agent-self-reflection

---
name: self-reflection
slug: agent-self-reflection
version: 1.0.0
description: Periodic self-reflection on recent sessions. Analyzes what went well, what went wrong, and writes concise, actionable insights to the appropriate workspace files. Designed to run as a cron job.
---

# Self-Reflection Skill

Reflect on recent sessions and extract actionable insights. Runs hourly via cron.

## Step 1: Gather Recent Sessions

```bash
# List sessions active in the last 2 hours
openclaw sessions --active 120 --json
```

Parse the output to get session keys and IDs. Skip subagent sessions (they're task workers, not interesting for reflection). Focus on:
- Telegram group/topic sessions (real user interactions)
- Direct sessions (1:1 with Brenner)
- Cron-triggered sessions (how did automated tasks go?)

## Step 2: Read Session History

For each interesting session from Step 1, read the JSONL transcript:

```bash
# Read the last ~50 lines of each session file (keep it bounded!)
tail -50 ~/.openclaw/agents/main/sessions/<sessionId>.jsonl
```

**⚠️ CRITICAL: Never load full session files. Use `tail -50` or `Read` with offset/limit. Sessions can be 100k+ tokens.**

Parse the JSONL to understand what happened. Look for:
- `type: "user"` or `type: "human"` — what was asked
- `type: "assistant"` — what you responded
- `type: "tool_use"` / `type: "tool_result"` — what tools were called and results
- Error patterns, retries, confusion

## Step 3: Analyze & Extract Insights

For each session, ask yourself:

### What went well?
- Tasks completed smoothly on first try
- Good tool usage patterns worth reinforcing
- Efficient approaches to remember

### What went wrong?
- Errors, retries, wrong approaches
- Misunderstandings of user intent
- Tools that didn't work as expected
- Context that was missing

### Lessons learned?
- "Next time, do X instead of Y"
- "Remember that Z works this way"
- "Tool A needs parameter B or it fails"
- "When user says X, they usually mean Y"

**Quality bar:**