# Cron Expression Parser

> Cron Expression Parser is a paid API for AI agents from x402-deployer.x402-deployer.workers.dev, paid per call via x402, $0.002/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-09-14).

Parses a 5/6/7-field cron expression or named macro and returns a plain-English explanation, frequency bucket, validation status, and runs-per-day estimate

## Facts

- Endpoint: POST https://x402-deployer.x402-deployer.workers.dev/cron-parse
- 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/x402-deployer-x402-deployer-workers-dev-cef13249
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_6vUYKCZzd4ea7YhwQ0IEs

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 x402-deployer-x402-deployer-workers-dev-cef13249 -d '<json body>'
```

Example prompt: Can you tell me what the cron expression '0 9 * * 1-5' means in plain English, whether it's valid, how many times a day it runs, and what frequency bucket it falls into?

## When to prefer this

Use this endpoint when an agent needs to explain, validate, or estimate the frequency of a cron expression in a human-readable format, especially when working with CI/CD pipelines, task schedulers, or DevOps automation where non-technical users need to understand job schedules.

## Known failure modes

- Invalid or malformed cron expression returns validation flag false with error detail
- Unsupported field count (not 5, 6, or 7 fields) may return a parse error
- Unrecognized macro string returns validation error
- Network or worker timeout returns 5xx error

## How this service works

Cron parser. Parses any 5 / 6 / 7-field cron expression or @yearly / @monthly / @weekly / @daily / @hourly macro and returns a plain-English explanation, frequency bucket, validation flag, and runs-per-day estimate. Same backend as cron-explain under a clearer slug.

## Output

Returns a plain-English description of what the cron schedule does, a frequency bucket (e.g. daily, weekly, hourly), a boolean validation flag indicating whether the expression is valid, and a numeric estimate of how many times per day the job would run.

## Example request

```json
{
 "input": {
  "body": {
   "timezone": "UTC",
   "expression": "0 9 * * 1-5"
  },
  "type": "http",
  "method": "POST",
  "bodyType": "json"
 }
}
```

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
 "type": "object",
 "properties": {
  "input": {
   "type": "object",
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string",
     "const": "http"
    },
    "method": {
     "type": "string",
     "enum": [
      "POST"
     ]
    },
    "bodyType": {
     "type": "string",
     "enum": [
      "json",
      "form-data",
      "text"
     ]
    },
    "body": {
     "properties": {
      "expression": {
       "type": "string",
       "description": "Cron expression (5, 6, or 7 fields) or macro like @daily. Max 500 chars."
      },
      "timezone": {
       "type": "string",
       "description": "IANA timezone name for the explanation, e.g. 'America/New_York'. Optional, default UTC."
      }
     },
     "required": [
      "expression"
     ]
    }
   },
   "required": [
    "type",
    "method",
    "bodyType",
    "body"
   ],
   "additionalProperties": false
  },
  "output": {
   "type": "object",
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string"
    },
    "example": {
     "type": "object",
     "properties": {
      "explanation": {
       "type": "string"
      },
      "frequency": {
       "type": "string"
      }
     }
    }
   },
   "required": [
    "type"
   ]
  }
 },
 "required": [
  "input"
 ]
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/x402-deployer-x402-deployer-workers-dev-cef13249/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from x402-deployer.x402-deployer.workers.dev](https://www.zero.xyz/host/x402-deployer.x402-deployer.workers.dev/llms.txt)