How do I install the Crony skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add lirrensi/crony in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Crony safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Crony?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Crony free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

lirrensi (@lirrensi) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Crony by lirrensi — Agent Skill

Name: Crony
Author: lirrensi

Crony

Manage cron jobs with natural language scheduling. Use this skill when the user wants to schedule tasks to run later or recurring, manage scheduled jobs, view job logs, or run jobs on-demand. Supports both one-off and recurring schedules with natural language syntax like "in 5m", "every 1h", "every monday".

lirrensi 3ea4e11 3.3 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Crony Skill

Manage cron jobs with natural language scheduling and inspect computed upcoming run times.

Installation Check

crony --help

If not installed:

uv tool install "git+https://github.com/lirrensi/agent-sommelier"

Usage

Add a Job

crony add <name> <schedule> <command>
crony add <name> "<cron_expr>" <command> --cron

The --cron flag treats the schedule as a raw 5-field cron expression instead of natural language:

crony add myjob "*/5 * * * *" "python script.py" --cron
crony add nightly "0 2 * * *" "backup.sh" --cron

Working directory preservation: When a job is added, crony automatically captures the current working directory. When the OS scheduler runs the job, it cds to that directory first, so relative paths in commands work correctly regardless of where the scheduler executes. You can still manually add cd anyway: cd /path/to && command.py

List Jobs

crony list
crony list --sync
crony list --json

crony list shows a Next Run column for one-off and recurring jobs. crony list --json includes a computed next_run field for each job.

Remove Job

crony rm <name>

Run Job Now

crony run <name>

View Logs

crony logs <name>

Schedule Formats

One-off Jobs

crony add backup "in 5m" "python --version"
crony add report "at 15:30" "python send_report.py"
crony add deploy "on 2026-03-10" "python deploy.py"

Recurring Jobs

crony add ping "every 1h" "python --version"
crony add cleanup "every 24h" "python cleanup.py"
crony add weekly "every monday" "python weekly_report.py"
crony add weekday "every weekday" "python daily_check.py"

# Raw cron expression (bypasses natural language parser)
crony add nightly "0 2 * * *" "backup.sh" --cron
crony add every-5min "*/5 * * * *" "python check.py" --cron

Interval Syntax

in 5m, in 1h, in 2d - Relative one-off
at 15:30, at "2026-03-10 10:00" - Absolute one-off
every 1h, every 30m, every 24h - Interval recurring
every monday, every weekday, every weekend - Day-based recurring

Examples

# Health check every hour
crony add health "every 1h" "python --version"

# Daily backup
crony add backup "every 24h" "python backup.py"

# Weekly report
crony add report "every friday" "python generate_report.py"

# One-time reminder
crony add remind "in 30m" "python --version"

# Inspect upcoming run times
crony list
crony list --json

Platform Support

Jobs are registered with the native OS scheduler:

Linux/macOS: Uses crontab — wraps command with cd /path && cmd via shlex.quote()
Windows: Uses Task Scheduler — writes a .bat wrapper in ~/.crony/scripts/ with cd /d "CWD"

The working directory is captured at add time and stored in the cwd field of ~/.crony/jobs.json so relative paths in commands work reliably.

Job metadata is stored in ~/.crony/jobs.json for easy management.

---name: cronydescription: Manage cron jobs with natural language scheduling. Use this skill when the user wants to schedule tasks to run later or recurring, manage scheduled jobs, view job logs, or run jobs on-demand. Supports both one-off and recurring schedules with natural language syntax like "in 5m", "every 1h", "every monday".---# Crony SkillManage cron jobs with natural language scheduling and inspect computed upcoming run times.## Installation Check```bashcrony --help```If not installed:```bashuv tool install "git+https://github.com/lirrensi/agent-sommelier"```## Usage### Add a Job```bashcrony add <name> <schedule> <command>crony add <name> "<cron_expr>" <command> --cron```The `--cron` flag treats the schedule as a raw 5-field cron expression instead of natural language:```bashcrony add myjob "*/5 * * * *" "python script.py" --croncrony add nightly "0 2 * * *" "backup.sh" --cron```**Working directory preservation:** When a job is added, crony automatically captures the current working directory. When the OS scheduler runs the job, it `cd`s to that directory first, so relative paths in commands work correctly regardless of where the scheduler executes.You can still manually add `cd` anyway: `cd /path/to && command.py`### List Jobs```bashcrony listcrony list --synccrony list --json````crony list` shows a `Next Run` column for one-off and recurring jobs. `crony list --json` includes a computed `next_run` field for each job.### Remove Job```bashcrony rm <name>```### Run Job Now```bashcrony run <name>```### View Logs```bashcrony logs <name>```## Schedule Formats### One-off Jobs```bashcrony add backup "in 5m" "python --version"crony add report "at 15:30" "python send_report.py"crony add deploy "on 2026-03-10" "python deploy.py"```### Recurring Jobs```bashcrony add ping "every 1h" "python --version"crony add cleanup "every 24h" "python cleanup.py"crony add weekly "every monday" "python weekly_report.py"crony add weekday "every weekday" "python daily_check.py"# Raw cron expression (bypasses natural language parser)crony add nightly "0 2 * * *" "backup.sh" --croncrony add every-5min "*/5 * * * *" "python check.py" --cron```### Interval Syntax- `in 5m`, `in 1h`, `in 2d` - Relative one-off- `at 15:30`, `at "2026-03-10 10:00"` - Absolute one-off- `every 1h`, `every 30m`, `every 24h` - Interval recurring- `every monday`, `every weekday`, `every weekend` - Day-based recurring## Examples```bash# Health check every hourcrony add health "every 1h" "python --version"# Daily backupcrony add backup "every 24h" "python backup.py"# Weekly reportcrony add report "every friday" "python generate_report.py"# One-time remindercrony add remind "in 30m" "python --version"# Inspect upcoming run timescrony listcrony list --json```## Platform SupportJobs are registered with the native OS scheduler:- **Linux/macOS**: Uses `crontab` — wraps command with `cd /path && cmd` via `shlex.quote()`- **Windows**: Uses Task Scheduler — writes a `.bat` wrapper in `~/.crony/scripts/` with `cd /d "CWD"`The working directory is captured at `add` time and stored in the `cwd` field of `~/.crony/jobs.json` so relative paths in commands work reliably.Job metadata is stored in `~/.crony/jobs.json` for easy management.

Frequently asked questions