How do I install the Scheduling skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add vexa-ai/scheduling 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 Scheduling 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 Scheduling?

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 Scheduling free to use?

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

Who published Scheduling?

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

Scheduling by vexa-ai — Agent Skill

Name: Scheduling
Author: vexa-ai

Scheduling

Set up recurring or scheduled work — anything the user wants run on a schedule, repeatedly, or at a future time ("every morning", "each weekday at 9am", "daily digest", "weekly report", "remind me", "run this on a cron"). Teaches how to author a durable Vexa Scheduler routine that survives restarts. Use this instead of any OS cron job, system timer, or session-only reminder.

vexa-ai 997019b 2 files · 3.7 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

scheduling — durable recurring work

When the user asks for ANYTHING that should run on a schedule or repeat over time (a daily digest, a weekly report, a periodic check, a future reminder), you create a routine file in this workspace. The agent-api reconciler compiles it into a durable Vexa Scheduler job that survives restarts and process death — it is the only correct mechanism for scheduled work here.

NEVER do any of these for scheduled work:

create an OS cron job (crontab, /etc/cron.*)
create a systemd timer or any other system timer
start a shell background loop / sleep loop
leave a "session-only" reminder (your turn ends and it is gone)

All of those die on restart or when your turn ends. Only a routine file is durable.

How to create a routine

Write one file at routines/<name>.md (<name> is a short slug; the filename stem becomes the routine name). It is a normal governed workspace file — just write it; you do not run git.

The file is YAML frontmatter plus an optional markdown body:

field	required	meaning
`enabled`	no (default `true`)	`false` cancels the job but keeps the file for later re-enable
`cron`	yes (when enabled)	a standard 5-field cron expression (min hour dom mon dow)
`prompt`	yes (when enabled)	the instruction sent to the agent on each run (non-empty)

The optional markdown body below the second --- is appended to prompt as extra context for each run.

cron format

Five fields, space-separated: minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week. Day-of-week is 0–7 (0 and 7 are both Sunday); mon/tue/… and jan/feb/… names are accepted, as are ranges (mon-fri), lists (1,15), and steps (*/15).

Examples:

0 8 * * * — every day at 08:00
30 9 * * mon-fri — 09:30 on weekdays
0 17 * * fri — 17:00 every Friday
0 * * * * — top of every hour

Worked example

For "every weekday at 9am, give me a digest of yesterday's meetings", create routines/morning-digest.md:

---
enabled: true
cron: "30 9 * * mon-fri"
prompt: "Compile a short digest of yesterday's meetings and open tasks from kg/entities/, and summarize what needs attention today."
---

Keep it under ~10 bullet points. Group by person/company. Link entities with [[wikilinks]].

That's it. The reconciler (running in agent-api, scanning every workspace on an interval) picks the file up, validates the cron + prompt, and schedules a durable Vexa Scheduler job. Editing the file updates the job; setting enabled: false (or deleting the file) cancels it.

Validation notes

An enabled routine MUST have a valid 5-field cron and a non-empty prompt, or the reconciler logs a warning and skips it (no job is created). Double-check the cron has exactly five fields.
A disabled routine (enabled: false) needs no cron/prompt — it just cancels any existing job for that name.
Confirm to the user what you scheduled (name + cron + what it does).

---name: schedulingdescription: Set up recurring or scheduled work — anything the user wants run on a schedule, repeatedly, or at a future time ("every morning", "each weekday at 9am", "daily digest", "weekly report", "remind me", "run this on a cron"). Teaches how to author a durable Vexa Scheduler routine that survives restarts. Use this instead of any OS cron job, system timer, or session-only reminder.---# scheduling — durable recurring workWhen the user asks for ANYTHING that should run on a schedule or repeat over time(a daily digest, a weekly report, a periodic check, a future reminder), you createa **routine file** in this workspace. The agent-api reconciler compiles it into a**durable Vexa Scheduler job** that survives restarts and process death — it is theonly correct mechanism for scheduled work here.**NEVER** do any of these for scheduled work:- create an OS cron job (`crontab`, `/etc/cron.*`)- create a systemd timer or any other system timer- start a shell background loop / `sleep` loop- leave a "session-only" reminder (your turn ends and it is gone)All of those die on restart or when your turn ends. Only a routine file is durable.## How to create a routineWrite one file at **`routines/<name>.md`** (`<name>` is a short slug; the filenamestem becomes the routine name). It is a normal governed workspace file — just writeit; you do not run git.The file is **YAML frontmatter** plus an **optional markdown body**:| field | required | meaning ||-----------|-----------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|| `enabled` | no (default `true`) | `false` cancels the job but keeps the file for later re-enable || `cron` | yes (when enabled) | a standard **5-field** cron expression (min hour dom mon dow) || `prompt` | yes (when enabled) | the instruction sent to the agent on each run (non-empty) |The optional markdown body below the second `---` is appended to `prompt` as extracontext for each run.### cron formatFive fields, space-separated: `minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week`.Day-of-week is `0`–`7` (0 and 7 are both Sunday); `mon`/`tue`/… and `jan`/`feb`/…names are accepted, as are ranges (`mon-fri`), lists (`1,15`), and steps (`*/15`).Examples:- `0 8 * * *` — every day at 08:00- `30 9 * * mon-fri` — 09:30 on weekdays- `0 17 * * fri` — 17:00 every Friday- `0 * * * *` — top of every hour### Worked exampleFor "every weekday at 9am, give me a digest of yesterday's meetings", create`routines/morning-digest.md`:```markdown---enabled: truecron: "30 9 * * mon-fri"prompt: "Compile a short digest of yesterday's meetings and open tasks from kg/entities/, and summarize what needs attention today."---Keep it under ~10 bullet points. Group by person/company. Link entities with [[wikilinks]].```That's it. The reconciler (running in agent-api, scanning every workspace on aninterval) picks the file up, validates the cron + prompt, and schedules a durableVexa Scheduler job. Editing the file updates the job; setting `enabled: false` (ordeleting the file) cancels it.## Validation notes- An **enabled** routine MUST have a valid 5-field `cron` and a non-empty `prompt`, or the reconciler logs a warning and skips it (no job is created). Double-check the cron has exactly five fields.- A **disabled** routine (`enabled: false`) needs no cron/prompt — it just cancels any existing job for that name.- Confirm to the user what you scheduled (name + cron + what it does).

Frequently asked questions