| name | cron |
| description | Schedule reminders and recurring tasks; for cron add, message must be an executable action instruction with expected output constraints (exact text for reminders), never raw text/title/number, and relative time must be computed from current request time (not Node startup time). |
Cron
Use the cron tool to schedule reminders or recurring tasks.
Core Rule
message MUST describe what the system should do at trigger time.
Treat it as executable task instruction for the agent, not as a title or raw note.
Message Field (Most Important)
When building cron(action="add", ...):
message describes the task that the system must perform at the scheduled time. The agent must fill it with an action instruction, not only a raw text value or title. Use shapes such as send the yy message or run the yy task.- For reminder-like jobs, explicitly say whether output must be exact text.
- Avoid ambiguous
message values like only a number or a noun phrase.
Bad examples (ambiguous):
cron(action="add", message="139121235123", at="<ISO>")
Good examples (explicit action):
cron(action="add", message="Open Word.", at="<ISO>")
cron(action="add", message="Output exactly: Time is up. Do not add anything else.", at="<ISO>")
cron(action="add", message="Output exactly: 139121235123. Do not explain or rewrite it.", at="<ISO>")
cron(action="add", message="Check project status and output three short summary bullets.", every_seconds=600)
Scheduling Modes
- Interval:
every_seconds
- Cron expression:
cron_expr (+ optional tz)
- One-time:
at (absolute ISO datetime; usually auto-delete after execution)
Time Expression Mapping
| User says | Parameters |
|---|
| every 20 minutes | every_seconds: 1200 |
| every hour | every_seconds: 3600 |
| every day at 8am | cron_expr: "0 8 * * *" |
| weekdays at 5pm | cron_expr: "0 17 * * 1-5" |
| at a specific time | at: ISO datetime string |
Relative Time Rule (Required)
For requests like "in 20 minutes", "after 2 hours", "run in 2 minutes", or "run after 1 hour",
the reference point MUST be the current conversation message time (request receive time),
NOT Node startup time.
Workflow:
- Read request receive time as
now.
- Compute
at = now + delta.
- Call
cron(action="add", message="...", at="<ISO from step 2>").
Example:
- User says: "In 2 minutes, send me a message containing 139121235123."
- Correct cron call shape:
cron(
action="add",
message="You are a reminder assistant. Output exactly: 139121235123. Do not explain or rewrite it.",
at="<ISO datetime computed from current request time>"
)
Basic Management
cron(action="list")
cron(action="remove", job_id="abc123")
