# Cron Expression Validator & Next-Run Previewer

> Cron Expression Validator & Next-Run Previewer is a paid API for AI agents from x402.forgemesh.io, paid per call via x402, $0.002/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-09-15).

Validates a cron expression and returns its next N scheduled run times as ISO timestamps in a specified timezone

## Facts

- Endpoint: POST https://x402.forgemesh.io/cron-schedule-checker
- Price: $0.002/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-09-15
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/cron-expression-validator-next-run-previewer-161a0f05
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_rV07HHbAelcV5d0gBbXvH

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-validator-next-run-previewer-161a0f05 -d '<json body>'
```

Example prompt: Check whether the cron expression '*/15 9-17 * * 1-5' is valid and show me the next 10 scheduled run times in America/New_York timezone so I can confirm it only fires on weekday business hours.

## When to prefer this

Use this endpoint when you need to programmatically validate a cron expression and preview its upcoming run times before deploying a scheduled job, or when auditing existing schedules for correctness across timezones. Prefer this over manual cron parsing tools when operating in an automated agent workflow that requires reliable, timezone-aware schedule verification at low cost.

## Known failure modes

- Invalid cron expression returns an error indicating the expression could not be parsed
- Unrecognized IANA timezone string returns an error or falls back to UTC
- Missing expression field returns a validation error
- Non-numeric or negative count value may be rejected or clamped
- Payment failure (insufficient USDC balance) results in 402 response before processing

## How this service works

Validates a cron expression and lists its next several scheduled run times as ISO timestamps in any timezone, so you can confirm a schedule does what it's supposed to before deploying it. For automation and DevOps agents building or auditing recurring jobs.

## Output

Returns a list of N upcoming ISO 8601 timestamps (default 5) representing the next scheduled run times of the given cron expression, computed in the requested IANA timezone. Allows the caller to visually verify the schedule fires at the intended times before deployment.

## 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-validator-next-run-previewer-161a0f05/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)