Use Ring-a-Ding without guessing.

make_call

Starts the outbound call and returns a callId immediately. Use it when the task really requires a live phone conversation.

Best for: Beginning the call once your agent has already reasoned through the objective, supporting facts, tone, and desired structured output.

to, purpose, context?, personality?, caller_name?, output_schema?

After make_call, call wait_for_call. Do not treat callId alone as the result.

• MCP parameter names use snake_case such as caller_name, opening_line, and output_schema.
• Detailed purpose, context, personality, and opening_line materially improve call quality.

make_call({
  "to": "+15551234567",
  "purpose": "Call Sunrise Dental to ask about Tuesday morning cleaning availability next week.",
  "context": "Patient: Taylor Kim. Insurance: Blue Cross PPO.",
  "personality": "Warm and professional."
})

wait_for_call

Blocks until the call reaches a terminal state or the timeout is reached. This is the default follow-up after make_call.

Best for: Getting the final transcript, summary, extracted data, and metadata in the same workflow without writing your own polling loop.

call_id, timeout_seconds?

• Default timeout is 660 seconds; max timeout is 1860 seconds.
• Polls internally every 5 seconds.

wait_for_call({
  "call_id": "<call_id>",
  "timeout_seconds": 660
})

get_call_result

Returns the current call record immediately, including any transcript, summary, extracted data, and metadata available so far.

Best for: Non-blocking workflows where your agent wants to continue other work and check the call later.

call_id

• If the status is initiated, ringing, or in-progress, the call is still running.
• Use this for manual polling when blocking is not desirable.

get_call_result({
  "call_id": "<call_id>"
})

Install the CLI and OpenClaw skill

Public install path for OpenClaw users.

npm install -g ring-a-ding-cli
openclaw skills install ring-a-ding
openclaw skills check

• Start a fresh OpenClaw session after the skill is installed or updated.
• If OpenClaw uses a shell allowlist, permit rad.

Save keys locally with rad init

Use this for CLI-only workflows or local debugging outside OpenClaw.

rad init
rad init --api-key rad_live_... --openai-key sk-...

• Config is stored in ~/.config/ring-a-ding/config.json.
• The CLI validates the Ring-a-Ding key when possible and can detect an OpenClaw install.

Start a basic call

Shortest valid CLI example.

rad call "+15551234567" "Call Sunrise Dental to ask about Tuesday or Wednesday morning cleaning availability next week."

Start a structured call from stdin

Best when the request is long or needs outputSchema.

echo '{"to":"+15551234567","purpose":"Call Northside Pizza and ask whether they deliver downtown tonight.","context":"Customer: Taylor. Address: 200 Market St. Ask for delivery estimate if yes.","personality":"Warm and concise","outputSchema":{"type":"object","properties":{"delivers":{"type":"boolean","description":"Whether the restaurant delivers downtown tonight"},"delivery_window":{"type":"string","description":"Quoted delivery estimate"}}}}' | rad call --stdin

• CLI stdin uses camelCase keys such as callerName and outputSchema.

Poll a call without blocking

Fetches the latest call record.

rad status <call_id>

Block until the call finishes

Use only when blocking the current shell session is acceptable.

rad wait <call_id> --timeout 300

• Exit code 2 means the wait timed out before the call reached a terminal state.

End or cancel a call

Hangs up an active call or cancels one that has not connected yet.

rad end <call_id>

Print the bundled skill file

Useful when debugging or manually copying the OpenClaw skill.

rad skill

rad is not found after install

openclaw skills check or which rad cannot find the binary after npm install -g ring-a-ding-cli.

• Open a fresh terminal and run which rad again.
• Confirm the global npm bin path is on PATH.
• Reinstall with npm install -g ring-a-ding-cli if the binary is still missing.

OpenClaw is not using the skill

The CLI is installed, but OpenClaw does not pick Ring-a-Ding for phone tasks.

• Run openclaw skills check and confirm ring-a-ding is enabled.
• Restart OpenClaw after installing the skill or changing its config.
• If OpenClaw uses a shell allowlist, permit rad.

RAD_API_KEY or OPENAI_API_KEY is missing

Calls fail before the conversation can start.

• Confirm the Ring-a-Ding key is present in OpenClaw config or local CLI config.
• Confirm OPENAI_API_KEY is present for the skill or saved locally through rad init.
• If the key was rotated, update every place where the old value is still cached.

The destination number is rejected

The API or CLI reports INVALID_INPUT for the phone number.

• Use E.164 format only, for example +19195551234.
• Do not include spaces, parentheses, or local-only formatting.
• If the number is generated dynamically, log the final string before sending it.

The call prompt is too short or too vague

The request is rejected or the call sounds generic and misses obvious questions.

• Make the purpose explicit about who to call and what outcome you need.
• Move supporting facts into context instead of keeping the request vague.
• Add personality, opening line, and output schema when the task needs more control.

The call stays initiated, ringing, or in-progress

The call appears to be running longer than expected.

• Poll again after 30 to 60 seconds with rad status or get_call_result.
• If the call is clearly stale, end it with rad end.
• Check whether the destination actually answered or whether the line is still ringing.

The call ends as failed, busy, or no-answer

The task was not completed even though the call reached a terminal state.

• Read errorMessage, summary, and transcript if they are available.
• Confirm the number, timing, and business-hours assumptions before retrying.
• Adjust the prompt or target rather than blindly running the same call again.

Transcript, summary, or extracted data is missing

The call finished but some post-call data is null or incomplete.

• Fetch the call record again after a short delay in case post-call processing is still finishing.
• Check whether the call actually connected. no-answer and early failures do not produce the same outputs.
• If you expected structured data, confirm that outputSchema was supplied on the original request.