Build an OpenClaw Skill That Makes Money on ClawHub

ClawHub's monetisation system allows skill creators to earn revenue from their work. The most popular skills generate meaningful passive income — some creators report $500–$3,000/month from a single well-maintained skill. This guide walks through building a skill from scratch, publishing it, and setting it up to earn.

Understanding the SKILL.md Format

Every skill starts with a SKILL.md file. This is the contract between your skill and OpenClaw — it defines what tools the agent can call, how to call them, and what each tool does.

# My Skill Name

## Description
Brief description of what this skill does.

## Tools

### tool_name
Description of what this tool does and when to use it.

**Parameters:**
- `param1` (string, required): What this parameter does
- `param2` (integer, optional): Default: 10. What this controls

**Returns:** Description of the return value

**Example:** "Do X with Y parameter set to Z"

Directory Structure

my-skill/
  SKILL.md          # Tool definitions and documentation
  skill.json        # Metadata: name, version, author, pricing
  handlers/
    tool_name.py    # Implementation for each tool
  tests/
    test_tool.py    # Required for ClawHub verification
  README.md         # User-facing documentation

skill.json Example

{
  "id": "my-skill-unique-id",
  "name": "My Skill",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "author": "your-clawhub-username",
  "description": "Short description for the marketplace",
  "pricing": {
    "model": "one_time",
    "amount": 4.99
  },
  "permissions": ["network:outbound"],
  "min_openclaw_version": "1.8.0"
}

Pricing models available: free, one_time, subscription (monthly/annual), usage_based.

Building a Simple Example Skill

Here's a minimal working skill — a timezone converter:

SKILL.md:

# World Clock Pro

## Tools

### convert_timezone
Convert a time from one timezone to another.

**Parameters:**
- `time` (string, required): Time in ISO 8601 format or natural language
- `from_tz` (string, required): Source timezone (e.g., "America/New_York")  
- `to_tz` (string, required): Target timezone (e.g., "Asia/Tokyo")

handlers/convert_timezone.py:

from datetime import datetime
import pytz

def handle(params):
    from_zone = pytz.timezone(params['from_tz'])
    to_zone = pytz.timezone(params['to_tz'])
    # Parse and convert...
    return {"converted_time": str(result), "timezone": params['to_tz']}

What Makes a Skill Successful on ClawHub

Clear purpose: Skills that do one thing well outperform bloated multi-tools. The best-selling skills solve a specific, frequent pain point.

Reliable execution: Skills that fail intermittently get negative reviews quickly. Test extensively before publishing.

Good documentation: SKILL.md quality directly affects how well OpenClaw uses your skill. Unclear descriptions lead to poor agent behaviour, which leads to refund requests.

Active maintenance: Skills updated in the last 3 months rank higher in ClawHub search. Update for new OpenClaw versions promptly.

Security compliance: ClawHub's scanner checks for malicious patterns. Any skill flagged by the scanner is removed immediately and the creator account suspended.

Publishing to ClawHub

1. Create a ClawHub creator account at clawhub.io/creators
2. Run clawhub validate ./my-skill/ to check for issues
3. Run clawhub submit ./my-skill/ to submit for review
4. ClawHub reviews take 2–5 business days for new skills
5. After approval, set your pricing and publish

Earnings

ClawHub takes a 20% platform fee. You receive 80% of revenue. Payments are processed monthly via Stripe. Revenue depends heavily on pricing model:

• Free skills build your reputation and drive traffic to paid skills
• One-time purchases ($2–$10) have the highest conversion rate
• Subscriptions ($2–$5/month) generate reliable recurring revenue for skills with ongoing value

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need programming experience to build a skill?

Basic Python or JavaScript knowledge is sufficient for most skills. Complex skills requiring external API integrations need more experience.

How do I handle API keys in my skill?

Never hardcode API keys. ClawHub's skill runtime provides a secure credential store — prompt users to provide their own keys during installation using the credentials field in skill.json.