# Cron MCP Skills

> Use when the agent must act as a cron worker for pending jobs from this MCP server, including polling work, following or inspecting workflow guidance, renewing leases, and reporting completion or failure. Do not use when the task is to define cron jobs, edit repository code, or answer general questions without processing queued cron work. Success means the agent either completes or fails the claimed run with the correct lease token and workflow metadata, or explicitly reports that no actionable cron work is available.

- Skill: `c7a6/cron-mcp-skills` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add c7a6/cron-mcp-skills`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/c7a6/cron-mcp-skills/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: AI & ML
- License: MIT
- Author: C7A6 (https://skillmd.com/u/c7a6)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/c7a6/cron-mcp-skills

---


# Cron MCP Skills

Use this skill when an agent needs to:

- poll for pending scheduled work
- act as the worker that processes claimed cron jobs
- mark jobs as completed after successful handling
- mark jobs as failed when execution cannot be completed
- inspect learned workflow candidates and stored workflow patterns

Do not use this skill when the agent needs to:

- create, update, remove, or manually enqueue cron jobs as the primary task
- debug or modify the cron server codebase
- answer general product questions about cron configuration without processing live queued work
- perform unrelated MCP tasks where no `cron_poll` call is needed

## Routing Guide

Use this skill when:

- there may be pending work in the cron queue
- the agent must claim a lease with `cron_poll`
- the agent must process returned payloads and close the run with `cron_complete` or `cron_fail`
- the agent needs workflow-memory inspection before deciding whether to trust `workflowMatch`

Do not use this skill when:

- the user is only asking to register or edit cron definitions
  Use the cron management MCP tools directly instead.
- the task is to inspect source code or implement repository changes
  Use the coding workflow instead.
- there is no intention to call `cron_poll`, `cron_renew`, `cron_complete`, or `cron_fail`
  This skill is for worker-side execution, not generic reasoning.

Outputs and success criteria:

- a pending job is either completed or failed using the exact `leaseToken` returned by `cron_poll`
- long-running work renews its lease before expiry when needed
- workflow-related success or failure preserves `outcomeMeta` so workflow memory stays accurate
- if no actionable job exists, the agent says so clearly instead of fabricating work

See [the reference guide](references/REFERENCE.md) for tool semantics and queue-state expectations.
Use [the example payloads](assets/cron-job-examples.json) when you need concrete job shapes for `systemEvent` and `agentTurn` work.

## Workflow

1. Call `cron_poll` to fetch pending jobs.
2. Check whether the returned job includes `workflowMatch`.
3. If a workflow match is present, prefer the stored pattern version as guidance and fall back to direct payload handling when the live situation has drifted.
4. Choose the next job to process.
5. Execute the requested task using the job payload.
6. Report the outcome:
   - use `cron_complete` when processing succeeds
   - use `cron_fail` when processing fails

## Edge Cases

- No jobs returned by `cron_poll`:
  Report that no scheduled work is currently available and stop.
- `workflowMatch` is absent:
  Execute directly from the returned job payload instead of assuming a learned workflow exists.
- `workflowMatch` exists but the live environment has drifted:
  Fall back to direct reasoning from the payload and fail the run with workflow metadata if the stored pattern should be deprecated.
- The task will exceed the lease TTL:
  Call `cron_renew` before the lease expires.
- A pattern is already deprecated:
  Treat it as inactive memory and do not trust it as execution guidance until a later active version exists.

## Inspection Workflow

Use these MCP tools when the agent needs to inspect learned workflow memory:

- `cron_workflow_candidates` for repeated run candidates that are not yet execution control
- `cron_workflow_patterns` for active or deprecated frozen patterns
- `cron_workflow_pattern_versions` for version history, DAG nodes, and edges of a specific pattern group

When a pattern has been deprecated after a failed run, treat it as inactive until the server re-learns a later successful version.

## Negative Examples

Do not call this skill for these requests:

- "Create a cron job that runs every hour."
  This is cron management, not worker-side execution.
- "Explain how the workflow pattern tables are implemented."
  This is code or architecture inspection, not queued work processing.
- "Check whether the weather briefing cron exists."
  This is inventory or inspection; use list or status tooling directly unless the agent is also expected to process pending jobs.

## Notes

- Jobs may be created manually or enqueued automatically when they become due.
- One-shot jobs may be disabled or removed after completion depending on job settings.
- `cron_poll` claims a short lease and returns a `leaseToken` for each job it hands out.
- `cron_poll` may also return `workflowMatch` when the server has a single high-confidence active pattern for the job family.
- Pass the same `leaseToken` to `cron_complete` or `cron_fail`.
- When reporting workflow-related failures, pass `outcomeMeta.candidateKey` when available so pattern invalidation can target the correct workflow group.
- See the Agent Skills specification for general skill format guidance:
  `https://agentskills.io/specification`

## Worked Templates

### Template: Basic poll and complete

```text
1. Call `cron_poll`.
2. If no jobs are returned, report that no work is available.
3. If a job is returned, inspect `workflowMatch`.
4. Execute the payload.
5. Call `cron_complete` with:
   - `jobId`
   - `leaseToken`
   - `note`
   - `executionLog`
   - `outcomeMeta` when the task belongs to a known workflow family
```

### Template: Workflow drift failure

```text
1. Call `cron_poll`.
2. Inspect `workflowMatch` and any stored pattern version if needed.
3. Start execution.
4. If the frozen workflow no longer matches the real environment:
   - stop trusting the pattern
   - call `cron_fail`
   - include `outcomeMeta.candidateKey`
   - describe the drift in `reason`
5. Tell the user the job failed and that the stored workflow may be deprecated until re-learned.
```

### Template: Long-running work

```text
1. Call `cron_poll`.
2. Begin execution.
3. Before the lease expires, call `cron_renew`.
4. Repeat renewal if necessary.
5. Finish with `cron_complete` or `cron_fail`.
```