diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 7b37ea389..d6eb0532f 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -40,3 +40,13 @@ Please include in your PR:
 - [ ] Confirm you understand what the code does
 
 AI PRs are first-class citizens here. We just want transparency so reviewers know what to look for.
+
+## Current Focus & Roadmap 🗺
+
+We are currently prioritizing:
+- **Stability**: Fixing edge cases in channel connections (WhatsApp/Telegram).
+- **UX**: Improving the onboarding wizard and error messages.
+- **Skills**: Expanding the library of bundled skills and improving the Skill Creation developer experience.
+- **Performance**: Optimizing token usage and compaction logic.
+
+Check the [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/clawdbot/clawdbot/issues) for "good first issue" labels!
diff --git a/docs/tools/creating-skills.md b/docs/tools/creating-skills.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..77e3415d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/tools/creating-skills.md
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+# Creating Custom Skills 🛠
+
+Clawdbot is designed to be easily extensible. "Skills" are the primary way to add new capabilities to your assistant.
+
+## What is a Skill?
+A skill is a directory containing a `SKILL.md` file (which provides instructions and tool definitions to the LLM) and optionally some scripts or resources.
+
+## Step-by-Step: Your First Skill
+
+### 1. Create the Directory
+Skills live in your workspace, usually `~/clawd/skills/`. Create a new folder for your skill:
+```bash
+mkdir -p ~/clawd/skills/hello-world
+```
+
+### 2. Define the `SKILL.md`
+Create a `SKILL.md` file in that directory. This file uses YAML frontmatter for metadata and Markdown for instructions.
+
+```markdown
+---
+name: hello_world
+description: A simple skill that says hello.
+---
+
+# Hello World Skill
+When the user asks for a greeting, use the `echo` tool to say "Hello from your custom skill!".
+```
+
+### 3. Add Tools (Optional)
+You can define custom tools in the frontmatter or instruct the agent to use existing system tools (like `bash` or `browser`).
+
+### 4. Refresh Clawdbot
+Ask your agent to "refresh skills" or restart the gateway. Clawdbot will discover the new directory and index the `SKILL.md`.
+
+## Best Practices
+- **Be Concise**: Instruct the model on *what* to do, not how to be an AI.
+- **Safety First**: If your skill uses `bash`, ensure the prompts don't allow arbitrary command injection from untrusted user input.
+- **Test Locally**: Use `clawdbot agent --message "use my new skill"` to test.
+
+## Shared Skills
+You can also browse and contribute skills to [ClawdHub](https://clawdhub.com).
diff --git a/src/agents/model-selection.ts b/src/agents/model-selection.ts
index a330423b3..5a672c581 100644
--- a/src/agents/model-selection.ts
+++ b/src/agents/model-selection.ts
@@ -137,7 +137,12 @@ export function resolveConfiguredModelRef(params: {
       aliasIndex,
     });
     if (resolved) return resolved.ref;
-    // TODO(steipete): drop this fallback once provider-less agents.defaults.model is fully deprecated.
+
+    // Default to anthropic if no provider is specified, but warn as this is deprecated.
+    console.warn(
+      `[clawdbot] Model "${trimmed}" specified without provider. Falling back to "anthropic/${trimmed}". ` +
+      `Please use "anthropic/${trimmed}" in your config.`,
+    );
     return { provider: "anthropic", model: trimmed };
   }
   return { provider: params.defaultProvider, model: params.defaultModel };
@@ -153,20 +158,20 @@ export function resolveDefaultModelForAgent(params: {
   const cfg =
     agentModelOverride && agentModelOverride.length > 0
       ? {
-          ...params.cfg,
-          agents: {
-            ...params.cfg.agents,
-            defaults: {
-              ...params.cfg.agents?.defaults,
-              model: {
-                ...(typeof params.cfg.agents?.defaults?.model === "object"
-                  ? params.cfg.agents.defaults.model
-                  : undefined),
-                primary: agentModelOverride,
-              },
+        ...params.cfg,
+        agents: {
+          ...params.cfg.agents,
+          defaults: {
+            ...params.cfg.agents?.defaults,
+            model: {
+              ...(typeof params.cfg.agents?.defaults?.model === "object"
+                ? params.cfg.agents.defaults.model
+                : undefined),
+              primary: agentModelOverride,
             },
           },
-        }
+        },
+      }
       : params.cfg;
   return resolveConfiguredModelRef({
     cfg,
@@ -282,8 +287,8 @@ export function resolveAllowedModelRef(params: {
 }):
   | { ref: ModelRef; key: string }
   | {
-      error: string;
-    } {
+    error: string;
+  } {
   const trimmed = params.raw.trim();
   if (!trimmed) return { error: "invalid model: empty" };
 
diff --git a/src/auto-reply/heartbeat.ts b/src/auto-reply/heartbeat.ts
index 50567ad87..cca6c6ad1 100644
--- a/src/auto-reply/heartbeat.ts
+++ b/src/auto-reply/heartbeat.ts
@@ -32,6 +32,8 @@ export function isHeartbeatContentEffectivelyEmpty(content: string | undefined |
     // This intentionally does NOT skip lines like "#TODO" or "#hashtag" which might be content
     // (Those aren't valid markdown headers - ATX headers require space after #)
     if (/^#+(\s|$)/.test(trimmed)) continue;
+    // Skip empty markdown list items like "- [ ]" or "* [ ]" or just "- "
+    if (/^[-*+]\s*(\[[\sXx]?\]\s*)?$/.test(trimmed)) continue;
     // Found a non-empty, non-comment line - there's actionable content
     return false;
   }