anthropic-token-refresh - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: anthropic-token-refresh description: Automatically refresh Anthropic Claude setup-token before expiration using browser automation. Use when: (1) Setting up auto token refresh for Claude Max/Pro subscription, (2) Token keeps expiring and causing OpenClaw to stop responding, (3) Want to maintain continuous Claude API access without manual intervention.

Anthropic Token Auto-Refresh Skill

This skill enables fully automatic refresh of Anthropic Claude setup-token using browser automation, ensuring your OpenClaw never goes offline due to token expiration.

Problem

Claude setup-token (used for Max/Pro subscriptions) expires periodically and requires manual refresh:

Run claude setup-token
Browser opens authorization page
Click "Authorize" button
Copy verification code
Paste into CLI
Update OpenClaw config

This skill automates the entire process!

Solution Overview

Daily Check → Token expires in < 30 days?
                    ↓ Yes
         Start `claude setup-token`
                    ↓
         Browser opens auth URL
                    ↓
         Auto-click "Authorize" button
                    ↓
         Extract verification code
                    ↓
         Auto-input code to CLI
                    ↓
         Get new token
                    ↓
         Update auth-profiles.json
                    ↓
         ✅ Token refreshed!

Prerequisites

Claude CLI installed and logged in
```
claude --version
```
OpenClaw browser profile logged into Claude
- Run: openclaw browser start --profile openclaw
- Navigate to https://claude.ai and log in
- This is a one-time setup
jq installed (for JSON processing)
```
brew install jq
```

Setup

Step 1: One-time Browser Login

The OpenClaw browser needs to be logged into Claude (separate from your regular browser):

# Start OpenClaw browser
openclaw browser start --profile openclaw

# Navigate to Claude login (via OpenClaw or manually)
# Log in with your Claude account

Step 2: Set Up Cron Jobs

Create two scheduled tasks:

1. Token Refresh Check (Daily)

{
  "name": "token-refresh-check",
  "schedule": {"kind": "every", "everyMs": 86400000},
  "payload": {
    "kind": "systemEvent",
    "text": "Token refresh check: Check token expiry, if < 30 days remaining, execute auto-refresh flow"
  },
  "sessionTarget": "main"
}

2. Claude Session Keep-Alive (Every 3 Days)

{
  "name": "claude-session-keepalive",
  "schedule": {"kind": "every", "everyMs": 259200000},
  "payload": {
    "kind": "systemEvent",
    "text": "Claude login keepalive: Visit https://claude.ai in OpenClaw browser to maintain login session"
  },
  "sessionTarget": "main"
}

Auto-Refresh Flow (For Agent)

When triggered, the agent should execute this flow:

1. Check Token Expiry

cat ~/.openclaw/agents/main/agent/auth-profiles.json | jq '.profiles["anthropic:setup-token"].expires'

Calculate days remaining:

EXPIRES=$(cat ~/.openclaw/agents/main/agent/auth-profiles.json | jq -r '.profiles["anthropic:setup-token"].expires')
NOW_MS=$(($(date +%s) * 1000))
DAYS_LEFT=$(( ($EXPIRES - $NOW_MS) / 1000 / 60 / 60 / 24 ))
echo "Days left: $DAYS_LEFT"

If DAYS_LEFT > 30, skip refresh.

2. Start Token Generation

# Run in PTY mode to capture output
claude setup-token

3. Extract Auth URL

From the CLI output, extract the authorization URL:

https://claude.ai/oauth/authorize?code=true&client_id=...

4. Browser Automation

// Navigate to auth URL
browser.navigate(authUrl, {profile: "openclaw"})

// Wait for page load, take snapshot
browser.snapshot()

// Find and click "Authorize" button (usually ref like "e24")
browser.act({kind: "click", ref: "<authorize-button-ref>"})

// Take snapshot to get verification code
browser.snapshot()
// Code appears in format: "DYPxv9k9MyJ8lIW0G5AWYdbc..."

5. Input Verification Code

# Write code to the PTY session
process.write(sessionId, verificationCode + "\n")

6. Extract New Token

From CLI output, extract token:

sk-ant-oat01-XXXXX...

7. Update Config

NEW_TOKEN="sk-ant-oat01-..."
EXPIRES=$(($(date +%s) * 1000 + 365 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000))

cat ~/.openclaw/agents/main/agent/auth-profiles.json | \
  jq --arg token "$NEW_TOKEN" --argjson expires "$EXPIRES" \
  '.profiles["anthropic:setup-token"].token = $token | .profiles["anthropic:setup-token"].expires = $expires' \
  > /tmp/auth.tmp && mv /tmp/auth.tmp ~/.openclaw/agents/main/agent/auth-profiles.json

8. Verify

openclaw models status | grep "anthropic:setup-token"

Session Keep-Alive

To prevent Claude login from expiring in the OpenClaw browser:

// Every 3 days, visit Claude
browser.navigate("https://claude.ai", {profile: "openclaw"})
// Wait for page load
browser.snapshot()
// Verify logged in (should see user menu, not login page)

Troubleshooting

"Login page instead of authorize page"

The OpenClaw browser is not logged into Claude. Log in manually once.

"Authorize button not found"

Page structure may have changed. Take a snapshot and find the correct button reference.

"Token refresh failed"

Check Claude CLI: claude --version
Check browser: openclaw browser status --profile openclaw
Manual refresh: claude setup-token

"Session expired in OpenClaw browser"

Run the keep-alive task more frequently, or log in again.

Files

Auth Profile Location

~/.openclaw/agents/main/agent/auth-profiles.json

Browser Data Location

~/.openclaw/browser/openclaw/user-data/

Security Notes

Tokens are stored locally in auth-profiles.json
OpenClaw browser profile is isolated from your main browser
No credentials are sent to third parties
The refresh process happens entirely on your local machine