Skill: scheduler

Description

Create, list, update, and delete scheduled tasks. Use this skill when the user wants to set up recurring actions that run on a cron schedule. The user describes the task and schedule in natural language; you parse it into a cron expression and a task prompt, then persist it to the database. A background worker executes each task at its scheduled time by sending the prompt to Claude and delivering the response to the user's Telegram chat.

When to Activate

Activate this skill when any of the following conditions are met:

• •The user's message begins with /schedule
• •The user wants to set up a recurring task (e.g., "every morning remind me to...", "schedule a daily check on...", "run this every Monday")
• •The user asks about their scheduled tasks (e.g., "what's scheduled", "list my schedules", "show my cron jobs")
• •The user wants to modify or cancel a scheduled task (e.g., "stop the daily reminder", "change the schedule to weekly", "disable schedule #3")

Available Tools

• •mcp__pg__query -- Execute SQL queries against the PostgreSQL database.

No other tools are permitted for this skill.

Context

The current Telegram chat_id is provided in the system prompt as Current Telegram chat_id: <value>. You MUST use this value when inserting or querying scheduled tasks to scope operations to the current user's chat.

Database Tables

scheduled_tasks

Cron Expression Reference

Standard 5-field cron format: minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week

Common Patterns

Operations

List All Scheduled Tasks (No Arguments)

When the user sends /schedule with no additional text, list all their tasks:

SELECT id, description, cron_expression, timezone, enabled,
       last_run_at, next_run_at, error_count, last_error
FROM scheduled_tasks
WHERE chat_id = '<chat_id>'
ORDER BY created_at DESC;

Present as a concise listing showing: ID, description, schedule (human-readable interpretation of the cron), enabled status, and next run time. If no tasks exist, respond: "No scheduled tasks found. Send /schedule <description> to create one."

Example format:

Your Scheduled Tasks:

#1 - Check project status
  Schedule: Every day at 8:00 AM (UTC)
  Status: Enabled
  Next run: 2026-02-01 08:00 UTC

#2 - Weekly team summary
  Schedule: Every Monday at 9:00 AM (America/New_York)
  Status: Disabled (5 errors)
  Last error: Claude subprocess timed out

Create a Scheduled Task

When the user sends /schedule followed by a natural language description, parse it:

1. •Extract the schedule from the natural language and convert to a 5-field cron expression.
2. •Extract the task prompt -- this is what Claude will be asked to do when the task fires. Formulate it as a clear, actionable prompt. For example, if the user says "remind me to check my project status", the task prompt should be something like: "Check my project status and give me a summary of open issues across all projects."
3. •Extract or infer the timezone -- if the user mentions a timezone, use it. Otherwise default to UTC. If unclear, ask.
4. •Write a human-readable description summarizing the task.

INSERT INTO scheduled_tasks (chat_id, cron_expression, task_prompt, description, timezone)
VALUES ('<chat_id>', '<cron>', '<task_prompt>', '<description>', '<timezone>')
RETURNING id, cron_expression, task_prompt, description, timezone;

After creating, confirm with the user:

Scheduled task created:
  #<id> - <description>
  Schedule: <human-readable cron interpretation> (<timezone>)
  Prompt: "<task_prompt>"

The task will first run at <next computed time>. The background scheduler picks up new tasks within 60 seconds.

Important: Do NOT set next_run_at yourself. The background scheduler worker computes and sets next_run_at automatically when it detects new tasks with a NULL next_run_at.

Update a Scheduled Task

When the user wants to change the schedule, prompt, or description of an existing task.

First, verify the task belongs to this chat:

SELECT id, description, cron_expression, task_prompt, timezone
FROM scheduled_tasks
WHERE id = <task_id> AND chat_id = '<chat_id>';

Then update the requested fields:

UPDATE scheduled_tasks
SET cron_expression = '<new_cron>',
    task_prompt = '<new_prompt>',
    description = '<new_description>',
    timezone = '<new_timezone>',
    next_run_at = NULL,
    updated_at = NOW()
WHERE id = <task_id> AND chat_id = '<chat_id>';

Setting next_run_at = NULL forces the scheduler worker to recompute it on the next poll.

Enable / Disable a Task

UPDATE scheduled_tasks
SET enabled = TRUE, error_count = 0, last_error = NULL,
    next_run_at = NULL, updated_at = NOW()
WHERE id = <task_id> AND chat_id = '<chat_id>';

UPDATE scheduled_tasks
SET enabled = FALSE, updated_at = NOW()
WHERE id = <task_id> AND chat_id = '<chat_id>';

When re-enabling, reset error_count and last_error, and set next_run_at = NULL so the scheduler recomputes it.

Delete a Scheduled Task

When the user wants to permanently remove a task.

DELETE FROM scheduled_tasks
WHERE id = <task_id> AND chat_id = '<chat_id>';

Confirm deletion to the user. If the task ID does not exist or does not belong to this chat, say so.

Search Scheduled Tasks

SELECT id, description, cron_expression, timezone, enabled
FROM scheduled_tasks
WHERE chat_id = '<chat_id>'
  AND (description ILIKE '%' || '<search_term>' || '%'
       OR task_prompt ILIKE '%' || '<search_term>' || '%')
ORDER BY created_at DESC;

Restrictions and Notes

• •Always use mcp__pg__query for database operations. Do not use any other tool.
• •Always scope queries with chat_id = '<chat_id>' using the chat ID from the system prompt. Never access another chat's tasks.
• •When the user refers to a task by number (e.g., "disable #3" or "delete task 3"), use that as the id.
• •If the user's schedule description is ambiguous (e.g., "every morning" -- what time exactly?), ask for clarification rather than guessing.
• •The cron expression must be valid 5-field format. Do not use 6-field (with seconds) or non-standard extensions.
• •When listing tasks, always translate the cron expression into human-readable language (e.g., 0 8 * * 1-5 = "Every weekday at 8:00 AM").
• •Task prompts should be self-contained and actionable -- the Claude instance executing them will not have the original conversation context. Write prompts that make sense in isolation.
• •Do not set or modify next_run_at, last_run_at, error_count, or last_error when creating or updating tasks. These are managed by the scheduler worker.