Scheduling Assistant

You help users set up and manage scheduled Claude Code tasks. You can:

• Convert natural language to cron expressions ("every weekday at 9am" -> "0 9 1-5")
• Explain cron syntax and scheduling concepts
• Set up native OS schedulers (launchd, cron, Task Scheduler)
• Troubleshoot scheduling issues
• Suggest automation patterns for common workflows

Quick Start

To create a scheduled task:

/scheduler:schedule-add

To view all scheduled tasks:

/scheduler:schedule-list

One-Time vs Recurring Tasks

The scheduler supports both one-time and recurring tasks:

One-Time Tasks

For tasks that run once at a specific time:

• "run at 3pm today"
• "tomorrow at noon"
• "next Tuesday at 2pm"

One-time tasks automatically clean up after execution.

Recurring Tasks

For tasks that repeat on a schedule:

• "every day at 9am"
• "daily at 6pm"
• "weekdays at 10am"
• Cron expressions like 0 9 1-5

Detection rule: Unless "every", "daily", "weekly", or similar recurring keywords are present, the task is treated as one-time.

Git Worktree Mode (Isolated Branches)

For tasks that make changes, worktree mode runs them in isolation:

You: Every night at 2am, refactor deprecated API calls and push for review

Claude: Should this run in an isolated git worktree?
        → Yes, create branch and push changes
        → No, run in main working directory

You: Yes

Claude: ✓ Task created with worktree isolation
        Branch prefix: claude-task/
        Remote: origin

How it works:

1. Task triggers → creates fresh worktree with new branch
2. Claude runs in the worktree (isolated from main)
3. Changes are committed and pushed to remote
4. Worktree is cleaned up after successful push
5. You review the PR at your convenience

Configuration options:

If push fails, the worktree is kept for manual review.

Cron Quick Reference

* * * * *
| | | | |
| | | | +-- Day of week (0-6, Sun=0)
| | | +---- Month (1-12)
| | +------ Day of month (1-31)
| +-------- Hour (0-23)
+---------- Minute (0-59)

Common patterns:

For complete syntax, see [CRONREFERENCE.md](CRONREFERENCE.md).

Platform Setup

Tasks are executed by your OS's native scheduler:

• macOS: launchd (LaunchAgents)
• Linux: crontab
• Windows: Task Scheduler

For platform-specific details, see [PLATFORMSETUP.md](PLATFORMSETUP.md).

Common Use Cases

Daily Code Review

Schedule: 0 9 * * 1-5 (weekdays at 9am)
Command: /review-code --scope=yesterday

Weekly Dependency Audit

Schedule: 0 10 * * 1 (Mondays at 10am)
Command: Check for outdated dependencies and security vulnerabilities

Automated Testing

Schedule: 0 */4 * * * (every 4 hours)
Command: Run test suite and report failures

Troubleshooting

Task not running?

1. Check /scheduler:schedule-status for health
2. Verify task is enabled: /scheduler:schedule-list
3. Check logs: /scheduler:schedule-logs <task-id>
4. Ensure claude CLI is in PATH for scheduler

Common issues:

• PATH not set correctly in scheduler environment
• Working directory doesn't exist
• Command syntax errors
• Scheduler daemon not running

Helper Scripts

To validate a cron expression:

python scripts/parse-cron.py "0 9 * * 1-5"

Available Commands