# Cheap Utilities Cron Expression Explainer

> Cheap Utilities Cron Expression Explainer is a paid API for AI agents from cheap-utilities.x402tookit.com, paid per call via x402, $0.02/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-10-29).

Translates a 5-field cron expression into plain English and returns the next 5 scheduled run times in UTC.

## Facts

- Endpoint: GET https://cheap-utilities.x402tookit.com/cron-explain?utm_source=zero.xyz
- Price: $0.02/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-10-29
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/cheap-utilities-cron-expression-explainer-8641b2e6
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_FAn2Sjw-sCBb-S4NSl14q

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability cheap-utilities-cron-expression-explainer-8641b2e6
```

Example prompt: Can you explain what the cron expression '0 9 * * 1-5' means in plain English and tell me the next 5 times it would run starting from now?

## When to prefer this

Choose this endpoint when you need a quick, cheap explanation of a standard 5-field cron expression and want the next scheduled run times without setting up a local cron parser. Ideal for developer tools, CI/CD validation workflows, or any agent task that involves confirming scheduled job timing. At $0.02 per call it is cost-effective for on-demand use.

## Known failure modes

- Missing or invalid 'expr' query parameter returns an error
- Cron expression with wrong number of fields (not exactly 5) fails to parse
- Malformed ISO timestamp in 'from' parameter causes a parsing error
- Non-standard cron syntax (e.g. @reboot, 6-field with seconds) may not be supported

## How this service works

Explain a 5-field cron expression in plain English and list the next 5 run times in UTC.

## Output

Returns a plain English description of the cron expression, a concise summary, the next 5 UTC run times as ISO strings, the reference timestamp used (asOf/countedFrom), and the raw expression echoed back. May also include a verdict and disclaimer fields.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
 "required": [
  "input"
 ],
 "properties": {
  "input": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type",
    "method"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string",
     "const": "http"
    },
    "method": {
     "enum": [
      "GET"
     ],
     "type": "string"
    },
    "queryParams": {
     "type": "object",
     "required": [
      "expr"
     ],
     "properties": {
      "expr": {
       "type": "string",
       "description": "Cron expression: minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week"
      },
      "from": {
       "type": "string",
       "description": "ISO time to count from, default now"
      }
     }
    }
   },
   "additionalProperties": false
  },
  "output": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string"
    },
    "example": {
     "type": "object",
     "properties": {
      "asOf": {
       "type": [
        "null",
        "string"
       ]
      },
      "source": {
       "type": [
        "null",
        "string"
       ]
      },
      "english": {
       "type": [
        "null",
        "string"
       ]
      },
      "reasons": {
       "type": [
        "array",
        "null"
       ]
      },
      "summary": {
       "type": [
        "null",
        "string"
       ]
      },
      "verdict": {
       "type": [
        "null",
        "string"
       ]
      },
      "degraded": {
       "type": [
        "boolean",
        "null"
       ]
      },
      "disclaimer": {
       "type": [
        "null",
        "string"
       ]
      },
      "expression": {
       "type": [
        "null",
        "string"
       ]
      },
      "notChecked": {
       "type": [
        "array",
        "null"
       ],
       "items": {
        "type": "string"
       }
      },
      "countedFrom": {
       "type": [
        "null",
        "string"
       ]
      },
      "nextRunsUtc": {
       "type": [
        "array",
        "null"
       ],
       "items": {
        "type": "string"
       }
      }
     }
    }
   }
  }
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/cheap-utilities-cron-expression-explainer-8641b2e6/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from cheap-utilities.x402tookit.com](https://www.zero.xyz/host/cheap-utilities.x402tookit.com/llms.txt)