> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Cron scheduling

> Schedule tasks to run automatically with delivery to any platform

Hermes has a built-in cron scheduler that runs agent tasks on a schedule and delivers results to any connected platform. Use it for daily reports, nightly backups, weekly summaries, or any recurring workflow.

## How it works

Each scheduled job stores a prompt, a schedule expression, and optional delivery settings. The scheduler runs as a background process (started with `hermes cron start`) and fires the agent with the stored prompt at the scheduled time. Results are saved to `~/.hermes/cron/output/` and optionally delivered to a platform.

## The `hermes cron` subcommand

Manage the scheduler from the command line:

```bash theme={null}
hermes cron start    # Start the scheduler daemon
hermes cron stop     # Stop the scheduler
hermes cron status   # Show scheduler status and next run times
hermes cron list     # List all scheduled jobs
```

## The `/cron` slash command

Inside a chat session, use `/cron` to manage jobs interactively:

| Subcommand                      | Description                         |
| ------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| `/cron` or `/cron list`         | List all scheduled jobs with status |
| `/cron add <schedule> <prompt>` | Create a new job                    |
| `/cron edit <id>`               | Edit a job's prompt or schedule     |
| `/cron pause <id>`              | Pause a job without deleting it     |
| `/cron resume <id>`             | Resume a paused job                 |
| `/cron run <id>`                | Trigger a job immediately           |
| `/cron remove <id>`             | Delete a job permanently            |

You can also describe what you want in natural language and the agent will create the job for you:

```
Schedule a daily summary of my inbox every morning at 8am
```

## Schedule formats

<CodeGroup>
  ```text Natural language theme={null}
  # One-shot jobs
  30m                  → run once in 30 minutes
  2h                   → run once in 2 hours
  2026-03-01T09:00     → run once at a specific date/time

  # Recurring intervals
  every 30m            → every 30 minutes
  every 2h             → every 2 hours
  every 1d             → every day
  ```

  ```text Cron expressions theme={null}
  # Standard 5-field cron format: minute hour day month weekday
  0 9 * * *      → 9:00 AM every day
  0 9 * * 1      → 9:00 AM every Monday
  0 8,17 * * 1-5 → 8 AM and 5 PM on weekdays
  30 23 * * 0    → 11:30 PM every Sunday
  0 0 1 * *      → midnight on the 1st of every month
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Platform delivery

Jobs created from a messaging platform (Telegram, Discord, etc.) automatically deliver results back to the same chat. You can also specify delivery explicitly:

```
Create a cron job that runs every morning at 7am, generates a weather briefing, and sends it to my Telegram
```

Delivery uses the `send_message` tool and routes to the platform where you created the job, or to any configured platform you specify.

## Creating your first cron job

<Steps>
  <Step title="Start the scheduler">
    If it isn't already running, start the cron daemon:

    ```bash theme={null}
    hermes cron start
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a job">
    Use the `/cron` slash command or ask the agent naturally. For example, to get a daily news summary:

    ```
    /cron add "0 8 * * *" "Search for today's top AI news stories and summarize them in 5 bullet points"
    ```

    Or in natural language:

    ```
    Schedule a daily AI news summary at 8am
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify the job">
    Run `/cron list` to confirm the job was created and see its next scheduled run time.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Test it now">
    Trigger the job immediately to verify it works:

    ```
    /cron run <job-id>
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Example scheduled jobs

```yaml theme={null}
# Daily standup prep at 8:45 AM on weekdays
schedule: "45 8 * * 1-5"
prompt: |
  Review my git log for the last 24 hours and draft a standup update:
  what I did yesterday, what I'm doing today, any blockers.

# Nightly project backup at 11 PM
schedule: "0 23 * * *"
prompt: |
  Run a backup of ~/projects to ~/backups/$(date +%Y-%m-%d).tar.gz
  and confirm it completed successfully.

# Weekly dependency audit every Sunday at 6 AM
schedule: "0 6 * * 0"
prompt: |
  Check all package.json files in ~/projects for outdated dependencies
  and generate a report of what needs updating.
```

## Job output

Job output is saved to `~/.hermes/cron/output/<job-id>/<timestamp>.md`. You can read past runs by asking the agent:

```
Show me the output from last night's backup job
```

<Warning>
  Cron prompts are scanned for injection patterns before execution. Prompts containing suspicious patterns (credential exfiltration, destructive commands targeting root paths) are blocked.
</Warning>