fix(cron): suppress delivery when multi-payload response contains HEARTBEAT_OK by adhishthite · Pull Request #32131 · openclaw/openclaw

adhishthite · 2026-03-02T20:12:01Z

Summary

Fixes delivery suppression for cron agents that return multiple text payloads before a final HEARTBEAT_OK.

Problem

isHeartbeatOnlyResponse() uses .every() to check if ALL payloads are heartbeat tokens. When agents narrate their work (reading files, checking emails) across multiple assistant text blocks before concluding with HEARTBEAT_OK, the check fails because narration payloads are not heartbeat tokens. Result: all payloads get delivered to the user as announce messages.

Real-world transcript from a heartbeat-30m cron run:

Payload 1: "It's 12:49 AM — quiet hours. Let me run the checks quickly."
Payload 2: "Emails: Just 2 calendar invites from Adnan. Not urgent at 12:49 AM."
Payload 3: "HEARTBEAT_OK"

Fix

Change isHeartbeatOnlyResponse() from .every() to .some():

If any payload contains a heartbeat ack token → suppress delivery (agent signals nothing needs attention)
If any payload has media → always deliver (preserve existing media delivery behavior)

The media check is lifted to a separate .some() pass for clarity.

Tests

Added 7 unit tests for isHeartbeatOnlyResponse in helpers.test.ts:

Empty payloads → suppressed
Single HEARTBEAT_OK → suppressed
Single non-heartbeat → not suppressed
Multi-payload with narration + HEARTBEAT_OK → suppressed (the bug case)
Media present → not suppressed (even with HEARTBEAT_OK text)
Media in different payload than HEARTBEAT_OK → not suppressed
No HEARTBEAT_OK anywhere → not suppressed

All 20 tests in helpers.test.ts pass. Integration tests in delivers-response-has-heartbeat-ok-but-includes.test.ts (4 tests) also pass.

Ignore empty payloads in heartbeat-only detection

Using payloads.some(... result.shouldSkip) makes any blank/undefined payload suppress delivery, because stripHeartbeatToken returns shouldSkip: true when raw is empty (src/auto-reply/heartbeat.ts:114-120). In the cron path this value directly gates announce delivery (src/cron/isolated-agent/run.ts:650), so a normal run like [{text:"Important update"},{text:" "}] is now treated as heartbeat-only and never sent. The previous .every() logic did not drop deliveries in this mixed-content case, so this change introduces false suppression whenever a whitespace/tool-empty payload is present.

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greptile-apps · 2026-03-02T20:18:33Z

Greptile Summary

Fixed delivery suppression for cron agents that emit multiple text payloads before HEARTBEAT_OK. Changed isHeartbeatOnlyResponse() from .every() to .some() to correctly interpret the semantic meaning of the heartbeat token.

Key Changes:

If ANY payload contains HEARTBEAT_OK → suppress delivery (agent signals nothing needs attention)
If ANY payload has media → always deliver (preserves existing behavior)
Added 7 comprehensive unit tests covering the multi-payload scenario

Minor Style Issues:

JSDoc comment for isHeartbeatOnlyResponse still says "all payloads" but logic now checks "any payload"
Inline comment says "preceding text payloads" which implies ordering, but code doesn't enforce HEARTBEAT_OK position (this is likely fine given semantic meaning)

Confidence Score: 4/5

Safe to merge - correct logic fix with comprehensive test coverage and only minor documentation improvements suggested
Score reflects solid implementation that correctly fixes the reported bug with thorough test coverage. Only minor documentation/comment style issues noted. The logic change from .every() to .some() correctly interprets HEARTBEAT_OK semantics: if an agent includes the token anywhere in a response, it's signaling nothing needs user attention.
No files require special attention - both the implementation and tests are straightforward and correct

_{Last reviewed commit: 31bffb4}

greptile-apps

_{2 files reviewed, 2 comments}

_{Edit Code Review Agent Settings | Greptile}

greptile-apps · 2026-03-02T20:18:40Z

src/cron/isolated-agent/helpers.ts

+  // An agent may emit multiple text payloads (narration, tool summaries)
+  // before a final HEARTBEAT_OK. If *any* payload is a heartbeat ack token,
+  // the agent is signaling "nothing needs attention" — the preceding text
+  // payloads are just internal narration and should not be delivered.


Comment says "preceding text payloads" but code doesn't enforce ordering

The comment implies HEARTBEAT_OK comes last, but the code would also suppress if HEARTBEAT_OK appears first or in the middle. Consider clarifying:

Suggested change

// An agent may emit multiple text payloads (narration, tool summaries)

// before a final HEARTBEAT_OK. If *any* payload is a heartbeat ack token,

// the agent is signaling "nothing needs attention" — the preceding text

// payloads are just internal narration and should not be delivered.

// An agent may emit multiple text payloads (narration, tool summaries)

// alongside a HEARTBEAT_OK token. If *any* payload is a heartbeat ack token,

// the agent is signaling "nothing needs attention" — other text payloads

// are just internal narration and should not be delivered.

Prompt To Fix With AI

This is a comment left during a code review. Path: src/cron/isolated-agent/helpers.ts Line: 104-107 Comment: Comment says "preceding text payloads" but code doesn't enforce ordering The comment implies HEARTBEAT_OK comes last, but the code would also suppress if HEARTBEAT_OK appears first or in the middle. Consider clarifying: ```suggestion // An agent may emit multiple text payloads (narration, tool summaries) // alongside a HEARTBEAT_OK token. If *any* payload is a heartbeat ack token, // the agent is signaling "nothing needs attention" — other text payloads // are just internal narration and should not be delivered. ``` How can I resolve this? If you propose a fix, please make it concise.

greptile-apps · 2026-03-02T20:18:42Z

Additional Comments (1)

src/cron/isolated-agent/helpers.ts
JSDoc outdated - no longer checks if ALL payloads are heartbeat acks

/**
 * Check if the response should be suppressed because the agent signaled nothing needs attention.
 * Returns true if any payload contains a heartbeat ack token (HEARTBEAT_OK) and no media is present.
 */

Prompt To Fix With AI

This is a comment left during a code review.
Path: src/cron/isolated-agent/helpers.ts
Line: 89-92

Comment:
JSDoc outdated - no longer checks if ALL payloads are heartbeat acks

```suggestion
/**
 * Check if the response should be suppressed because the agent signaled nothing needs attention.
 * Returns true if any payload contains a heartbeat ack token (HEARTBEAT_OK) and no media is present.
 */
```

How can I resolve this? If you propose a fix, please make it concise.

@adhishthite

) (thanks @adhishthite)

…RTBEAT_OK When a cron agent emits multiple text payloads (narration + tool summaries) followed by a final HEARTBEAT_OK, the delivery suppression check `isHeartbeatOnlyResponse` fails because it uses `.every()` — requiring ALL payloads to be heartbeat tokens. In practice, agents narrate their work before signaling nothing needs attention. Fix: check if ANY payload contains HEARTBEAT_OK (`.some()`) while preserving the media delivery exception (if any payload has media, always deliver). This matches the semantic intent: HEARTBEAT_OK is the agent's explicit signal that nothing needs user attention. Real-world example: heartbeat agent returns 3 payloads: 1. "It's 12:49 AM — quiet hours. Let me run the checks quickly." 2. "Emails: Just 2 calendar invites. Not urgent." 3. "HEARTBEAT_OK" Previously: all 3 delivered to Telegram. Now: correctly suppressed. Related: openclaw#32013 (fixed a different HEARTBEAT_OK leak path via system events in timer.ts)

@adhishthite

) (thanks @adhishthite)

steipete · 2026-03-02T22:16:22Z

Landed via temp rebase onto main.

Gate: pnpm -s vitest run src/cron/isolated-agent/helpers.test.ts src/cron/isolated-agent.delivers-response-has-heartbeat-ok-but-includes.test.ts
Land commit: 352bc2d
Merge commit: 7253e91

Thanks @adhishthite!

@adhishthite

) (thanks @adhishthite) (cherry picked from commit 7253e91)

@adhishthite

) (thanks @adhishthite)

@adhishthite

) (thanks @adhishthite)

@adhishthite

) (thanks @adhishthite)

chatgpt-codex-connector bot reviewed Mar 2, 2026

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greptile-apps bot reviewed Mar 2, 2026

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openclaw-barnacle bot added the size: S label Mar 2, 2026

steipete force-pushed the fix/cron-heartbeat-ok-multi-payload-delivery branch from 31bffb4 to 6a031e5 Compare March 2, 2026 22:16

steipete added a commit to adhishthite/openclaw that referenced this pull request Mar 2, 2026

fix: strengthen cron heartbeat multi-payload suppression (openclaw#32131

6a031e5

) (thanks @adhishthite)

Adhish and others added 2 commits March 2, 2026 22:16

fix: strengthen cron heartbeat multi-payload suppression (openclaw#32131

352bc2d

) (thanks @adhishthite)

steipete force-pushed the fix/cron-heartbeat-ok-multi-payload-delivery branch from 6a031e5 to 352bc2d Compare March 2, 2026 22:16

steipete merged commit 7253e91 into openclaw:main Mar 2, 2026
8 of 9 checks passed

steipete mentioned this pull request Mar 2, 2026

Cron: suppress HEARTBEAT_OK fallback summary enqueue #32078

Closed

github-actions bot mentioned this pull request Mar 2, 2026

📡 Upstream Digest — 2026-03-02 22:20 UTC curtismercier/openclaw-mods#167

Open

planfit-alan pushed a commit to planfit/openclaw that referenced this pull request Mar 3, 2026

fix: strengthen cron heartbeat multi-payload suppression (openclaw#32131

d10ef89

) (thanks @adhishthite) (cherry picked from commit 7253e91)

dawi369 pushed a commit to dawi369/davis that referenced this pull request Mar 3, 2026

fix: strengthen cron heartbeat multi-payload suppression (openclaw#32131

0935300

) (thanks @adhishthite)

OWALabuy pushed a commit to kcinzgg/openclaw that referenced this pull request Mar 4, 2026

fix: strengthen cron heartbeat multi-payload suppression (openclaw#32131

4eafbe6

) (thanks @adhishthite)

zooqueen pushed a commit to hanzoai/bot that referenced this pull request Mar 6, 2026

fix: strengthen cron heartbeat multi-payload suppression (openclaw#32131

c19e24e

) (thanks @adhishthite)

+                return payloads.some((payload) => {
                   const result = stripHeartbeatToken(payload.text, {
                     mode: "heartbeat",
                     maxAckChars: ackMaxChars,

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fix(cron): suppress delivery when multi-payload response contains HEARTBEAT_OK#32131

fix(cron): suppress delivery when multi-payload response contains HEARTBEAT_OK#32131
steipete merged 2 commits intoopenclaw:mainfrom
adhishthite:fix/cron-heartbeat-ok-multi-payload-delivery

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adhishthite commented Mar 2, 2026

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Confidence Score: 4/5

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