| name | cron-patterns |
| description | Use when designing, reviewing, or scheduling cron jobs for Hermes. Defines scheduling principles, energy matching, slot hygiene, and the recommended Hermes cron schedule. |
| version | 2.0.0 |
| author | Hermes Agent |
| license | MIT |
| metadata | {"hermes":{"tags":["home-assistant","rocha-family","cron","scheduling","automation"],"related_skills":["hermes-cron-schedule","checkin-orchestrator","platform-manager"]}} |
Cron Patterns Skill
Overview
Scheduling principles and hygiene for all Hermes cron jobs. Adapted from htekdev/copilot-home-assistant cron.json architecture.
When to Use
- Adding a new cron job
- Reviewing schedule conflicts
- Evaluating job model tier (haiku vs sonnet)
- Post-discharge timing adjustments
Key Principles
- No two jobs share the same minute+hour
- Minimum 3-minute gap between jobs in the same hour
- Lightweight/haiku model for frequent polling
- Sonnet/full model for complex daily tasks
- Early-exit pattern: jobs check if there's anything to do before running
- POST-DISCHARGE: No Paula messages before 9 AM; quiet hours extended to 7 AM
Schedule Slot Architecture
| Slot | Minutes | Job Type |
|---|
| Backbone | :00–:03 | Heartbeat, mesh, briefings |
| Family care | :06–:10 | NICU, wellness, parenting |
| Daily tasks | :15–:30 | Finance, context audit |
| Content | :30–:42 | Content pipeline (OG domain) |
| Platform | :45–:53 | Reflection, health scan |
Recommended Hermes Jobs
Daily Briefing
morning-briefing | 0 7 * * 1-5 | Weekday briefing (Hector only before 9 AM)weekend-briefing | 0 8 * * 0,6 | Weekend briefing
Family Pulse
wellness-coach-morning | 3 9 * * * | Paula check-in (9 AM, not 8)nicu-care-checkin | 6 9,11,13,15,17,19 * * * | Mia NICU monitoringparenting-coach-morning | 6 9 * * * | HJ sibling adjustment
Weekly/Monthly
weekly-planner | 10 19 * * 0 | Sunday evening 7-section briefbudget-review | 0 10 1 * * | 1st-of-month deep dive
Maintenance
nightly-reflection | 0 21 * * * | 5-phase reflection cyclecontext-audit | 5 6 * * * | Daily quick scan (silent if clean)
Energy Matching
| Time | Cognitive Load | Job Type |
|---|
| 6–7 AM | High | Context audit (silent) |
| 7–9 AM | Medium-High | Hector briefings only |
| 9 AM–5 PM | Medium | Nudges, wellness, NICU |
| 5–9 PM | Low | Dinner, evening wellness |
| 9–10 PM | Low | Reflection, memory updates |
| 10 PM–7 AM | Silent | No non-urgent messages |
Schedule Hygiene Rules
- No two jobs share the same minute+hour
- Always send mesh heartbeat at job start
- ≤3 jobs within any 15-minute window
- Disable jobs when their purpose is met (no zombie crons)
[SILENT] return if nothing to action (saves tokens)
Common Pitfalls
- Scheduling two jobs at the same minute
- Running heavy sonnet jobs at high frequency
- Not respecting quiet hours for Paula-related jobs
- Forgetting heartbeat-first invariant
Verification Checklist
Last updated: 2026-06-03 | Migrated to SKILL.md format (Session 18)
