# Schedule Task > Allows the agent to create cron job to execute actions later or regularly Use when this capability is needed. - Skill: `tomevault-io/schedule-task` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/schedule-task` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tomevault-io/schedule-task/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector CAUTION) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: AI & ML - Author: tomevault-io (https://skillmd.com/u/tomevault-io) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tomevault-io/schedule-task --- # Schedule Task This skill enables you to schedule tasks to run at specific times. When a user requests something to happen at a future time, this skill parses the time expression, creates a scheduled task, and optionally saves the prompt for reuse. ## When to Use This Skill Use this skill when the user asks you to do something at a specific time, such as: - "Today at 16:00 look up the stock prices for nvidia and write me an email" - "Tomorrow at 9am remind me to check the server logs" - "At 14:30 run the backup script" - "In 2 hours send me a summary of today's news" - "Every day at 8am give me a weather report" - "Schedule a task to check API health at midnight" ## Workflow ### Step 1: Parse the User Request Extract two components from the user's request: 1. **Time expression**: When should this run (e.g., "today at 16:00", "tomorrow at 9am", "every Monday at 10:00") 2. **Task prompt**: What should be done (e.g., "look up the stock prices for nvidia and write me an email") ### Step 2: Convert Time to Cron Expression Convert natural language time expressions to cron format (`minute hour day month weekday`): | Expression | Cron Expression | Notes | |------------|-----------------|-------| | Today at 16:00 | `0 16 7 2 *` | Single run: specific date | | Tomorrow at 9am | `0 9 8 2 *` | Single run: specific date | | At 14:30 | `30 14 7 2 *` | Single run: today at that time | | Every day at 8am | `0 8 * * *` | Recurring daily | | Every Monday at 10:00 | `0 10 * * 1` | Recurring weekly | | Every hour | `0 * * * *` | Recurring hourly | | In 2 hours | Calculate current time + 2 hours | Single run | **Current date reference**: Use the system date to calculate "today", "tomorrow", etc. **Cron format**: `minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week` - Minutes: 0-59 - Hours: 0-23 (24-hour format) - Day of month: 1-31 - Month: 1-12 - Day of week: 0-6 (0=Sunday, 1=Monday, etc.) ### Step 3: Create the Scheduled Task Use the scheduler API to create the task: ``` POST /api/scheduler/{project}/task Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8 { "id": "unique-task-id", "name": "Task name (short description)", "prompt": "The full prompt to execute", "cronExpression": "0 16 7 2 *", "timeZone": "Europe/Berlin", "type": "one-time" } ``` **Important fields:** - `id`: Generate a unique ID (e.g., `task-{timestamp}` or UUID) - `name`: A short, descriptive name for the task - `prompt`: The exact prompt that Claude should execute when the task runs - `cronExpression`: The cron expression from Step 2 - `timeZone`: Use the user's timezone (default: "Europe/Berlin" or ask if unclear) - `type`: Either `"recurring"` or `"one-time"`. Use `"one-time"` for tasks that should run once (today, tomorrow, specific date). Use `"recurring"` for repeating schedules (every day, every Monday, etc.) ### Step 4: Confirm to User After creating the task, confirm with the user: - When the task will run - What prompt will be executed - The task ID for reference ## API Reference ### Create Task ``` POST /api/scheduler/{project}/task Body: { id, name, prompt, cronExpression, timeZone, type } Response: { task: TaskDefinition } ``` ### List Tasks ``` GET /api/scheduler/{project}/tasks Response: { tasks: TaskDefinition[] } ``` ### Delete Task ``` DELETE /api/scheduler/{project}/task/{taskId} Response: { success: true } ``` ### View Task History ``` GET /api/scheduler/{project}/history Response: { history: TaskHistoryEntry[] } ``` ## Example Interactions ### Example 1: Single Run Today **User**: "Today at 16:00 look up the stock prices for nvidia and write me an email" **Analysis**: - Time: Today at 16:00 -> `0 16 {today's day} {today's month} *` - Prompt: "look up the stock prices for nvidia and write me an email" **API Call**: ```json POST /api/scheduler/current-project/task { "id": "task-1707321600000", "name": "Stock prices email", "prompt": "look up the stock prices for nvidia and write me an email", "cronExpression": "0 16 7 2 *", "timeZone": "Europe/Berlin", "type": "one-time" } ``` **Response to user**: "I've scheduled your task for today at 16:00. At that time, I'll look up Nvidia stock prices and send you an email. Task ID: task-1707321600000" ### Example 2: Recurring Daily Task **User**: "Every day at 9am give me a summary of overnight news" **Analysis**: - Time: Every day at 9am -> `0 9 * * *` - Prompt: "give me a summary of overnight news" **API Call**: ```json POST /api/scheduler/current-project/task { "id": "task-1707321600001", "name": "Daily news summary", "prompt": "give me a summary of overnight news", "cronExpression": "0 9 * * *", "timeZone": "Europe/Berlin", "type": "recurring" } ``` ### Example 3: Tomorrow **User**: "Tomorrow at 14:00 check if the backup completed successfully" **Analysis**: - Time: Tomorrow at 14:00 -> `0 14 {tomorrow's day} {tomorrow's month} *` - Prompt: "check if the backup completed successfully" ## Time Parsing Guidelines ### Common Patterns | Pattern | Example Input | Parsed As | |---------|---------------|-----------| | Today at HH:MM | "today at 16:00" | Current date, specified time | | Tomorrow at HH:MM | "tomorrow at 9am" | Next day, specified time | | At HH:MM | "at 14:30" | Today, specified time | | In X hours | "in 2 hours" | Current time + X hours | | In X minutes | "in 30 minutes" | Current time + X minutes | | Every day at HH:MM | "every day at 8am" | `0 8 * * *` | | Every X hours | "every 2 hours" | `0 */2 * * *` | | Every Monday at HH:MM | "every Monday at 10:00" | `0 10 * * 1` | | Every weekday at HH:MM | "every weekday at 9am" | `0 9 * * 1-5` | ### Time Format Recognition - 24-hour: 16:00, 14:30, 09:00 - 12-hour with am/pm: 4pm, 9am, 2:30pm - Relative: "in 2 hours", "in 30 minutes" ### Timezone Handling Default to Europe/Berlin unless the user specifies otherwise. Common timezones: - Europe/Berlin (CET/CEST) - Europe/London (GMT/BST) - America/New_York (EST/EDT) - America/Los_Angeles (PST/PDT) - UTC ## Error Handling If time parsing is ambiguous, ask the user for clarification: - "Did you mean 4am or 4pm?" - "Which timezone should I use for this task?" - "Is this a one-time task or should it repeat?" ## Notes - For single-run tasks, the cron expression uses specific day/month values and `type` must be `"one-time"` - **One-time tasks are automatically deleted** after execution. They will not remain in the task list. - For recurring tasks, use `type: "recurring"` with wildcard day/month fields in the cron expression - The scheduler will execute the task and store results in task history - Users can view scheduled tasks and history through the UI or by asking - Tasks can be deleted by ID if no longer needed - Always use `charset=utf-8` in the Content-Type header to ensure proper encoding of non-ASCII characters --- > Converted and distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io/claim/bullorosso) — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.