cron-dashboard

name	cron-dashboard
user-invocable	false
description	Unified dashboard for all cron jobs, systemd services, and Docker containers. Shows schedules, health status, log freshness, errors, upcoming runs, and diagnostics. Use when checking what's scheduled, what's running, what failed, or managing cron jobs.
triggers	["cron","scheduled jobs","what's running","crontab","service status","job health","cron dashboard","check services","what failed"]
category	system
maturity	stable
tags	["cron","systemd","docker","health-monitoring","diagnostics"]

Cron Dashboard

Unified view of all scheduled jobs, systemd services, and Docker containers with health monitoring.

Binary: ~/bin/cron-dash (or node ${CLAUDE_SKILLS_DIR:-$HOME/.claude-agent/.claude/skills}/cron-dashboard/scripts/dashboard.cjs)

Quick Reference

cron-dash status           # Full dashboard
cron-dash health           # Health check (problems only)
cron-dash next 12          # Upcoming runs in next 12 hours
cron-dash errors           # Recent errors across all jobs
cron-dash diagnose monitor # Deep diagnosis of a job
cron-dash logs runner 50   # Last 50 lines of a job's log

Commands

status — Full Dashboard

cron-dash status

Shows everything at a glance:

• All cron jobs with schedule, log age, size, error count, health status
• Systemd services (user + system scope) — only our custom ones
• Docker containers with status
• Summary counts

Health statuses:

Status	Meaning
✅ healthy	Log updated within expected interval, no errors
⚠️ warning	Some errors in recent log lines
❌ error	Many errors (>5) in recent log output
⏰ stale	Log not updated in 2.5× expected interval
❓ unknown	No log file configured or found
◌ disabled	Cron entry is commented out

health — Problems Only

cron-dash health

Shows only jobs with issues + actionable suggestions for each.

next [hours] — Upcoming Runs

cron-dash next          # Next 6 hours (default)
cron-dash next 24       # Next 24 hours
cron-dash next 1        # Next hour

errors [name] — Recent Errors

cron-dash errors              # All jobs
cron-dash errors monitor      # Filter by name

Scans last 100 lines of each log for error patterns (error, fail, exception, timeout, refused, etc.).

diagnose <name> — Deep Diagnosis

cron-dash diagnose scan
cron-dash diagnose monitor

Full investigation:

• Schedule and command details
• Log analysis (size, freshness, error count, last line)
• Script existence + permissions check
• Binary/dependency check
• Running process check
• Disk space check
• Actionable suggestions

logs [name] [lines] — View Logs

cron-dash logs               # All job logs
cron-dash logs runner         # Specific job
cron-dash logs runner 100     # Last 100 lines

history [name] — Activity Heatmap

cron-dash history
cron-dash history runner

Shows run frequency per day as a bar chart from log timestamps.

crons — Detailed Cron List

cron-dash crons

Shows every crontab entry with human-readable schedule, command, log file, and comments.

services — Service Details

cron-dash services

Lists systemd services + Docker containers with recent journal entries.

add — Add Cron Job

cron-dash add "*/15 * * * *" "node ~/scripts/check.cjs >> ~/logs/check.log 2>&1" --name "health-check"

remove — Remove Cron Entries

cron-dash remove "vuln-scanner"   # Removes entries containing this pattern

disable / enable — Toggle Entries

cron-dash disable "web-monitor"   # Comments out matching entries
cron-dash enable "web-monitor"    # Uncomments them

export — JSON Export

cron-dash export                   # Full dashboard as JSON
cron-dash export > /tmp/dash.json  # Save to file

What It Monitors

Cron Jobs

• Parses crontab -l for all entries
• Detects schedule, command, log file, working directory
• Generates human-readable schedule descriptions
• Calculates expected run intervals
• Checks log freshness vs expected interval
• Scans logs for error patterns
• Computes next scheduled runs

Systemd Services

• Lists user-scope services (openclaw, riften, etc.)
• Lists system-scope services (docker, etc.)
• Shows active/inactive/failed status
• Fetches recent journal entries

Docker Containers

• Lists all containers (running + stopped)
• Shows status, image, ports

Health Detection Logic

1. Stale detection: If log_age > interval × 2.5 → stale
   • Every-minute jobs: stale after 2.5 min
   • Every-15-min jobs: stale after 37.5 min
   • Daily jobs: stale after 2.5 days
   • Weekly jobs: stale after 8+ days
2. Error detection: Scans last 100 log lines for error keywords
   • 0 errors → healthy
   • 1-5 errors → warning
   • 6+ errors → error
3. Unknown: No log file path in cron command or log file missing

Agent Usage

During heartbeats

# Quick health check — only shows problems
cron-dash health

When user asks "what's running?"

cron-dash status

When user asks "why isn't X working?"

cron-dash diagnose <name>

When setting up a new cron

cron-dash add "0 */4 * * *" "cd ~/projects/<your-app> && python3 sync.py >> logs/sync.log 2>&1" --name "myapp-sync"
cron-dash status  # Verify it appears