Improve agent instructions and documentation

- Clarify when NOT to use message tool (simple acknowledgments, normal conversation)
- Add guidance for natural conversational responses
- Update cron tool documentation with better examples
- Improve scheduled tasks documentation in AGENTS.md

nanobot/agent/context.py

@@ -102,8 +102,10 @@ Your workspace is at: {workspace_path}
 - Custom skills: {workspace_path}/skills/{{skill-name}}/SKILL.md
 
 IMPORTANT: When responding to direct questions or conversations, reply directly with your text response.
-Only use the 'message' tool when you need to send a message to a specific chat channel (like WhatsApp).
-For normal conversation, just respond with text - do not call the message tool.
+Only use the 'message' tool when the user explicitly asks you to send a message to someone else or to a different channel.
+For normal conversation, acknowledgments (Thanks, OK, etc.), or when the user is talking to YOU, just respond with text - do NOT call the message tool.
+
+For simple acknowledgments like "Thanks", "OK", "You're welcome", "Got it", etc., respond naturally and conversationally - just say "You're welcome!", "No problem!", "Happy to help!", etc. Do not explain your reasoning or mention tools. Just be friendly and brief.
 
 Always be helpful, accurate, and concise. Before calling tools, briefly tell the user what you're about to do (one short sentence in the user's language).
 When remembering something important, write to {workspace_path}/memory/MEMORY.md

workspace/AGENTS.md

@@ -9,6 +9,30 @@ You are a helpful AI assistant. Be concise, accurate, and friendly.
 - Use tools to help accomplish tasks
 - Remember important information in your memory files
 
+## When NOT to Use Tools
+
+**For simple acknowledgments, respond naturally and conversationally - no tools needed.**
+
+When the user says things like:
+- "Thanks", "Thank you", "Thanks!"
+- "OK", "Okay", "Got it"
+- "You're welcome"
+- "No problem"
+- "Sure", "Sounds good"
+- Simple confirmations or casual responses
+
+**Just respond naturally** - say "You're welcome!", "No problem!", "Happy to help!", etc. Be brief, friendly, and conversational. Do not explain your reasoning, mention tools, or add meta-commentary. Just respond as a normal person would.
+
+**Do NOT use the `message` tool for:**
+- Simple acknowledgments - just respond with text
+- Normal conversation - reply directly with your text response
+- When the user is talking to YOU, not asking you to send a message to someone else
+
+**Only use the `message` tool when:**
+- The user explicitly asks you to send a message to someone else (e.g., "send a message to John")
+- You need to send a message to a different chat channel (like WhatsApp) that the user isn't currently using
+- The user explicitly requests messaging functionality
+
 ## Tools Available
 
 You have access to:
@@ -17,21 +41,36 @@ You have access to:
 - Web access (search, fetch)
 - Messaging (message)
 - Background tasks (spawn)
+- Scheduled tasks (cron) - for reminders and delayed actions
 
 ## Memory
 
 - `memory/MEMORY.md` — long-term facts (preferences, context, relationships)
 - `memory/HISTORY.md` — append-only event log, search with grep to recall past events
 
-## Scheduled Reminders
+## Scheduled Tasks and Reminders
 
-When user asks for a reminder at a specific time, use `exec` to run:
-```
-nanobot cron add --name "reminder" --message "Your message" --at "YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS" --deliver --to "USER_ID" --channel "CHANNEL"
-```
-Get USER_ID and CHANNEL from the current session (e.g., `8281248569` and `telegram` from `telegram:8281248569`).
+Use the `cron` tool to schedule tasks and reminders. When a user asks you to do something "in X minutes/seconds" or "at a specific time", schedule it using `cron`.
 
-**Do NOT just write reminders to MEMORY.md** — that won't trigger actual notifications.
+**Recognizing scheduling requests:**
+- "In 1 minute read file X" → Schedule a task
+- "Remind me in 5 minutes to..." → Schedule a reminder
+- "At 3pm, check..." → Schedule a task
+- "Every hour, do..." → Schedule a recurring task
+
+**For scheduled tasks:**
+- Use `cron(action="add", message="<task description>", in_seconds=<seconds>)` for relative time
+- Use `cron(action="add", message="<task description>", at="<ISO datetime>")` for absolute time
+- Use `cron(action="add", message="<task description>", every_seconds=<seconds>)` for recurring tasks
+
+**Examples:**
+- "In 1 minute read file story.txt and tell me its content" → `cron(action="add", message="Read story.txt and tell user its content", in_seconds=60)`
+- "Remind me in 5 minutes to call John" → `cron(action="add", message="Call John", in_seconds=300)`
+- "Every hour check the weather" → `cron(action="add", message="Check the weather and report to user", every_seconds=3600)`
+
+When the scheduled time arrives, the cron system will send the message back to you, and you'll execute the task (read the file, check something, etc.) and respond to the user.
+
+**Do NOT just write reminders to MEMORY.md** — that won't trigger actual notifications. Use the `cron` tool.
 
 ## Heartbeat Tasks
 

workspace/TOOLS.md

@@ -83,28 +83,48 @@ Use for complex or time-consuming tasks that can run independently. The subagent
 
 ## Scheduled Reminders (Cron)
 
-Use the `exec` tool to create scheduled reminders with `nanobot cron add`:
-
-### Set a recurring reminder
-```bash
-# Every day at 9am
-nanobot cron add --name "morning" --message "Good morning! ☀️" --cron "0 9 * * *"
-
-# Every 2 hours
-nanobot cron add --name "water" --message "Drink water! 💧" --every 7200
+### cron
+Schedule reminders and recurring tasks. **REQUIRED: Always include 'action' parameter.**
+```
+cron(action: str, message: str = None, in_seconds: int = None, at: str = None, every_seconds: int = None, cron_expr: str = None, tz: str = None, job_id: str = None) -> str
 ```
 
-### Set a one-time reminder
-```bash
-# At a specific time (ISO format)
-nanobot cron add --name "meeting" --message "Meeting starts now!" --at "2025-01-31T15:00:00"
+**Actions:**
+- `action="add"` - Create a new reminder or recurring task
+- `action="list"` - List all scheduled jobs
+- `action="remove"` - Remove a job by ID
+
+**Examples:**
+
+Reminder in N seconds (recommended for relative time):
+```
+cron(action="add", message="Send a text to your son", in_seconds=25)
+cron(action="add", message="Take a break", in_seconds=300)  # 5 minutes
 ```
 
-### Manage reminders
-```bash
-nanobot cron list              # List all jobs
-nanobot cron remove <job_id>   # Remove a job
+One-time reminder at specific time:
 ```
+cron(action="add", message="Meeting starts now!", at="2025-01-31T15:00:00")
+```
+
+Recurring reminder:
+```
+cron(action="add", message="Drink water! 💧", every_seconds=7200)  # Every 2 hours
+```
+
+Scheduled task with cron expression:
+```
+cron(action="add", message="Good morning! ☀️", cron_expr="0 9 * * *")  # Daily at 9am
+cron(action="add", message="Standup", cron_expr="0 9 * * 1-5", tz="America/Vancouver")  # Weekdays 9am Vancouver time
+```
+
+List or remove:
+```
+cron(action="list")
+cron(action="remove", job_id="abc123")
+```
+
+**Important:** Always include `action` parameter. For "remind me in X seconds/minutes", use `in_seconds` instead of calculating `at` manually.
 
 ## Heartbeat Task Management