cron-task-creator · git:20260621.5d40a66 · 2026-06-21 · sha256 61140eb5ff554bcb
cron-task-creator git:20260621.5d40a66A
Immutable. This exact content is served forever at /api/v1/blob/61140eb5ff554bcb.
---
name: cron-task-creator
description: 'Create, manage, and run scheduled automated tasks (cron jobs) in Clacky. Use this skill whenever the user wants to create a new automated task or cron job, set up recurring automation, schedule something to run daily/weekly/hourly, view all scheduled tasks, edit an existing task prompt or cron schedule, enable or disable a task, delete a task, check task run history or logs, or run a task immediately via the WebUI. Trigger on phrases like cron, scheduled task, run every day, automate this; 定时任务, 每天自动, 定时执行.'
disable-model-invocation: false
user-invocable: true
---
# Cron Task Creator
A skill for creating, managing, and running scheduled automated tasks in Clacky.
## Architecture Overview
```
Storage:
~/.clacky/tasks/<name>.md # Task prompt file (self-contained AI instruction)
~/.clacky/schedules.yml # All scheduled plans (YAML list)
~/.clacky/logger/clacky-*.log # Execution logs (daily rotation)
API Base: http://${CLACKY_SERVER_HOST}:${CLACKY_SERVER_PORT}
Cron-Tasks API (unified — manages task file + schedule together):
GET /api/cron-tasks → list all cron tasks with schedule info
POST /api/cron-tasks → create task + schedule {name, content, cron, enabled?}
PATCH /api/cron-tasks/:name → update {content?, cron?, enabled?}
DELETE /api/cron-tasks/:name → delete task file + schedule
POST /api/cron-tasks/:name/run → execute immediately (creates a new session)
```
## Cron Expression Quick Reference
| Expression | Meaning |
|-----------------|---------------------------|
| `0 9 * * 1-5` | Weekdays at 09:00 |
| `0 9 * * *` | Every day at 09:00 |
| `0 */2 * * *` | Every 2 hours |
| `*/30 * * * *` | Every 30 minutes |
| `0 19 * * *` | Every day at 19:00 |
| `0 8 * * 1` | Every Monday at 08:00 |
| `0 0 1 * *` | First day of every month |
Field order: `minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week`
---
## Operations
### 1. LIST — Show all tasks
```bash
curl -s http://${CLACKY_SERVER_HOST}:${CLACKY_SERVER_PORT}/api/cron-tasks
```
Display each task: name, cron schedule, enabled status, content preview.
If no tasks exist, inform the user and offer to create one or show templates.
**Key tip**: Remind the user that the Clacky WebUI Task Panel (sidebar → Tasks) also shows all tasks and supports direct management.
---
### 2. CREATE — New task
**Step 1: Gather required info** (only ask for what's missing)
- What should the task DO? (goal, behavior, output format)
- How often should it run? (or is it manual-only without a schedule?)
- Any specific parameters? (URLs, file paths, output location, language)
**Step 2: Generate task name**
- Rule: only `[a-z0-9_-]`, lowercase, no spaces
- Examples: `daily_report`, `price_monitor`, `weekly_summary`
**Step 3: Write the task prompt**
The prompt must be:
- **Self-contained**: the agent running it has zero prior context — include everything needed
- **Written as direct instructions** to an AI agent (imperative, not conversational)
- **Detailed**: include URLs, file paths, output format, language, expected output location
Good task prompt example:
```
You are a price monitoring assistant. Complete the following task:
## Goal
Check the current BTC price on CoinGecko, compare with yesterday's price, and log an alert if the change exceeds 5%.
## Steps
1. Fetch https://api.coingecko.com/api/v3/simple/price?ids=bitcoin&vs_currencies=usd&include_24hr_change=true
2. Parse the JSON response to get current price and 24h change
3. If |change| > 5%, write an alert to ~/price_alerts/alert_YYYY-MM-DD.txt
4. Print the current price and change percentage
Execute immediately.
```
**Step 4: Create via API**
```bash
curl -s -X POST http://${CLACKY_SERVER_HOST}:${CLACKY_SERVER_PORT}/api/cron-tasks \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"name": "task_name",
"content": "task prompt content...",
"cron": "0 9 * * *",
"enabled": true
}'
```
**Step 5: Confirm creation**
```
✅ Task created successfully!
📋 Task name: daily_standup
⏰ Schedule: Weekdays at 09:00 (cron: 0 9 * * 1-5)
View and manage this task in the Clacky WebUI → Tasks panel. Click ▶ Run to execute immediately.
```
---
### 3. EDIT — Modify an existing task
**Step 1**: Identify the task (if unclear, LIST first and ask)
**Step 2**: Show current state via LIST or ask user to confirm
**Step 3**: Update via API
```bash
# Update content only
curl -s -X PATCH http://${CLACKY_SERVER_HOST}:${CLACKY_SERVER_PORT}/api/cron-tasks/task_name \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"content": "new prompt content..."}'
# Update cron schedule only
curl -s -X PATCH http://${CLACKY_SERVER_HOST}:${CLACKY_SERVER_PORT}/api/cron-tasks/task_name \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"cron": "0 8 * * 1-5"}'
# Update both
curl -s -X PATCH http://${CLACKY_SERVER_HOST}:${CLACKY_SERVER_PORT}/api/cron-tasks/task_name \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"content": "...", "cron": "0 8 * * 1-5"}'
```
**Step 4**: Confirm changes
```
✅ Task updated!
📋 daily_standup
Schedule: 0 9 * * 1-5 → 0 8 * * 1-5 (now weekdays at 08:00)
```
---
### 4. ENABLE / DISABLE — Toggle a task
```bash
# Disable
curl -s -X PATCH http://${CLACKY_SERVER_HOST}:${CLACKY_SERVER_PORT}/api/cron-tasks/task_name \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"enabled": false}'
# Enable
curl -s -X PATCH http://${CLACKY_SERVER_HOST}:${CLACKY_SERVER_PORT}/api/cron-tasks/task_name \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"enabled": true}'
```
Confirm:
```
✅ daily_standup has been disabled.
To re-enable: say "enable daily_standup"
```
---
### 5. DELETE — Remove a task
Always confirm before deleting (unless the user has explicitly said to delete):
```
⚠️ Are you sure you want to delete daily_standup? This cannot be undone.
```
```bash
curl -s -X DELETE http://${CLACKY_SERVER_HOST}:${CLACKY_SERVER_PORT}/api/cron-tasks/task_name
```
---
### 6. HISTORY — View run history
Read the daily log files directly:
```bash
grep "task_name" ~/.clacky/logger/clacky-$(date +%Y-%m-%d).log | tail -20
```
Or search across recent days:
```bash
grep -h "task_name" ~/.clacky/logger/clacky-*.log | tail -30
```
Display format:
```
📊 Run History: ai_news_x_daily
Mar 10 19:00 ❌ Failed — JSON::ParserError: unexpected end of input
Mar 09 19:00 ✅ Success — took 1m 42s
Mar 08 19:00 ✅ Success — took 2m 10s
```
---
### 7. RUN NOW — Execute immediately
```bash
curl -s -X POST http://${CLACKY_SERVER_HOST}:${CLACKY_SERVER_PORT}/api/cron-tasks/task_name/run
```
This creates a new session. Tell the user:
```
▶️ Task started in a new session.
View it in the Clacky WebUI → Sessions panel.
```
---
### 8. TEMPLATES — Browse common task templates
When user says "what templates are there" or "what can I automate":
```
📚 Common Task Templates — pick one to get started:
1. 📰 AI News Digest — Daily fetch of AI news from X/RSS, generate Markdown report
2. 💰 Price Monitor — Check crypto/stock prices on a schedule, log alerts on anomalies
3. 📊 Weekly Work Summary — Every Monday, summarize last week's work into a report
4. 🌤 Weather Reminder — Fetch weather every morning and save to file
5. 🔍 Competitor Monitor — Periodically scrape competitor sites for changes
6. 📝 Journal Prompt — Evening reminder to journal with daily reflection questions
7. 🔗 Link Health Check — Periodically verify specified URLs are accessible
8. 📂 File Backup — Regularly back up a specified directory to another location
Tell me which one interests you, or describe your own use case!
```
---
## Important Notes
- Task names: only `[a-z0-9_-]`, no spaces, no uppercase
- Task prompt files must be **self-contained** — the executing agent has no prior memory
- Clacky server must be running for cron to trigger automatically (checked every minute)
- The WebUI Task Panel is the preferred interface for managing tasks — always remind the user to check it after changes