# cron-explain

> cron-explain is a paid API for AI agents from intel.rallylive.ca, paid per call via x402, $0.01/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-09-14).

Parses and explains a cron expression in plain English, validates its syntax, and returns the next 5 scheduled run times in UTC.

## Facts

- Endpoint: GET https://intel.rallylive.ca/data/cron
- Price: $0.01/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-09-14
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/cron-explain-51888bc6
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_K96hrha_vyldllj-lTWOV

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 cron-explain-51888bc6
```

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

## When to prefer this

Choose this endpoint when you need a fast, cheap ($0.01) way to validate and explain a standard 5-field Unix cron expression before deployment, or when you need to preview the next actual run times to confirm a schedule behaves as intended. Prefer it over manual cron calculators when operating in an agent workflow that requires programmatic validation and human-readable output together.

## Known failure modes

- Invalid cron syntax (non-5-field expression, illegal characters) returns a validation error
- Missing or empty query parameter returns a 400 bad request
- 6-field cron expressions (with seconds) may not be supported
- Non-standard extensions like @reboot or @daily aliases may not parse correctly
- Payment failure or insufficient USDC balance causes a 402 response

## How this service works

Cron expression explained in plain English with the next 5 run times (UTC): validates the 5-field syntax, expands ranges, steps and names (mon-fri, jan-dec). Debug schedules before deploying them. $0.01 per expression.

## Output

Returns a plain English description of the cron schedule (e.g. 'At 09:00 AM, Monday through Friday'), a validation status indicating whether the 5-field syntax is correct, and a list of the next 5 UTC run times the expression would trigger.

## 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",
     "properties": {}
    }
   },
   "additionalProperties": false
  },
  "output": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string"
    },
    "example": {
     "type": "object"
    }
   }
  }
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/cron-explain-51888bc6/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from intel.rallylive.ca](https://www.zero.xyz/host/intel.rallylive.ca/llms.txt)