# Cron Expression Next-Run Time Calculator

> Cron Expression Next-Run Time Calculator is a paid API for AI agents from x402.forgemesh.io, paid per call via x402, $0.002/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-09-14).

Parses a cron expression and computes the next 1–20 scheduled firing times in a specified timezone, flagging malformed expressions with clear errors.

## Facts

- Endpoint: POST https://x402.forgemesh.io/crontab-next-run-time
- Price: $0.002/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-09-14
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/cron-expression-next-run-time-calculator-29f48701
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_ti3C7vXDIVcY7EcUj4hP3

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-expression-next-run-time-calculator-29f48701 -d '<json body>'
```

Example prompt: Can you check this cron expression for me — '*/15 9-17 * * 1-5' — and show me the next 10 times it'll fire in America/Chicago timezone so I can confirm the schedule is right before I deploy it?

## When to prefer this

Use this endpoint when you need to preview, validate, or sanity-check a cron expression before using it in a scheduler, CI pipeline, or automation tool — especially when the expression was generated programmatically and may contain errors. Ideal for agents that produce cron syntax and need to confirm correctness or when debugging an existing schedule.

## Known failure modes

- Malformed cron expression returns a descriptive validation error rather than silently failing
- Invalid IANA timezone string causes an error indicating the unrecognized timezone
- Count out of range (beyond 20) may default or return an error
- Network timeout or service unavailability returns a generic HTTP error

## How this service works

Parses any standard cron expression and computes its next 1-20 firing times in a chosen timezone, flagging malformed expressions clearly rather than letting a bad schedule silently fail in production. For scheduler tooling, CI pipelines, and agents that generate cron syntax and need to sanity-check it.

## Output

Returns a list of upcoming firing timestamps (up to 20) for the given cron expression in the requested timezone, or a clear error message describing exactly why the expression is malformed.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "properties": {
  "count": {
   "type": "string",
   "description": "how many runs, default 5"
  },
  "timezone": {
   "type": "string",
   "description": "IANA tz, default UTC"
  },
  "expression": {
   "type": "string",
   "description": "cron expression, e.g. */15 9-17 * * 1-5"
  }
 }
}
```

## Response schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "json",
 "example": {
  "next_runs": [
   "2026-07-16T13:00:00.000Z",
   "2026-07-17T13:00:00.000Z",
   "2026-07-20T13:00:00.000Z"
  ]
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/cron-expression-next-run-time-calculator-29f48701/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from x402.forgemesh.io](https://www.zero.xyz/host/x402.forgemesh.io/llms.txt)