Skills Skill Testing

Testing OpenClaw Skills

Thorough testing ensures your skill behaves correctly, handles edge cases, and does not introduce security vulnerabilities. OpenClaw provides built-in testing tools to validate skills before deployment.

Local Testing

Test a skill in isolation before publishing:

# Run skill in test mode (sandboxed, verbose logging)
openclaw skill test ./my-skill

# Test with specific input
openclaw skill test ./my-skill --input "Generate today's standup report"

# Test with mock data
openclaw skill test ./my-skill --mock-data ./test-fixtures/

Writing Test Cases

Create a tests/ directory in your skill with test scenarios:

my-skill/
  SKILL.md
  tests/
    test-basic.md      # Basic functionality test
    test-edge-cases.md  # Edge case scenarios
    test-errors.md      # Error handling verification

Integration Testing

Test how your skill interacts with the broader OpenClaw ecosystem:

• Verify the skill activates correctly when triggered by natural language
• Test with different LLM providers to ensure compatibility
• Verify permission boundaries are enforced correctly
• Test concurrent execution if the skill may run simultaneously

Continuous Testing

For skills that depend on external APIs or data sources, set up periodic testing to catch breaking changes:

# Schedule weekly skill health checks
openclaw skill schedule-test my-skill --interval weekly --notify email