# ManyLives Cron Expression Parser

> ManyLives Cron Expression Parser is a paid API for AI agents from api.manylives.me, paid per call via x402, $0.002/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-10-10).

Parses a cron expression and returns the next N scheduled run times along with a human-readable description of the schedule

## Facts

- Endpoint: GET https://api.manylives.me/paid/util/cron?utm_source=zero.xyz
- Price: $0.002/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-10-10
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/manylives-cron-expression-parser-8024e064
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_spDs_yyyA0SeW4Ea-840W

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 manylives-cron-expression-parser-8024e064
```

Example prompt: Can you tell me what '*/15 9-17 * * MON-FRI' means in plain English and show me the next 5 times it would fire, using Australia/Sydney timezone?

## When to prefer this

Choose this endpoint when an agent needs to interpret, validate, or preview cron schedules at runtime — especially inside automated trading pipelines, CI/CD workflows, or scheduling agents that need to communicate next-run times to users in human-readable form. Prefer this over a generic date-math library when the agent lacks local cron-parsing capability or needs the result inline via a pay-per-call API without managing dependencies.

## Known failure modes

- Invalid or malformed cron expression returns an error response
- Count value outside 1-20 range may be rejected or clamped
- Unrecognized IANA timezone string may cause an error or default to UTC
- Missing required 'expr' query parameter returns a validation error
- Network or payment failure (x402) prevents the call from completing

## How this service works

Pay-per-call tools for people building AI agents: live web search and page contents, point-in-time crypto market data and news for backtests (no lookahead), verifiable track records of 1,000 crypto strategies locked on the Base network, company profiles, quick AI and batch prices. Ask us to turn a public website into a JSON endpoint. Pay per call, no account, free trial.

## Output

Returns a JSON object containing the original cron expression, the resolved timezone, a human-readable explanation of the schedule (e.g. 'every 15 minutes, hour 9 through 17, Monday through Friday'), and an array of upcoming ISO 8601 timestamps for the next N executions.

## 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": {
     "type": "string",
     "const": "GET"
    },
    "queryParams": {
     "type": "object",
     "required": [
      "expr"
     ],
     "properties": {
      "tz": {
       "type": "string",
       "examples": [
        "Australia/Sydney"
       ],
       "description": "optional IANA time zone (default UTC)"
      },
      "expr": {
       "type": "string",
       "examples": [
        "*/15 9-17 * * MON-FRI"
       ],
       "description": "cron expression, e.g. */15 9-17 * * MON-FRI (required)"
      },
      "count": {
       "type": "string",
       "examples": [
        "3"
       ],
       "description": "optional number of next runs, 1-20 (default 5)"
      }
     }
    }
   }
  },
  "output": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string",
     "const": "json"
    },
    "example": {
     "type": "object",
     "properties": {
      "tz": {
       "type": "string"
      },
      "expr": {
       "type": "string"
      },
      "next": {
       "type": "array",
       "items": {
        "type": "string"
       }
      },
      "meaning": {
       "type": "string"
      }
     }
    }
   }
  }
 }
}
```

## Response schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "json",
 "example": {
  "tz": "UTC",
  "expr": "*/15 9-17 * * MON-FRI",
  "next": [
   "2026-10-09T13:45:00Z",
   "2026-10-09T14:00:00Z"
  ],
  "meaning": "every 15 minutes, hour 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday"
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/manylives-cron-expression-parser-8024e064/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from api.manylives.me](https://www.zero.xyz/host/api.manylives.me/llms.txt)