---
name: cron-task-creator
name_zh: 定时任务
description_zh: 创建和管理定时自动任务，支持按天、周、小时执行，可随时编辑、启停或删除。
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