clawdbot-workspace/memory/lessons-learned.md

Lessons Learned

Cron systemEvent on main session = NO-OP (Feb 16)

• systemEvent payloads on sessionTarget: "main" get swallowed silently (~10ms, does nothing)
• They arrive as heartbeat-level events and get acked without execution
• FIX: Use sessionTarget: "isolated" with payload.kind: "agentTurn" for crons that need actual work done
• Also set payload.to and payload.channel so the output goes somewhere visible

gog OAuth Browser Flow (Feb 16)

• gog auth add starts a local HTTP callback server on a random port — it MUST stay running until the browser completes the full OAuth flow and redirects back
• Running via exec with background=true can cause the process to exit before the browser redirect arrives
• Best approach: run gog auth add in a tmux session so it persists
• Browser control server (clawd profile) intermittently times out on screenshot/snapshot/act — stop+start the browser profile to fix
• Google "unverified app" screen requires clicking Continue (hidden behind scroll sometimes)
• Google consent screen has individual scope checkboxes — use JS document.querySelectorAll('input[type="checkbox"]') to check all at once (Hot — Universal Rules)

Search this before repeating mistakes. Older/situational lessons in lessons-archive.md.

Upwork — CRITICAL RULES

• $50/hr MINIMUM on all proposals. No exceptions. Jake directive Feb 16 2026.
• Never bid below $50/hr even if client budget says $15-25. Either bid $50+ or skip.
• LOCATION GATE: Always check "Preferred qualifications" for location restrictions BEFORE applying. If job prefers Europe, UK, or any non-US region → SKIP. Don't waste connects on location-mismatched jobs. (Lesson from Feb 17 2026 — nearly submitted 32-connect proposal for Europe-only job.)
• Check location requirements before applying — skip Europe-only or region-restricted jobs (Jake is US-based). Feb 17 2026.

Memory & Context

• Compaction is unreliable — save to daily log + working-state.md proactively, every ~15 messages. Don't wait.
• After compaction with lost context: Read working-state → daily log → channel history → memory search → ask Jake last.
• Save decisions immediately — all options AND the chosen one, right when the choice is made.

Discord

• Don't spam debug messages — work silently, announce clean results.
• Guild ID: 1458233582404501547. Channel IDs are different from guild IDs.
• Delete messages containing tokens IMMEDIATELY.

Cloudflare / Tunnels

• nohup your tunnels — cloudflared dies when exec sessions close.
• Verify before announcing — curl the URL and confirm 200 before posting.
• Workers need DNS — proxied A record (use 192.0.2.1 dummy IP).
• http2 > quic for cloudflared tunnels.
• Quick tunnels break HTML POST — use fetch() for form submissions.
• VPN breaks tunnels — disconnect Mullvad before creating tunnels.
• Never use quick tunnels for production — use permanent named tunnels.

Upwork

• Upwork blocks off-platform comms in proposals — NEVER mention Discord/email/phone before contract.
• Rate increase field is REQUIRED on proposals — select "Never."
• Full workflow: op signin → search by URL → browser navigate → DOM snapshots → fill form → submit. See lessons-archive.md #39 for full steps.

1Password / Auth

• Search by URL not title: op item list --format json | jq ... test("SERVICENAME")
• Every op command triggers auth dialog — run op in background, approve with Tab+Tab+Enter via Peekaboo.

Computer Use

• Right tool for the right layer: Web → browser tool (DOM). Native apps → Peekaboo. System dialogs → AppleScript. CLI → exec. Creds → op.
• Don't over-engineer — see, click, type, verify. Don't reach for DevTools/CDP unless simple approach fails.
• Browser DOM snapshots > screenshots for web automation.
• Don't ask Jake to do things I can do myself — I have Peekaboo, 1Password CLI, browser tool, shell, AppleScript.

Cron Jobs

• Format: schedule: {kind: "cron", expr: "..."}, payload: {kind: "systemEvent", text: "..."}

Infrastructure

• ALWAYS validate config keys before config.patch — an invalid key (e.g. gateway.hooks) can crash the gateway on every restart attempt, requiring manual fix. Use config.schema to check valid keys first.
• Gateway logs: /tmp/clawdbot/ not ~/.clawdbot/logs/
• tmux death kills auto-restart — check tmux list-sessions when diagnosing downtime.
• API tokens go in gateway config env.vars via config.patch, not just .env files.
• Never save secrets in memory/*.md — use .env.local (gitignored).

Image Gen

• Jake's preferred style: chibi/kawaii anime. Be VERY specific about appearance in first prompt.

Sub-agents

• Always verify output — find ... | wc -l. Never trust the narrative.
• Single-purpose > multi-purpose — one clear deliverable per agent.
• 10min too short for full builds — use 900s for full MCP servers, 600s for focused tasks.