "Restart the web container" or "Show logs for the database." Executes Docker commands and returns results.

Skills used: docker-essentials (arnarsson/docker-essentials)

Install: `npx clawhub@latest install docker-essentials`

7. SSH Tunnel Automation

What it does: Establishes SSH tunnels on demand. "Open tunnel to production DB for 30 minutes." Closes automatically when done.

Skills used: ssh-tunnel (gitgoodordietrying/ssh-tunnel)

Install: `npx clawhub@latest install ssh-tunnel`

8. Task Status Reporting

What it does: Posts status updates every 30 minutes for long-running tasks. "Still processing—60% complete, ETA 12 minutes."

Skills used: task-status (mightyprime1/task-status)

Install: `npx clawhub@latest install task-status`

9. Git Sync and Auto-Commit

What it does: Periodically commits your work with descriptive messages and pushes to GitHub. Never lose work to a crash.

Skills used: git-sync (autogame-17/git-sync), github (steipete/github)

Install: `npx clawhub@latest install git-sync`

10. Meeting Notes to Action Items

What it does: Paste transcript or upload recording. Extracts action items, assigns owners, adds tasks to project management tools.

Skills used: Speech transcription category, browser skill for Notion/Asana/Jira

11. Expense Report Processing

What it does: Forward receipt emails. Extracts merchant, date, amount, category; uploads to expense system; flags missing receipts.

Skills used: browser skill for expense platforms

12. Smart Home Control

What it does: Integrates with smart home devices. "Turn off all lights when I leave" or adjust thermostat based on location.

Skills used: smart-home-iot category (56 skills available)

How to Install Skills from ClawHub

ClawHub hosts 5,705 community skills. Install any skill with:

``` npx clawhub@latest install <skill-slug> ```

Security reminder: Check VirusTotal scans before installing. Review source code. Test in Docker sandbox first. Avoid cryptocurrency/financial skills (672 flagged as high-risk).

Browse 2,999+ curated skills at github.com/VoltAgent/awesome-openclaw-skills.

The Cost Reality

OpenClaw is free and open-source. Running it is not.

API Usage Costs (Claude Recommended)

For agent tasks—multi-step reasoning, tool use, context management—Claude 3.5 Sonnet outperforms GPT-4.

Why Claude?

• Better reasoning for complex agent workflows
• Superior tool use accuracy
• More reliable JSON output

Cost breakdown:

• Claude 3.5 Sonnet: ~$0.003 per 1K input tokens, $0.015 per 1K output tokens
• Typical agent task: 2K-5K tokens per interaction
• 100 automated tasks/day: ~$2-4/day
• Monthly estimate: $60-120 for moderate usage

Infrastructure Costs

• Local machine: Free (must stay powered on)
• VPS (DigitalOcean, Linode): $5-20/month for 24/7 operation
• Home server: ~$2-5/month electricity

Cost Optimization Tips

1. Route by complexity: Use Claude for complex tasks, faster models for simple ones
2. Batch operations: Group similar tasks to reduce API calls
3. Cache responses: Store frequently-accessed data locally
4. Set limits: Configure daily spend caps in your API dashboard

New to OpenClaw? Start with our [@portabletext/react] Unknown block type "span", specify a component for it in the `components.types` prop. Worried about security? Read our [@portabletext/react] Unknown block type "span", specify a component for it in the `components.types` prop covering the February 2026 CVEs. Ready to build? Follow our [@portabletext/react] Unknown block type "span", specify a component for it in the `components.types` prop.

OpenClaw is infrastructure, not magic. These 12 automations use real, verified skills running in production today.

Sources:

• awesome-openclaw-skills GitHub repository (2,999+ skills)
• ClawHub registry (5,705 skills)
• Anthropic API pricing (February 2026)