OpenClaw Bug Report: Cron Jobs Not Waking Sessions

Date: April 3, 2026
OpenClaw Version: 2026.4.1
Environment: macOS, Telegram channel

Summary

Cron jobs are firing successfully (showing status: "ok" and deliveryStatus: "not-requested") but not creating active sessions for the agent to execute tasks. The cron runs, logs completion, but the agent never wakes up to actually do the work.

Affected Jobs

All cron jobs with sessionTarget: "main" and wakeMode: "now":

1. fenn-email-check — Runs every 6h, fires but doesn't wake session
2. fenn-surprise-research (Tangle) — Runs on schedule, fires but doesn't wake session
3. fenn-smart-heartbeat — Removed, had same issue
4. fenn-daily-maintenance — Presumably affected (9am daily)

Symptoms

Cron log shows success:

{
  "ts": 1775206914924,
  "jobId": "dc6dc977-c2ae-4b3e-917c-c04fbd2c8b11",
  "action": "finished",
  "status": "ok",
  "summary": "tangle-surprise",
  "deliveryStatus": "not-requested",
  "runAtMs": 1775206800005,
  "durationMs": 114916
}

But:

• No Telegram message sent
• No files created/updated by the agent
• Agent remains dormant
• User has to message first to "wake" the agent

Cron Configuration

{
  "name": "fenn-surprise-research",
  "sessionTarget": "main",
  "wakeMode": "now",
  "payload": {
    "kind": "systemEvent",
    "text": "tangle-surprise"
  }
}

What Should Happen

1. Cron fires at scheduled time
2. OpenClaw wakes main session
3. Agent receives system event
4. Agent executes task (sends message, does research, etc.)
5. Agent reports completion

What Actually Happens

1. Cron fires at scheduled time ✓
2. OpenClaw does not wake session ✗
3. No agent activity ✗
4. Cron logs status: "ok" but deliveryStatus: "not-requested" ✗

Related Issues

Possibly related to Telegram delivery issues:

• Issue [Bug]: Telegram duplicate message delivery - messages split and arrive in wrong order #27157: Telegram duplicate message delivery
• Issue [Bug] Telegram: duplicate message delivery — same response sent twice #37697: Telegram duplicate message delivery

But this is specifically about session wake failure, not message delivery.

Workaround

Currently: Agent only responds when user initiates conversation. Autonomous/proactive features do not work.

Request

Please investigate why wakeMode: "now" is not creating active sessions for cron-triggered events. The cron system works, but the session wake mechanism appears broken.

Reported by: Dylan Passey (via Fenn agent)