Cron

Cron-as-a-service. Hoody Cron wraps the system crontab in a REST API with managed entries, enable/disable toggles, auto-expiration, and per-user isolation. Standard 5-field cron expressions plus macros like @hourly and @daily.

Two Modes of Operation

Managed Entries: JSON-based CRUD with UUIDs, comments, enable/disable, and auto-expiration. The API injects entries into the system crontab with tracking metadata.

Raw Crontab: Full read/write access to the raw crontab file per user. Use this when you need complete control or have existing crontab workflows.

What You Can Do

• Managed Entries - Create, update, delete cron jobs via JSON API with UUIDs
• Enable/Disable - Toggle jobs on and off without deleting them
• Auto-Expiration - Set expires_at for temporary jobs that clean themselves up
• Per-User Isolation - Each system user has their own crontab
• Raw Crontab - Read and write the full crontab file directly
• Standard Cron - 5-field expressions (* * * * *) plus macros (@hourly, @daily, @weekly, @monthly, @yearly)
• Comments & Metadata - Attach human-readable comments to managed entries

API Endpoints Summary

All endpoints accessed relative to your Cron service URL:

https://PROJECT_ID-CONTAINER_ID-cron-1.SERVER.containers.hoody.com

Managed Entries:

• GET /users/{user}/entries - List managed entries for a user
• POST /users/{user}/entries - Create a new managed entry
• GET /users/{user}/entries/{id} - Get a specific entry
• PATCH /users/{user}/entries/{id} - Update an entry
• DELETE /users/{user}/entries/{id} - Delete an entry

Raw Crontab:

• GET /crontab - List all user crontabs
• GET /users/{user}/crontab - Get raw crontab for a user
• PUT /users/{user}/crontab - Replace raw crontab for a user

System:

• GET /health - Health check

Quick Start: Create a Scheduled Job

CLI

# Create a cron job that runs daily at 9 AM
hoody cron entries create root \
  --schedule "0 9 * * *" \
  --command "/usr/local/bin/backup.sh" \
  --comment "Daily backup at 9 AM" \
  -c <container-id>

# List all cron entries
hoody cron entries list root -c <container-id>

# Update a job's schedule
hoody cron entries update root $ENTRY_ID \
  --schedule "0 12 * * *" \
  -c <container-id>

# View the raw crontab
hoody cron crontabs get root -c <container-id>

SDK

import { HoodyClient } from 'hoody-sdk';

const client = new HoodyClient({ baseURL: 'https://api.hoody.com', token: process.env.HOODY_TOKEN });
const containerClient = await client.withContainer({ id: CONTAINER_ID, project_id: PROJECT_ID, server: SERVER });

// Create a daily cron job
const entry = await containerClient.cron.entries.create('root', {
  schedule: '0 9 * * *',
  command: '/usr/local/bin/backup.sh',
  comment: 'Daily backup at 9 AM',
  enabled: true,
});

// List all entries
const entries = await containerClient.cron.entries.list('root');

// Disable temporarily
await containerClient.cron.entries.update('root', entry.data.id, {
  enabled: false,
});

HTTP

# Create a daily cron job
curl -X POST "https://PROJECT_ID-CONTAINER_ID-cron-1.SERVER.containers.hoody.com/users/root/entries" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "schedule": "0 9 * * *",
    "command": "/usr/local/bin/backup.sh",
    "comment": "Daily backup at 9 AM",
    "enabled": true
  }'

# List all entries
curl "https://PROJECT_ID-CONTAINER_ID-cron-1.SERVER.containers.hoody.com/users/root/entries"

# Disable a job
curl -X PATCH "https://PROJECT_ID-CONTAINER_ID-cron-1.SERVER.containers.hoody.com/users/root/entries/$ENTRY_ID" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"enabled": false}'

URL

?

One request, one link

cURL runs inside your container and can wrap any HTTP request into a single GET URL. The call stops being something you need a client for and becomes something you can paste into a browser, send in a chat, bookmark, schedule with cron, or drop into a no-code tool.

Nothing is installed on the machine that opens it. The link does carry whatever credentials the call needs, so treat it as you would treat those credentials.

Slashes, colons and braces pass through as they are. The one character you must encode is an & inside a value, which happens when the wrapped URL carries its own query string. Left raw it ends the value early, and the rest is read as cURL's own parameters, so you get a 200 on a request you did not make.

How the wrapping works Chaining calls into one link Turning a link into a shortcut

Creates the daily backup entry, lists all entries for root, and disables one entry by id. The three links are independent requests, not a sequence — swap in a real entry id for Disable.

Copy

# Create
https://PROJECT_ID-CONTAINER_ID-curl-1.SERVER.containers.hoody.com/api/v1/curl/request?url=https://PROJECT_ID-CONTAINER_ID-cron-1.SERVER.containers.hoody.com/users/root/entries&method=POST&json={"schedule":"0%209%20*%20*%20*","command":"/usr/local/bin/backup.sh","comment":"Daily%20backup%20at%209%20AM","enabled":true}&response=transparent

# List
https://PROJECT_ID-CONTAINER_ID-curl-1.SERVER.containers.hoody.com/api/v1/curl/request?url=https://PROJECT_ID-CONTAINER_ID-cron-1.SERVER.containers.hoody.com/users/root/entries&method=GET&response=transparent

# Disable
https://PROJECT_ID-CONTAINER_ID-curl-1.SERVER.containers.hoody.com/api/v1/curl/request?url=https://PROJECT_ID-CONTAINER_ID-cron-1.SERVER.containers.hoody.com/users/root/entries/ENTRY_ID&method=PATCH&json={"enabled":false}&response=transparent

Cron Schedule Reference

Standard 5-field cron expressions:

┌───────────── minute (0-59)
│ ┌───────────── hour (0-23)
│ │ ┌───────────── day of month (1-31)
│ │ │ ┌───────────── month (1-12)
│ │ │ │ ┌───────────── day of week (0-7, Sun is 0 or 7)
│ │ │ │ │
* * * * *

Common patterns:

Schedule	Expression
Every minute	* * * * *
Every hour	0 * * * *
Every day at midnight	0 0 * * *
Weekdays at 9 AM	0 9 * * 1-5
Every Sunday at 3 AM	0 3 * * 0
First day of month	0 0 1 * *

Macros: @yearly, @monthly, @weekly, @daily, @hourly

Auto-Expiration

Set expires_at on managed entries for temporary jobs that automatically remove themselves:

CLI

hoody cron entries create root \
  --schedule "*/5 * * * *" \
  --command "curl -s http://localhost:8080/health >> /var/log/health.log" \
  --comment "Temporary health monitoring, auto-expires" \
  --expires-at "2026-12-31T00:00:00Z" \
  -c <container-id>

SDK

import { HoodyClient } from 'hoody-sdk';

const client = new HoodyClient({ baseURL: 'https://api.hoody.com', token: process.env.HOODY_TOKEN });
const containerClient = await client.withContainer({ id: CONTAINER_ID, project_id: PROJECT_ID, server: SERVER });

const entry = await containerClient.cron.entries.create('root', {
  schedule: '*/5 * * * *',
  command: 'curl -s http://localhost:8080/health >> /var/log/health.log',
  comment: 'Temporary health monitoring, auto-expires',
  enabled: true,
  expires_at: '2026-12-31T00:00:00Z',
});

HTTP

curl -X POST "https://PROJECT_ID-CONTAINER_ID-cron-1.SERVER.containers.hoody.com/users/root/entries" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "schedule": "*/5 * * * *",
    "command": "curl -s http://localhost:8080/health >> /var/log/health.log",
    "comment": "Temporary health monitoring, auto-expires",
    "enabled": true,
    "expires_at": "2026-12-31T00:00:00Z"
  }'

URL

?

One request, one link

cURL runs inside your container and can wrap any HTTP request into a single GET URL. The call stops being something you need a client for and becomes something you can paste into a browser, send in a chat, bookmark, schedule with cron, or drop into a no-code tool.

Nothing is installed on the machine that opens it. The link does carry whatever credentials the call needs, so treat it as you would treat those credentials.

Slashes, colons and braces pass through as they are. The one character you must encode is an & inside a value, which happens when the wrapped URL carries its own query string. Left raw it ends the value early, and the rest is read as cURL's own parameters, so you get a 200 on a request you did not make.

How the wrapping works Chaining calls into one link Turning a link into a shortcut

Creates a health-check entry that runs every five minutes and stops being scheduled after the given timestamp.

Copy

https://PROJECT_ID-CONTAINER_ID-curl-1.SERVER.containers.hoody.com/api/v1/curl/request?url=https://PROJECT_ID-CONTAINER_ID-cron-1.SERVER.containers.hoody.com/users/root/entries&method=POST&json={"schedule":"*/5%20*%20*%20*%20*","command":"curl%20-s%20http://localhost:8080/health%20>>%20/var/log/health.log","comment":"Temporary%20health%20monitoring,%20auto-expires","enabled":true,"expires_at":"2026-12-31T00:00:00Z"}&response=transparent

expires_at is RFC3339 and must be in the future: the API rejects a timestamp that has already passed.

Raw Crontab Access

For full control, read and write the raw crontab directly:

Read the current crontab, then replace it wholesale:

CLI

# Read
hoody cron crontabs get root -c <container-id>

# Replace
hoody cron crontabs replace root \
  --crontab $'# Custom crontab\n0 * * * * /usr/local/bin/hourly-task.sh\n0 0 * * * /usr/local/bin/daily-task.sh' \
  -c <container-id>

SDK

import { HoodyClient } from 'hoody-sdk';

const client = new HoodyClient({ baseURL: 'https://api.hoody.com', token: process.env.HOODY_TOKEN });
const containerClient = await client.withContainer({ id: CONTAINER_ID, project_id: PROJECT_ID, server: SERVER });

// Read
const crontab = await containerClient.cron.crontab.get('root');

// Replace
await containerClient.cron.crontab.put('root', {
  crontab: '# Custom crontab\n0 * * * * /usr/local/bin/hourly-task.sh\n0 0 * * * /usr/local/bin/daily-task.sh',
});

HTTP

# Read
curl "https://PROJECT_ID-CONTAINER_ID-cron-1.SERVER.containers.hoody.com/users/root/crontab"

# Replace
curl -X PUT "https://PROJECT_ID-CONTAINER_ID-cron-1.SERVER.containers.hoody.com/users/root/crontab" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "crontab": "# Custom crontab\n0 * * * * /usr/local/bin/hourly-task.sh\n0 0 * * * /usr/local/bin/daily-task.sh"
  }'

URL

?

One request, one link

cURL runs inside your container and can wrap any HTTP request into a single GET URL. The call stops being something you need a client for and becomes something you can paste into a browser, send in a chat, bookmark, schedule with cron, or drop into a no-code tool.

Nothing is installed on the machine that opens it. The link does carry whatever credentials the call needs, so treat it as you would treat those credentials.

Slashes, colons and braces pass through as they are. The one character you must encode is an & inside a value, which happens when the wrapped URL carries its own query string. Left raw it ends the value early, and the rest is read as cURL's own parameters, so you get a 200 on a request you did not make.

How the wrapping works Chaining calls into one link Turning a link into a shortcut

Reads the current crontab for root, then replaces it wholesale with the two-line schedule shown. Replace overwrites the entire crontab, not just one entry.

Copy

# Read
https://PROJECT_ID-CONTAINER_ID-curl-1.SERVER.containers.hoody.com/api/v1/curl/request?url=https://PROJECT_ID-CONTAINER_ID-cron-1.SERVER.containers.hoody.com/users/root/crontab&method=GET&response=transparent

# Replace
https://PROJECT_ID-CONTAINER_ID-curl-1.SERVER.containers.hoody.com/api/v1/curl/request?url=https://PROJECT_ID-CONTAINER_ID-cron-1.SERVER.containers.hoody.com/users/root/crontab&method=PUT&json={"crontab":"%23%20Custom%20crontab\n0%20*%20*%20*%20*%20/usr/local/bin/hourly-task.sh\n0%200%20*%20*%20*%20/usr/local/bin/daily-task.sh"}&response=transparent

Use Cases

• Scheduled backups - Run backup scripts at regular intervals
• Data processing - ETL jobs, report generation, log rotation
• Health monitoring - Periodic health checks with auto-expiring entries
• Temporary tasks - Time-limited monitoring or data collection
• Maintenance - Cache cleanup, database optimization, certificate renewal

What’s Next

• Cron API Reference - Complete API documentation
• Managed Entries API - CRUD operations for managed entries
• Raw Crontab API - Direct crontab file access
• Daemons - For always-running processes (vs scheduled tasks)
• Exec - Execute scripts as HTTP endpoints