Cron Jobs That Do Not Spam
Scheduled jobs are powerful because they continue without attention. That also means they need strict noise control and self-contained prompts.
When this matters
This page is for operators who want Rocky to produce usable work without turning the system into a mystery box. Use it when you need a practical path, a clear verification step, and a boundary between suggestion and action.
The operating pattern
- Define the trigger. Decide whether the job always reports or only reports changes.
- Use scripts for detection. Let lightweight scripts collect and compare state.
- Keep prompts self-contained. Cron sessions do not remember the current chat unless attached deliberately.
- Avoid GUI automation. Recurring jobs should not randomly open the user’s Mac apps.
- Deliver to the right place. Use origin, local, or a specific channel intentionally.
Pre-flight checklist
- Prompt is self-contained
- No recursive cron scheduling
- No GUI unless explicitly approved
- Silent/no-change behavior is defined
- Failures alert clearly
Common failure modes
- Heartbeat spam: A monitor that reports nothing happened every hour will be ignored.
- Missing context: Future cron runs need all instructions in the job prompt.
- Unsafe tools: Scheduled GUI/browser work can feel like a takeover.
Verification
A page is not done because it was drafted. Verify the source, run the workflow, inspect the output, and record what changed. If a step touches money, customers, accounts, permissions, or private data, keep it behind an explicit human approval gate.