Hour Meter (TARDIS on ClawHub)

Life event tracker with three modes, milestone notifications, and tamper-evident verification.

> **ClawHub Note:** This skill is published as **TARDIS** on ClawHub after the original `hour-meter` listing was lost due to a repository sync issue.

Three Modes

COUNT UP — Time since an event

```bash

Quit smoking tracker

meter.py create smoke-free --start "2025-06-15T08:00:00Z" -d "Last cigarette"

meter.py milestone smoke-free -t hours -v 720 -m "🎉 30 days smoke-free!"

meter.py lock smoke-free # → Gives you paper code to save

```

COUNT DOWN — Time until an event

```bash

Baby due date

meter.py create baby --start "2026-01-15" --end "2026-10-15" --mode down -d "Baby arriving!"

meter.py milestone baby -t percent -v 33 -m "👶 First trimester complete!"

```

COUNT BETWEEN — Journey from start to end

```bash

Career span

meter.py create career --start "1998-05-15" --end "2038-05-15" -d "40-year career"

meter.py milestone career -t percent -v 50 -m "📊 Halfway through career!"

meter.py career --meter career --rate 85 --raise-pct 2.5

```

Tamper-Evident Persistence

When you lock a meter, you get a **paper code** — a short, checksummed code you can write on paper:

```

╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗

║ PAPER CODE (write this down): ║

║ 318B-3229-C523-2F9C-V ║

╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

```

Four Ways to Save (Non-Technical)

**1️⃣ PAPER** — Write the code on paper/sticky note

20 characters with dashes, easy to copy

Built-in checksum catches typos when verifying

Keep in wallet, safe, or taped to equipment

**2️⃣ PHOTO** — Screenshot or photograph the lock screen

Store in camera roll, cloud photos

Visual backup, no typing required

**3️⃣ WITNESS FILE** — Auto-saved to `~/.openclaw/meter-witness.txt`

Append-only log of all locked meters

Sync folder to Dropbox/iCloud/Google Drive for cloud backup

Contains paper code + full hash + timestamp

**4️⃣ EMAIL TO SELF** — Click the mailto: link or copy the one-liner

Opens your email client with pre-filled subject and body

Or copy the compact message: `🔒 my-meter | Code: XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-C | Locked: 2026-02-02`

Send to yourself, search inbox later to verify

**5️⃣ SENDGRID EMAIL** — Auto-send verification email on lock

```bash

Set your SendGrid API key

export SENDGRID_API_KEY=SG.xxxxx

export [email protected]

Lock and email in one command

meter.py lock my-meter --email [email protected]

```

Sends a beautifully formatted HTML email with paper code

Requires a verified sender in SendGrid (see SendGrid docs)

Great for automated workflows

Verifying Later

```bash

With paper code (catches typos!)

meter.py verify my-meter "318B-3229-C523-2F9C-V"

→ ✅ VERIFIED! Paper code matches.

→ ⚠️ CHECKSUM ERROR! (if you have a typo)

→ ❌ MISMATCH! (if tampered)

```

Milestones

```bash

meter.py milestone <name> --type hours --value 1000 --message "1000 hours!"

meter.py milestone <name> --type percent --value 50 --message "Halfway!"

meter.py check-milestones # JSON output for automation

```

Email Milestone Notifications (v1.3.0)

Get milestone notifications sent directly to your email:

```bash

Create meter with email notifications

meter.py create my-meter \

--notify-email [email protected] \

--from-email [email protected] \

-d "My tracked event"

Add milestones as usual

meter.py milestone my-meter -t hours -v 24 -m "🎉 24 hours complete!"

When check-milestones runs and a milestone fires, email is sent automatically

meter.py check-milestones

→ Triggers milestone AND sends email notification

```

**Email includes:**

🎯 Milestone message

⏱️ Current elapsed time

📝 Meter description

Requires `SENDGRID_API_KEY` environment variable.

Milestone Notifications: Heartbeat vs Cron

**Recommended: HEARTBEAT** (~30 min resolution)

Add to `HEARTBEAT.md`: `Run meter.py check-milestones and notify triggered`

Batches with other periodic checks

Cost-efficient: shares token usage with other heartbeat tasks

Good for most use cases (quit tracking, career milestones, etc.)

ACTION: Triggers (Agent Automation)

Prefix milestone messages with `ACTION:` to trigger agent execution instead of just posting:

```bash

Just posts the message

meter.py milestone my-meter -t hours -v 24 -m "🎉 24 hours complete!"

Triggers agent to EXECUTE the instruction

meter.py milestone my-meter -t hours -v 24 -m "ACTION: Check the weather and post a summary"

```

Configure in HEARTBEAT.md:

```markdown

If message starts with "ACTION:", execute it as an instruction

Otherwise, post the message to the configured channel

```

**Alternative: CRON** (precise timing)

Use when exact timing matters (e.g., countdown to event)

⚠️ **Cost warning:** Cron at 1-minute intervals = 1,440 API calls/day = expensive!

If using cron, keep intervals ≥15 minutes to manage costs

Best for one-shot reminders, not continuous monitoring

**Rule of thumb:** If 30-minute resolution is acceptable, use heartbeat. Save cron for precision timing.

Quick Reference

```bash

meter.py create <name> [--start T] [--end T] [--mode up|down|between] [-d DESC]

meter.py lock <name> # Seal + get paper code

meter.py verify <name> <code> # Verify paper code

meter.py check <name> # Status + progress

meter.py milestone <name> -t hours|percent -v N -m "..."

meter.py check-milestones # All milestones (JSON)

meter.py witness [--show] [--path] # Witness file

meter.py list # All meters

meter.py career [--meter M] [--rate R] [--raise-pct P]

meter.py export [name] # JSON export

```

SendGrid Email Webhook Server

Receive real-time notifications when recipients open, click, bounce, or unsubscribe from your meter verification emails.

Setup

```bash

Start webhook server with Discord webhook (recommended)

python sendgrid_webhook.py --port 8089 --discord-webhook https://discord.com/api/webhooks/xxx/yyy

Or process events manually (for agent to post)

python sendgrid_webhook.py --process-events

python sendgrid_webhook.py --process-events --json

```

Discord Webhook Setup (Recommended)

1. In your Discord channel, go to **Settings > Integrations > Webhooks**

2. Click **New Webhook**, copy the URL

3. Pass to `--discord-webhook` or set `DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL` env var

SendGrid Setup

1. Go to **SendGrid > Settings > Mail Settings > Event Webhook**

2. Click **"Create new webhook"** (or edit existing)

3. Set HTTP POST URL to: `https://your-domain.com/webhooks/sendgrid`

4. Select all event types under **Actions to be posted**:

- **Engagement data:** Opened, Clicked, Unsubscribed, Spam Reports, Group Unsubscribes, Group Resubscribes

- **Deliverability Data:** Processed, Dropped, Deferred, Bounced, Delivered

- **Account Data:** Account Status Change

5. Click **"Test Integration"** to verify - this fires all event types to your webhook

6. **Important:** Click **Save** to enable the webhook!

7. (Optional) Enable **Signed Event Webhook** for security and set `SENDGRID_WEBHOOK_PUBLIC_KEY`

![SendGrid Webhook Setup](docs/sendgrid-webhook-setup.png)

Event Types

| Event | Emoji | Description |

|-------|-------|-------------|

| delivered | ✅ | Email reached recipient |

| open | 👀 | Recipient opened email |

| click | 🔗 | Recipient clicked a link |

| bounce | ⚠️ | Email bounced |

| unsubscribe | 🔕 | Recipient unsubscribed |

| spamreport | 🚨 | Marked as spam |

Environment Variables

```bash

SENDGRID_WEBHOOK_PUBLIC_KEY # For signature verification (optional)

SENDGRID_WEBHOOK_MAX_AGE_SECONDS # Max timestamp age (default: 300)

WEBHOOK_PORT # Server port (default: 8089)

DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL # Discord webhook URL

WEBHOOK_LOG_FILE # Log file path

```

The 80,000 Hours Concept

Career as finite inventory: 40 years × 2,000 hrs/year = 80,000 hours.

```bash

meter.py career --hours-worked 56000 --rate 85 --raise-pct 2.5

→ 12.3 years remaining, $2.4M earning potential

```

hour-meter

Safety Concern

Hour Meter (TARDIS on ClawHub)

Three Modes

COUNT UP — Time since an event

Quit smoking tracker

COUNT DOWN — Time until an event

Baby due date

COUNT BETWEEN — Journey from start to end

Career span

Tamper-Evident Persistence

Four Ways to Save (Non-Technical)

Set your SendGrid API key

Lock and email in one command

Verifying Later

With paper code (catches typos!)

→ ✅ VERIFIED! Paper code matches.

→ ⚠️ CHECKSUM ERROR! (if you have a typo)

→ ❌ MISMATCH! (if tampered)

Milestones

Email Milestone Notifications (v1.3.0)

Create meter with email notifications

Add milestones as usual

When check-milestones runs and a milestone fires, email is sent automatically

→ Triggers milestone AND sends email notification

Milestone Notifications: Heartbeat vs Cron

ACTION: Triggers (Agent Automation)

Just posts the message

Triggers agent to EXECUTE the instruction

Quick Reference

SendGrid Email Webhook Server

Setup

Start webhook server with Discord webhook (recommended)

Or process events manually (for agent to post)

Discord Webhook Setup (Recommended)

SendGrid Setup

Event Types

Environment Variables

The 80,000 Hours Concept

→ 12.3 years remaining, $2.4M earning potential

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