Schedule and manage recurring tasks with cron and systemd timers. Use when setting up cron jobs, writing systemd timer units, handling timezone-aware scheduling, monitoring failed jobs, implementing retry patterns, or debugging why a scheduled task didn't run.
Security Analysis
high confidenceThe skill's instructions match a cron/systemd scheduling tool, but there are clear inconsistencies (notably claiming macOS support while centering on systemd/systemctl) and it tells the agent to run system-level commands that require sudo—review before installing.
The SKILL.md focuses on cron, at, and systemd timers (systemctl, /etc/systemd/system, journalctl), which is coherent for a Linux scheduling tool. However the registry metadata lists darwin (macOS) as a supported OS even though systemd/systemctl are not standard on macOS and macOS uses launchd instead. The declared anyBins (crontab, systemctl, at) partially aligns with the content but including systemctl while advertising darwin is inconsistent and could cause surprising failures or unexpected behavior on macOS.
The instructions are detailed and stay within scheduling and debugging scope (crontab, systemd timers, at, timezone handling). They do recommend editing system files (/etc/systemd/system), enabling/disabling timers, and using sudo for other users' crontabs and systemctl operations. These are expected for this domain but are privileged actions — the user/agent will be instructed to run system-level commands that can change service behavior and require elevated rights.
Instruction-only skill with no install spec and no code files. This is low risk from an install mechanism perspective since nothing is downloaded or written by the skill bundle itself.
The skill does not require environment variables or credentials. The doc suggests setting variables like PATH, MAILTO, TZ in crontabs, which is expected and proportional to its functionality. No unexplained credential access is requested.
The skill is not always-on and does not request persistent system presence. It does, however, instruct actions that modify system services and cron entries (which are persistent changes to the host). Also note the skill is allowed to be invoked autonomously by the agent by default (disable-model-invocation = false) — this by itself is normal but combined with the instructions that ask for privileged commands, it warrants caution.
Guidance
This skill is largely coherent for scheduling on Linux, but review these points before installing: - OS mismatch: The skill advertises macOS (darwin) support, yet the instructions center on systemd/systemctl (Linux). If you're on macOS, prefer a launchd-focused guide or expect missing commands (systemctl doesn't exist on macOS). - Privileged operations: Many suggested commands (sudo systemctl enable/disable, editing /etc/systemd/system, crontab -u, crontab -r) require root and can stop/start services. Do not run agent-provided sudo commands blindly—inspect the unit files and scripts first. - Safety of scripts run by cron/at: The skill shows how to schedule arbitrary scripts. Ensure those scripts are audited and use absolute paths, limited permissions, and safe logging to avoid accidental execution of malicious binaries via PATH or symlink attacks. - Backups and recovery: The doc uses crontab -r and advises editing system files; back up crontabs and unit files before making changes. - Availability of tools: 'at' and systemd may not be installed on all systems; check which binaries exist before following instructions. - Autonomy: Because agents can invoke this skill autonomously by default, consider restricting it to user-invoked only if you don't want the agent making scheduling changes without explicit approval. If you plan to use this on macOS, ask the publisher to provide launchd-specific guidance or remove darwin from the supported OS list. If you proceed on Linux, follow principle of least privilege, test changes in a safe environment, and review any scripts the agent schedules.
Latest Release
v1.0.0
Initial release: Cron syntax, crontab management, systemd timers, at/one-off jobs, timezone/DST handling, job monitoring, locking, idempotent patterns
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