Cron Jobs
Cron jobs let your avatar send messages on a schedule — perfect for daily updates, reminders, or periodic content.
What Are Cron Jobs?
A cron job is a scheduled task that triggers your avatar to send a message to a specific channel at a defined time. Examples:
- Daily briefing at 9:00 AM every day
- Weekly recap every Monday morning
- Periodic reminders every 4 hours
Setting Up a Cron Job
- Go to the Avatar Detail page
- Navigate to the Cron Jobs tab
- Click Add Cron Job
- Configure the schedule and message
Configuration Options
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Schedule | Cron expression (e.g., 0 9 * * * for daily at 9 AM) |
| Channel | Which connected platform to send the message on |
| Prompt | What the avatar should say or what topic to generate content about |
The prompt field supports natural language. Instead of writing the exact message, you can write something like "Generate a motivational quote for the team" and the AI will create a fresh message each time.
Cron Expression Reference
| Expression | Schedule |
|---|---|
0 9 * * * | Every day at 9:00 AM |
0 9 * * 1 | Every Monday at 9:00 AM |
0 */4 * * * | Every 4 hours |
0 9,18 * * * | Twice a day at 9 AM and 6 PM |
0 0 1 * * | First day of every month at midnight |
All times use UTC. Convert from your local timezone accordingly.
Managing Cron Jobs
From the Cron Jobs tab, you can:
- Enable / Disable a job without deleting it
- Edit the schedule or prompt
- Delete a job permanently
- View logs to see when jobs last ran and what was sent
Best Practices
- Be specific in your prompts — "Summarize today's crypto market news in 3 bullet points" is better than "send crypto news"
- Test first — Use a short interval (e.g., every 5 minutes) to verify the output, then switch to your actual schedule
- Monitor the logs periodically to ensure messages are being delivered as expected