# Cron Automator > Cron Automator - Skill: `koinod/cron-automator` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add koinod/cron-automator` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/koinod/cron-automator/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: koinod (https://skillmd.com/u/koinod) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/koinod/cron-automator --- # Cron Automator > Generate cron job configurations for common automation patterns. Your scheduling assistant. ## Description Cron Automator translates plain English scheduling requests into correct cron expressions with the surrounding shell configuration. It handles the tricky parts — timezone issues, output logging, error handling, overlap prevention, and the cron syntax nobody can remember. Stop Googling "cron every 15 minutes" and just ask. ## Activation This skill activates when: - The user wants to schedule a recurring task - The user asks about cron syntax or crontab configuration - The user wants to automate something on a schedule - The user mentions scheduling, recurring jobs, or timed automation **Trigger phrases**: "schedule this", "run every", "cron job", "crontab", "automate daily", "run at midnight", "schedule a task", "every 15 minutes", "recurring job" ## Instructions When given a scheduling request, respond with: ``` ## Cron Configuration ### Schedule: [plain English description] ### Expression: [cron expression] ```crontab # [Description of what this does] # Schedule: [human-readable] # Added: [date] SHELL=/bin/bash PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin [expression] [command with logging and error handling] ``` ### Breakdown - Minute: [value] — [explanation] - Hour: [value] — [explanation] - Day of Month: [value] — [explanation] - Month: [value] — [explanation] - Day of Week: [value] — [explanation] ### Next 5 Runs 1. [datetime] 2. [datetime] 3. [datetime] 4. [datetime] 5. [datetime] ### Gotchas - [Any timezone, PATH, or environment issues to watch for] ``` ## Cron Expression Reference ``` * * * * * | | | | | | | | | +-- Day of Week (0-7, 0 and 7 = Sunday) | | | +---- Month (1-12) | | +------ Day of Month (1-31) | +-------- Hour (0-23) +---------- Minute (0-59) ``` ### Common Patterns | Schedule | Expression | Notes | |----------|-----------|-------| | Every minute | `* * * * *` | Use sparingly — can overload systems | | Every 5 minutes | `*/5 * * * *` | Good for health checks | | Every 15 minutes | `*/15 * * * *` | Good for data syncs | | Every hour | `0 * * * *` | At minute 0 of every hour | | Every 2 hours | `0 */2 * * *` | At minute 0, every 2 hours | | Daily at midnight | `0 0 * * *` | Server timezone — check which TZ | | Daily at 8am | `0 8 * * *` | Adjust for your timezone | | Weekdays at 9am | `0 9 * * 1-5` | Mon-Fri only | | Every Monday at 6pm | `0 18 * * 1` | Weekly reports | | First of month at midnight | `0 0 1 * *` | Monthly jobs | | Every 6 hours | `0 */6 * * *` | 00:00, 06:00, 12:00, 18:00 | ## Production-Grade Templates ### Basic with Logging ```crontab # Daily backup at 2am 0 2 * * * /home/user/scripts/backup.sh >> /var/log/backup.log 2>&1 ``` ### With Overlap Prevention (flock) ```crontab # Sync every 5 min, but skip if previous run is still going */5 * * * * /usr/bin/flock -n /tmp/sync.lock /home/user/scripts/sync.sh >> /var/log/sync.log 2>&1 ``` ### With Error Alerting ```crontab # Process data hourly, email on failure 0 * * * * /home/user/scripts/process.sh >> /var/log/process.log 2>&1 || echo "Process failed at $(date)" | mail -s "CRON ALERT" you@email.com ``` ### With Timeout ```crontab # Run report with 5-minute timeout 0 8 * * * timeout 300 /home/user/scripts/report.sh >> /var/log/report.log 2>&1 ``` ### With Environment Variables ```crontab SHELL=/bin/bash PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/home/user/.local/bin NODE_ENV=production # API sync every 15 minutes */15 * * * * cd /home/user/app && node sync.js >> /var/log/sync.log 2>&1 ``` ### With Health Check Ping ```crontab # Backup with dead man's switch (pings healthcheck URL on success) 0 3 * * * /home/user/scripts/backup.sh >> /var/log/backup.log 2>&1 && curl -fsS --retry 3 https://hc-ping.com/your-uuid > /dev/null ``` ## Common Automation Patterns ### Content Pipeline ```crontab # Generate daily content at 7am 0 7 * * * cd /workspace && python generate_content.py >> logs/content.log 2>&1 # QA score content at 8am (after generation) 0 8 * * * cd /workspace && python qa_scorer.py >> logs/qa.log 2>&1 # Publish approved content at 9am 0 9 * * * cd /workspace && python publish.py >> logs/publish.log 2>&1 ``` ### Business Operations ```crontab # Morning briefing at 8am weekdays 0 8 * * 1-5 cd /workspace && python daily_brief.py >> logs/brief.log 2>&1 # Invoice reminder every Monday 0 10 * * 1 cd /workspace && python invoice_reminder.py >> logs/invoices.log 2>&1 # Weekly report Sunday 6pm 0 18 * * 0 cd /workspace && python weekly_report.py >> logs/weekly.log 2>&1 ``` ### System Maintenance ```crontab # Disk cleanup weekly 0 3 * * 0 /usr/bin/find /tmp -mtime +7 -delete >> /var/log/cleanup.log 2>&1 # Log rotation daily 0 0 * * * /usr/sbin/logrotate /etc/logrotate.conf # Health check every 5 minutes */5 * * * * /home/user/scripts/healthcheck.sh >> /var/log/health.log 2>&1 ``` ## Example ### Input > I want to run a Python script that checks my fleet status every 6 hours, but only if the previous check isn't still running. Log output to ~/logs/fleet.log. The script is at ~/scripts/fleet_check.py. ### Output ## Cron Configuration ### Schedule: Every 6 hours with overlap prevention ### Expression: `0 */6 * * *` ```crontab # Fleet status check — every 6 hours, skip if previous still running # Schedule: 00:00, 06:00, 12:00, 18:00 daily # Added: 2026-03-26 SHELL=/bin/bash PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/home/user/.local/bin 0 */6 * * * /usr/bin/flock -n /tmp/fleet_check.lock /usr/bin/python3 /root/scripts/fleet_check.py >> /root/logs/fleet.log 2>&1 ``` ### Breakdown - Minute: `0` — At the top of the hour - Hour: `*/6` — Every 6th hour (0, 6, 12, 18) - Day of Month: `*` — Every day - Month: `*` — Every month - Day of Week: `*` — Every day of the week ### Installation ```bash # Create log directory mkdir -p ~/logs # Edit crontab crontab -e # Paste the cron line above # Verify crontab -l ``` ### Gotchas - `flock -n` will silently skip the run if the lock file exists (previous run still going). Check logs if you suspect missed runs. - Python path may differ — run `which python3` to confirm. - Cron uses the system timezone. Run `timedatectl` to verify. --- *Built by [KOINO Capital](https://koino.capital) — Agentic growth systems that run while you sleep.* *Want this running autonomously 24/7? [Deploy with KOINO](https://koino.capital/deploy)*