c-cron — Claude Code skill: cron jobs and launchctl services
A skill for scheduling recurring tasks and managing macOS services. Useful when the agent has to add a cron job or start a launchctl service.
npx skills add daxaur/openpaw --skill c-cron -a claude-codeWhat c-cron does
Two paths for scheduled work are covered. Plain recurring commands go through the built-in crontab: list jobs with crontab -l, edit them with crontab -e, write entries as MIN HOUR DOM MON DOW command. macOS services go through lunchy-go, a wrapper over launchctl, with ls, start, stop, restart and status; the service name can be given in full or matched by pattern.
The skill ships worked examples plus a short set of rules. Cron entries should carry full script paths, output should be redirected to a log such as command >> /tmp/cron.log 2>&1, and each command is meant to be run by hand before it goes on a schedule. For macOS services the skill leans on lunchy-go and leaves crontab for the simple cases.
lunchy-go is a separate utility, so service commands fail without it installed. The skill itself is one SKILL.md file and runs nothing on its own — it tells the agent which steps to take.
What it helps with
- schedule a script to run every day at 9am
- find a macOS service by part of its name
- restart a stuck service through launchctl
- see which jobs are already in crontab
- run a command every 5 minutes
Example prompts for the agent
- List the cron jobs I have right now
- Add a cron entry that runs
/path/to/script.shat 8:30 on weekdays - Restart the redis service with lunchy-go and show its status
How to install c-cron
1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add daxaur/openpaw --skill c-cron -a claude-code2Manually: put the files in place
~/.claude/skills/c-cron/SKILL.mdCopy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/c-cron/
1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add daxaur/openpaw --skill c-cron -a codex2Manually: put the files in place
.agents/skills/c-cron/SKILL.mdFor all projects use ~/.agents/skills/
1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add daxaur/openpaw --skill c-cron -a cursor2Manually: put the files in place
.cursor/skills/c-cron/SKILL.mdCursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/
1GitHub CLI
gh skill install daxaur/openpaw c-cron2Manually: put the files in place
.github/skills/c-cron/SKILL.md1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add daxaur/openpaw --skill c-cron -a gemini-cli2Platform CLI
gemini skills install https://github.com/daxaur/openpaw --path skills/c-cronManually: put the files in place
.devin/skills/c-cron/SKILL.mdThe legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works
Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add daxaur/openpaw --skill c-cron -a opencodeClaude.ai
Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills
Step by step, with commands for each platform: How to install skills in Claude Code: five ways
Questions about c-cron
How do I install c-cron in Claude Code?
Run npx skills add daxaur/openpaw --skill c-cron -a claude-code. The skill file lands at ~/.claude/skills/c-cron/SKILL.md.
What does c-cron do?
It guides the agent through adding cron jobs and through managing macOS services with the lunchy-go wrapper: start, stop, restart and status checks.
What is needed for the macOS service commands?
The lunchy-go utility, which wraps launchctl — without it start, stop and restart will not run. Cron work needs nothing extra.
Source text
SKILL.md · MIT
--- name: c-cron description: Manage cron jobs and macOS launchctl services — schedule recurring tasks, start/stop services using lunchy-go. tags: [cron, scheduling, launchctl, automation] --- # Scheduling & Cron ## lunchy-go (launchctl wrapper) Friendly wrapper around macOS `launchctl`: ```bash # List all services (pattern match) lunchy-go ls lunchy-go ls redis # Start a service lunchy-go start com.example.service lunchy-go start redis # pattern match # Stop a service lunchy-go stop redis # Restart a service lunchy-go restart redis # Show service status lunchy-go status redis ``` ## crontab (built-in) Standard Unix cron scheduler: ```bash # List current cron jobs crontab -l # Edit cron jobs (opens editor) crontab -e # Cron syntax: MIN HOUR DOM MON DOW command # Every day at 9am: # 0 9 * * * /path/to/script.sh # Every 5 minutes: # */5 * * * * /path/to/script.sh # Weekdays at 8:30am: # 30 8 * * 1-5 /path/to/script.sh ``` ## Guidelines - Prefer lunchy-go for macOS services (launchd plists) - Use crontab for simple recurring commands - Always use full paths in cron jobs - Redirect output to log files: `command >> /tmp/cron.log 2>&1` - Test commands manually before scheduling them
© daxaur · MIT · daxaur/openpaw
