Skill Usage Setup

Install and configure the OpenClaw Skill Usage plugin.

This skill performs three kinds of actions as part of its normal purpose:

installs an external npm package (openclaw-skill-usage)
restarts the OpenClaw Gateway so the plugin can load
optionally enables cloud-backed usage analytics by writing usage metadata to a TiDB Cloud Zero instance

Use it only when the user explicitly wants skill-usage analytics and understands the local-vs-cloud tradeoff.

After setup, users can:

see which skills are actually being used
rank skills for 1d, 7d, 30d, and all
break usage down by installation, agent, and channel account
optionally join multiple OpenClaw installations into one shared leaderboard

Safety / consent rules

Installing this plugin is an external package installation.
Restarting the gateway is a privileged local operation.
Shared usage-space setup writes usage metadata to a TiDB Cloud Zero backend.
Do not do cloud/shared setup silently; only continue if the user explicitly wants it.
If the user only wants local analytics, stop after install/restart/verify and do not push them into join/shared setup.

Trigger phrases

Use this skill when the user expresses intent to install, enable, or configure skill usage analytics.

Common triggers include:

"install skill usage"
"setup skill usage"
"add usage analytics"
"show which skills are used most"
"enable /skillusage"
"setup shared skill leaderboard"
"track skill usage across machines"

When to use this skill

Use this skill when the user wants to:

install the openclaw-skill-usage plugin
enable /skillusage commands
use the skill_usage_stats tool from agents
check whether skill usage is working at all after install
run basic usage queries such as top or status
understand local-only vs shared usage spaces
generate a join token for another installation
connect another installation into the same usage space

This skill is especially appropriate when the user is still in the setup / enablement / verification phase and has not yet fully established the plugin on their machine.

When NOT to use this skill

Do not use this skill for:

deep analysis of already-working usage data when no setup or verification help is needed
advanced troubleshooting unrelated to installing, enabling, restarting, verifying, or joining skill usage
general OpenClaw gateway debugging outside the scope of this plugin

What gets installed

This setup installs the npm package:

openclaw plugins install openclaw-skill-usage

This provides:

/skillusage slash commands
the skill_usage_stats tool
local skill usage tracking
optional TiDB Cloud Zero sync for shared usage spaces

Source repository:

https://github.com/lucifinil/openclaw-skill-usage

Privacy and data flow

By default, the plugin is useful locally and can still answer top / status with local-only data.

When cloud sync is used, the remote destination is a TiDB Cloud Zero instance created for the user's usage space. The plugin's /skillusage status output shows the cloud instance id and a claim URL for that instance.

That claim URL matters: the user can use it to claim the TiDB Cloud Zero instance into their own TiDB Cloud account, making the backend directly visible and controllable from their side rather than remaining an opaque shared service.

Cloud-backed analytics are part of the plugin's purpose, so the agent should describe them plainly instead of hiding them. The plugin is designed to sync usage metadata, not conversation content, so there should be no sensitive data. The intended synced fields are limited to:

skill names
installation labels
agent labels
channel labels
timestamps, status, and latency

The plugin does not sync:

message bodies or conversation text
prompts or completions
SKILL.md contents
API keys, auth tokens, cookies, or other secrets

Definition of Done

This task is not complete until all of the following are true:

the plugin is installed
the OpenClaw Gateway has been restarted
/skillusage status works
/skillusage top 7d works
if the user wanted cross-machine sharing, they were shown how to use /skillusage join-token and /skillusage join <token>

Install flow

Step 1 — Install plugin

Run:

openclaw plugins install openclaw-skill-usage

If the user is working from a local cloned repo instead of npm, a development install may use:

openclaw plugins install --link

But prefer the published npm package for normal setup.

Step 2 — Restart Gateway

Run:

openclaw gateway restart

Before restarting, tell the user clearly that the gateway will restart and they may need to wait about a minute before testing commands.

Step 3 — Verify install

Check:

/skillusage status
/skillusage top 7d

A successful install should return usable output rather than a missing-command or plugin-load error.

Example output

Compact top output:

skill: weather (37)
- agent: elon 26 | main 10 | tim 1
- channel: disc/el 26 | wa 6 | tim 2 | unknown 3
=====================================
skill: skill-vetter (12)
- agent: main 9 | tim 2 | elon 1
- channel: wa 7 | disc/el 3 | tim 1 | unknown 1
=====================================
skill: github (8)
- agent: elon 6 | main 1 | unknown 1
- channel: disc/el 6 | wa 1 | unknown 1

Status output:

Skill usage status:
data source: cloud-synced usage space
scope: current usage space
usage space: 7f2c... (joined)
this installation: Mac-mini
database: openclaw_skill_usage
cloud instance: zero_abc123
expires at: 2026-04-06T10:00:00.000Z
claim URL: https://...
synced totals: 38 triggers, 45 attempts
last observed at: 2026-03-08T07:40:00.000Z
last cloud sync: 2026-03-08T07:40:02.000Z
pending local records: 0
last sync error: none
metadata sent: skill id/name, installation id/label, channel account key/label/platform, agent id, routing/session identifiers, timestamps, status, latency

Join / shared usage spaces

By default, one installation starts in its own local usage space.

Only proceed with shared usage-space setup if the user explicitly wants cross-machine sharing and understands that usage metadata will be written to the TiDB Cloud Zero instance for that usage space.

If the user wants to share usage across multiple installations:

On installation 1

/skillusage join-token

On installation 2

/skillusage join <token>

After join, top can show multiple installation blocks in one shared leaderboard.

Notes for the agent

Prefer npm installation for regular users.
Mention that the plugin is useful even offline because local-only fallback still works.
If the user asks about privacy, explain the exact remote destination (TiDB Cloud Zero) and the difference between local-only mode and cloud/shared mode.
Be explicit that message content, prompts, completions, and secrets are not the intended synced payload; only usage metadata is.
Still note that channel-account labels, routing identifiers, and installation labels may be sensitive metadata for some operators.
If the user asks about installation from source, explain that local linked installs are mainly for development.

Example agent actions

"Install skill usage"
- install openclaw-skill-usage
- restart gateway
- run /skillusage status
- explain whether the result is local-only or cloud-synced
"Check if skill usage is working"
- run /skillusage status
- run /skillusage top 7d
- confirm that the plugin is loaded and returning usable analytics output
"Show my top skills"
- if setup is not complete yet, finish install/restart/verify first
- then run /skillusage top 7d or use skill_usage_stats
- explain the returned ranking in plain language
"Set up a shared leaderboard across two machines"
- install on both machines
- restart gateway on both machines
- run /skillusage join-token on machine 1
- run /skillusage join <token> on machine 2
- verify the joined result with /skillusage status and /skillusage top 7d
"Enable /skillusage"
- install plugin
- restart gateway
- confirm slash commands work
- demonstrate status and top