# x402-tools Cron Describe

> x402-tools Cron Describe is a paid API for AI agents from x402.nichospt.net, paid per call via x402, $0.01/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-10-10).

Parses a cron expression and returns a human-readable description plus the next N scheduled fire times in a given timezone

## Facts

- Endpoint: POST https://x402.nichospt.net/cron-describe?utm_source=zero.xyz
- Price: $0.01/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-10-10
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/x402-tools-cron-describe-8b36f5b9
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_yCwSUNz83eVzTfF6NioUf

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-tools-cron-describe-8b36f5b9 -d '<json body>'
```

Example prompt: What does the cron expression '30 9 * * 1-5' mean, and when will it fire next — show me the next 5 run times in America/New_York time?

## When to prefer this

Use this endpoint when an agent needs to interpret or explain a cron expression to a user in plain language, preview upcoming scheduled job execution times, or validate that a cron string is well-formed and understand its cadence — especially when a per-call micropayment model via USDC is acceptable and the agent needs a lightweight, on-demand utility rather than a full scheduling platform.

## Known failure modes

- Invalid cron expression (malformed fields, wrong number of fields) — returns error indicating parse failure
- Unsupported or misspelled IANA timezone string — returns timezone not recognized error
- Count exceeds maximum of 20 — returns validation error
- Payment not settled via x402 protocol — returns 402 Payment Required before processing
- Empty or missing cron field — returns required field missing error

## How this service works

Pay-per-call utility APIs for AI agents, settled in USDC via the x402 protocol.

## Output

A JSON object containing the original cron expression, the requested timezone, a human-readable plain-English description of the schedule (e.g. 'At 09:30 AM, Monday through Friday'), and an array of the next N ISO 8601 timestamps when the cron will fire.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "properties": {
  "cron": {
   "type": "string",
   "description": "A 5- or 6-field cron expression"
  },
  "count": {
   "type": "integer",
   "default": 5,
   "maximum": 20,
   "minimum": 1
  },
  "timezone": {
   "type": "string",
   "default": "UTC",
   "description": "IANA timezone for next_fires"
  }
 }
}
```

## Response schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "json",
 "example": {
  "cron": "30 9 * * 1-5",
  "timezone": "America/New_York",
  "next_fires": [
   "2026-06-08T13:30:00.000Z",
   "2026-06-09T13:30:00.000Z",
   "2026-06-10T13:30:00.000Z"
  ],
  "human_readable": "At 09:30 AM, Monday through Friday"
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/x402-tools-cron-describe-8b36f5b9/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from x402.nichospt.net](https://www.zero.xyz/host/x402.nichospt.net/llms.txt)