proactive-agent
Transform AI agents from task-followers into proactive partners that anticipate needs and continuously improve. Includes WAL Protocol, Working Buffer, Autonomous Crons, and battle-tested patterns.
- Installs
- 549
- Last 24h
- —
- Trending rank
- —
- Security
- Not audited
Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://skills.volces.com --skill proactive-agent- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads proactive-agent automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
Proactive Agent Skill
Transform AI agents from task-followers into proactive partners that anticipate needs and continuously improve.
When to Use
✅ USE this skill when:
- "Make the agent more proactive"
- "Automate routine checks"
- "Implement memory persistence"
- "Schedule automated tasks"
- "Build self-improving agents"
Core Architecture
1. WAL Protocol (Write-Ahead Logging)
- Purpose: Preserve critical state and recover from context loss
- Components:
SESSION-STATE.md- Active working memory (current task)working-buffer.md- Danger zone logMEMORY.md- Long-term curated memory
2. Working Buffer
- Captures every exchange in the "danger zone"
- Prevents loss of critical context during session restarts
- Automatically compacts and archives important information
3. Autonomous vs Prompted Crons
- Autonomous Crons: Scheduled, context-aware automation
- Prompted Crons: User-triggered scheduled tasks
- Heartbeats: Periodic proactive checks
Implementation Patterns
Memory Architecture
workspace/
├── MEMORY.md # Long-term curated memory
├── memory/
│ └── YYYY-MM-DD.md # Daily raw logs
├── SESSION-STATE.md # Active working memory
└── working-buffer.md # Danger zone log
WAL Protocol Workflow
- Capture: Log all critical exchanges to working buffer
- Compact: Periodically review and extract key insights
- Curate: Move important information to MEMORY.md
- Recover: Restore state from logs after restart
Proactive Behaviors
1. Heartbeat Checks
# Check every 30 minutes
- Email inbox for urgent messages
- Calendar for upcoming events
- Weather for relevant conditions
- System status and health
2. Autonomous Crons
# Daily maintenance
- Memory compaction and cleanup
- File organization
- Backup verification
# Weekly tasks
- Skill updates check
- Documentation review
- Performance optimization
3. Context-Aware Automation
- Detect patterns in user requests
- Anticipate follow-up needs
- Suggest relevant actions
Configuration
Basic Setup
- Create memory directory structure
- Set up SESSION-STATE.md template
- Configure heartbeat intervals
- Define autonomous cron schedules
Advanced Configuration
{
"proactive": {
"heartbeatInterval": 1800,
"autonomousCrons": {
"daily": ["08:00", "20:00"],
"weekly": ["Monday 09:00"]
},
"memory": {
"compactionThreshold": 1000,
"retentionDays": 30
}
}
}
Usage Examples
1. Implementing WAL Protocol
# SESSION-STATE.md Template
## Current Task
- Task: [Brief description]
- Started: [Timestamp]
- Status: [In Progress/Completed/Failed]
## Critical Details
- [Key information needed for recovery]
## Next Steps
- [Immediate actions]
- [Pending decisions]
2. Setting Up Heartbeats
# HEARTBEAT.md Template
# Check every 30 minutes
## Email Checks
- Check for urgent unread messages
- Flag important notifications
## Calendar Checks
- Upcoming events in next 2 hours
- Daily schedule overview
## System Checks
- OpenClaw gateway status
- Skill availability
- Memory usage
3. Creating Autonomous Crons
# Create cron job for daily maintenance
0 8 * * * openclaw run --task "daily-maintenance"
0 20 * * * openclaw run --task "evening-review"
# Weekly optimization
0 9 * * 1 openclaw run --task "weekly-optimization"
Best Practices
1. Memory Management
- Daily: Review and compact working buffer
- Weekly: Curate MEMORY.md from daily logs
- Monthly: Archive and cleanup old files
2. Proactive Behavior
- Anticipate: Look for patterns in requests
- Suggest: Offer relevant next steps
- Automate: Create crons for repetitive tasks
3. Error Recovery
- Log everything: Critical details to working buffer
- Graceful degradation: Fallback when components fail
- Self-healing: Automatic recovery from errors
Version History
Proactive Agent 1.0
- Basic WAL Protocol implementation
- Working buffer foundation
- Simple heartbeat checks
Proactive Agent 2.0
- Enhanced memory architecture
- Autonomous cron system
- Context-aware automation
Proactive Agent 4.0
- Advanced pattern recognition
- Self-improvement mechanisms
- Multi-agent coordination
Related Skills
healthcheck- System security and healthskill-creator- Create new skillscron-manager- Schedule managementmemory-manager- Memory optimization
Credits
Created by Hal 9001 (@halthelobster) - an AI agent who actually uses these patterns daily.
Part of the Hal Stack ecosystem for building robust, proactive AI agents.
FAQ
What does the proactive-agent skill do?
Transform AI agents from task-followers into proactive partners that anticipate needs and continuously improve. Includes WAL Protocol, Working Buffer, Autonomous Crons, and battle-tested patterns.
How do I install proactive-agent?
Run npx skills add https://skills.volces.com --skill proactive-agent in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/proactive-agent/ (personal) or .claude/skills/proactive-agent/ (project).
Which AI agents can use proactive-agent?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is proactive-agent safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains proactive-agent?
It is published by skills.volces.com in skills.volces.com. It has 549 recorded installs.
More from skills.volces.com
byted-web-search
skills.volces.com
火山引擎豆包搜索 API（原联网搜索/融合信息搜索），返回网页/图片结果。联网搜索场景优先使用本 skill。触发词包括：豆包搜索、查/搜/找、真的吗/靠谱吗/确认/核实、最近/今天/最新/近期、出处/来源/链接、Agent Plan、融合信息搜索、Harness、有什么/有哪些/推荐、价格/政策/汇率/行情、对比/区别/哪个好、听说/据说/不太确定、热搜/热门/火、帮我看/了解一下、求证/辟谣、值不值得/该不该。任务依赖在线事实或时效性时优先使用。若回答可能依赖外部事实，优先调用本 skill 再作答。
byted-supabase
skills.volces.com
火山引擎 Supabase . 管理 AIDAP Supabase 项目、工作区、数据库、分支、Auth、Realtime、Edge Functions、Storage、API Keys、SQL、Schema 变更、TypeScript 类型生成和 MCP 集成。
find-skills
skills.volces.com
Helps users discover and install agent skills when they ask questions like "how do I do X", "find a skill for X", "is there a skill that can...", or express interest in extending capabilities. This skill should be used when the user is looking for functionality that might exist as an installable skill.
byted-util-ark-cua
skills.volces.com
Delegate broad computer-use tasks to ARK CUA for Volcengine AgentPlan users through an authenticated cloud desktop, and synchronize explicit credentials to a caller-owned CUA through Credential Agent. Use for web or desktop-app operation, file workflows, reusable task contexts, artifacts, temporary CUA App URLs, desktop shutdown/start/recovery, inspection, or exact browser, environment, secret, Credential Set, and managed-file credential setup/sync/status/reset. Do not use when local reasoning or a purpose-built local/API tool can complete the request more directly.
agent-browser
skills.volces.com
Headless browser automation CLI optimized for AI agents with accessibility tree snapshots and ref-based element selection
self-improving-agent
skills.volces.com
AI自我改进与记忆系统 - 解决'同类错误反复犯、用户纠正不长记性'的痛点。自动捕获错误、用户纠正、最佳实践，并转化为长期记忆。
Popular ai & agents skills
google-agents-cli-publish
google/agents-cli
This skill should be used when the user wants to "publish an agent", "publish my ADK agent", "register an agent with Gemini", "publish to Gemini" (formerly Gemini Enterprise), or needs guidance on the agents-cli publish gemini command. Also use when the user wants to "manage agents in Agent Registry", "list/update/delete registered agents", or "register an MCP server". Covers ADK vs A2A registration modes, programmatic and interactive usage, flag reference, auto-detection from deployment metadata, Agent Registry fleet management, and troubleshooting. Part of the agents-cli skills suite. Do NOT use for deployment (use google-agents-cli-deploy).
google-agents-cli-eval
google/agents-cli
This skill should be used when the user wants to "run an evaluation", "evaluate my agent", "evaluate my ADK agent", "write an eval dataset", "analyze eval failures", "compare eval results", "optimize agent", or needs guidance on the Gemini platform eval methodology and the Quality Flywheel. Covers eval metrics, dataset schema, LLM-as-judge scoring, and common failure causes. Applies to any agents-cli project, whatever framework the agent is written in. Do NOT use for agent API code patterns (ADK: use google-agents-cli-adk-code), deployment (use google-agents-cli-deploy), or project scaffolding (use google-agents-cli-scaffold).
skill-creator
anthropics/skills
Create new skills, modify and improve existing skills, and measure skill performance. Use when users want to create a skill from scratch, edit, or optimize an existing skill, run evals to test a skill, benchmark skill performance with variance analysis, or optimize a skill's description for better triggering accuracy.
codex-pet
prime-skills/runcomfy-agent-skills
Codex Pet generator on RunComfy. Build a Codex-compatible Codex Pet spritesheet.webp + pet.json from a single reference image, drop it into ${CODEXHOME:-$HOME/.codex}/pets/ / and Codex picks it up as a custom Codex Pet next to the 8 built-ins. This skill produces the exact Codex Pet atlas Codex expects (1536x1872 PNG/WebP, 8 cols x 9 rows, 192x208 cells, 9 animation states — idle, running-right, running-left, waving, jumping, failed, waiting, running, review). Calls OpenAI GPT Image 2 edit ONCE via the local RunComfy CLI as runcomfy run openai/gpt-image-2/edit to produce a canonical Codex Pet pose, then assembles all 9 animation rows programmatically with ImageMagick micro-transforms — no Codex Pro, no $imagegen, no OPENAIAPIKEY required, only RUNCOMFYTOKEN. Triggers on "codex pet", "create codex pet", "make codex pet", "hatch codex pet", "/hatch image", "desktop pet codex", "codex pets", "spritesheet.webp", or any explicit ask to build a custom pet for OpenAI Codex.
full-output-enforcement
leonxlnx/taste-skill
Overrides default LLM truncation behavior. Enforces complete code generation, bans placeholder patterns, and handles token-limit splits cleanly. Apply to any task requiring exhaustive, unabridged output.
executing-plans
obra/superpowers
Use when executing an implementation plan in the current session as the implementer yourself — your human partner chose inline execution, or no subagent tool is available