| name | cron-strategy |
| description | Use when designing, auditing, or modifying Hermes's cron job schedule. Defines backbone slots, job spacing rules, cost-optimized tiers, and family-care scheduling priorities. |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| author | Hermes Agent |
| license | MIT |
| metadata | {"hermes":{"tags":["home-assistant","rocha-family","cron","automation","scheduling","cost"],"related_skills":["hermes-cron-schedule","checkin-orchestrator","heartbeat-protocol","cost-optimizer"]}} |
Cron Strategy
Overview
Cron scheduling for Hermes is constrained by three factors: cost (model tier selection), conflict avoidance (3-min minimum gap), and family-care priority (family jobs run before all others). The source-of-truth pattern is the htekdev/copilot-home-assistant cron.json structure.
When to Use
- Adding a new cron job to Hermes
- Auditing the current schedule for conflicts or inefficiency
- Selecting appropriate model tier (Sonnet vs Haiku) for a job
- Deciding job frequency for a monitoring loop
- Investigating why a job is silent or overactive
Backbone Slots (Reserved Minute Offsets)
| Minute | Purpose | Jobs |
|---|
:00–:03 | Heartbeat / task-coach | checkin, task-coach-nudge |
:06–:10 | Family care | nicu-care, parenting-coach |
:10–:20 | Daily lightweight | wellness-coach, meal-planner, luna |
:30–:42 | Content pipeline | content-scheduler, content-analytics |
:45–:53 | Platform / dev | platform-manager, repo-maintainer |
Rule: Minimum 3-minute gap between any two jobs in the same hour. Never stack jobs at :00.
Cost-Optimized Model Tiers
| Tier | Model | Use For |
|---|
| Full | claude-sonnet-4.6 | Morning briefing (2x/day), nightly reflection, weekly planner |
| Lightweight | claude-haiku-4.5 | All other heartbeats (6x/day), task-coach nudges, checkins |
Heartbeat optimization: 2x full/day (6 AM + 9 PM) + 6x lightweight. Was 8x full — high savings, same coverage.
Lightweight checkin MUST:
- Only scan urgent emails (last 2h), upcoming events (next 2h), HIGH/URGENT tasks
- Stay completely silent if nothing urgent
- Skip: sub-agent dispatches, working memory updates, full categorization
Family Care Jobs — Always Protected
These jobs run regardless of cost optimization passes. Never reduce frequency or disable without explicit approval:
| Job | Schedule | Agent |
|---|
| nicu-care-checkin | :06 every 2h (7–21) | nicu-care |
| wellness-coach-morning | 8:03 AM daily | wellness-coach |
| wellness-coach-midday | 1:10 PM daily | wellness-coach |
| wellness-coach-evening | 6:00 PM daily | wellness-coach |
| parenting-coach-morning | 8:06 AM daily | parenting-coach |
| parenting-coach-afternoon | 2:00 PM daily | parenting-coach |
NICU/PPD state: While NICU or PPD window is active, these jobs are exempt from early-termination and cost-opt. Never disable nicu-care or wellness-coach during active NICU phase.
Daily Job Schedule (Rocha-Adapted)
Weekday
| Time | Job |
|---|
| 6:00 AM | morning-briefing (Sonnet) |
| 6:15 AM | daily-finance-review |
| 7:00 AM | cost-optimizer |
| 7:33 AM | heartbeat (full) |
| 8:03 AM | wellness-coach-morning |
| 8:06 AM | parenting-coach-morning |
| 9:00 AM | heartbeat-lightweight |
| 9:03 AM | task-coach-nudge |
| 10:00 AM | task-coach-ask-Paula |
| …etc | (backbone repeats each 2h) |
| 9:10 PM | nightly-reflection |
Weekend
| Time | Job |
|---|
| 8:00 AM | weekend-briefing |
| 9:30 AM | meal-plan-prompt (Saturday) |
| 10:05 AM | meal-planner (Saturday) |
Content Pipeline Jobs
Backbone slot: :30–:42. All 4x-daily cadence.
| Job | Schedule |
|---|
| content-schedule-maintenance | 7:30, 11:30, 15:30, 19:30 |
| content-analytics-check | 8:13, 14:13, 20:13 |
| content-creative-daily | 7:12 Mon–Fri |
Content blitz: Disabled as of 2026-05-22 — hallucination risk at high pace. Do not re-enable without explicit approval.
Cost Optimizer Protected Agents
Cost-optimizer MUST NEVER touch these regardless of usage:
nicu-care, wellness-coach, health-coach, content-*,
entrepreneur-*, coding-agent, finance-manager
Adding a New Job — Checklist
- Identify backbone slot (or gap ≥ 3 min from nearest job)
- Choose model tier (Haiku for routine checks, Sonnet for planning/reporting)
- Confirm job is NOT duplicating an existing job
- Verify it does NOT run inside quiet hours (10 PM – 6 AM) unless exempt
- Add to
~/.hermes/cron.json with unique ID
- Test with single dry-run before enabling recurring
Common Pitfalls
- ❌ Scheduling two jobs at the same minute → queue collision
- ❌ Using Sonnet for lightweight checkins → unnecessary cost
- ❌ Disabling family-care jobs during cost optimization pass
- ❌ Running content jobs during quiet hours
- ❌ Overlapping content-blitz with content-analytics (separate concerns)
- ❌ Forgetting 3-min minimum gap in busy slots like 8 AM
Verification Checklist
