MCP Cron Server - Design & Implementation Guide

Overview

MCP Cron Server is a standalone scheduling service that provides cron-like job scheduling capabilities through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It integrates with OpenCode to allow users to manage scheduled tasks using natural language.

Architecture

System Components

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     OpenCode CLI                             │
│                         │                                    │
│         ┌───────────────┴───────────────┐                   │
│         ▼                               ▼                   │
│  ┌──────────────┐              ┌──────────────┐            │
│  │   MCP Client │              │   Skill      │            │
│  │  (cron_add, │              │  (mcp-cron)  │            │
│  │   cron_list) │              └──────────────┘            │
│  └──────────────┘                                       │
│         │                                                │
└─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
          │ stdio
          ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  MCP Cron Server                            │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │                  CronScheduler                       │  │
│  │  ┌─────────┐  ┌─────────┐  ┌─────────────────────┐  │  │
│  │  │ Store   │  │ Timer   │  │    Executor        │  │  │
│  │  │ (JSON)  │  │ (setInterval)│ │ (child_process) │  │  │
│  │  └─────────┘  └─────────┘  └─────────────────────┘  │  │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
          │
          ▼ opencode run
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     OpenCode                                │
│  ┌──────────────┐                                          │
│  │    Skill     │ → qqbot_send → QQ/Notification          │
│  └──────────────┘                                          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Project Structure

~/Documents/opencode-mcp-cron/
├── package.json              # Project configuration
├── tsconfig.json            # TypeScript config
└── src/
    ├── index.ts             # MCP server entry point
    ├── types.ts             # Type definitions
    ├── store.ts             # Persistent storage
    ├── schedule.ts          # Cron expression parsing
    ├── scheduler.ts         # Main scheduler logic
    └── executor.ts          # Job execution engine

Type Definitions (types.ts)

Schedule Types

// Three types of schedules supported
type CronSchedule =
  | { kind: 'at'; atMs: number }           // One-time task
  | { kind: 'every'; everyMs: number }      // Interval-based
  | { kind: 'cron'; expr: string; tz?: string }; // Cron expression

Payload Types

// Job payload determines how the task is executed
type CronPayloadKind = 'agentTurn' | 'systemEvent';

type CronPayload = {
  kind: CronPayloadKind;
  message: string;           // Prompt or message content
  deliver?: boolean;         // Whether to deliver result
  channel?: string;          // Target channel (e.g., 'qqbot')
  to?: string;               // Target recipient
  model?: string;            // Optional model override
};

Job Definition

type CronJob = {
  id: string;                // Unique job identifier
  name: string;              // Human-readable name
  description?: string;      // Optional description
  enabled: boolean;          // Whether job is active
  createdAtMs: number;      // Creation timestamp
  updatedAtMs: number;       // Last update timestamp
  schedule: CronSchedule;    // Scheduling configuration
  payload: CronPayload;      // What to execute
  options?: CronJobOptions;  // Execution options
  state: CronJobState;       // Runtime state
};

type CronJobOptions = {
  deleteAfterRun?: boolean;  // Delete after one-shot execution
  retry?: boolean;           // Enable retry on failure
  maxRetries?: number;       // Max retry attempts
};

Core Components

1. Store (store.ts)

Responsible for persistent storage of cron jobs.

Features:

• JSON file-based storage
• Location: ~/.config/mcp-cron/jobs.json
• Lock mechanism for concurrent access
• CRUD operations for jobs

Key Methods:

class CronStore {
  getJobs(includeDisabled?: boolean): CronJob[]
  getJob(id: string): CronJob | undefined
  addJob(job: CronJob): CronJob
  updateJob(id: string, updates: Partial<CronJob>): CronJob | undefined
  removeJob(id: string): boolean
  getNextWakeTime(): number | null
  acquireLock(): Promise<boolean>
  releaseLock(): void
}

2. Schedule (schedule.ts)

Handles schedule computation using the croner library.

Features:

• Cron expression parsing
• One-time task (at) calculation
• Interval task (every) calculation
• Timezone support

Key Functions:

// Calculate next execution time
computeNextRunAtMs(schedule: CronSchedule, nowMs: number): number | undefined

// Check if job is due
isJobDue(job: CronJob, nowMs: number): boolean

// Format next run for display
formatNextRun(nextRunAtMs: number | null): string

3. Scheduler (scheduler.ts)

Main scheduling engine that manages job lifecycle.

Features:

• Timer-based polling (every 60 seconds)
• Concurrent job execution (max 3)
• Automatic next-run computation
• Job state management

Key Methods:

class CronScheduler {
  start(): void              // Start the scheduler
  stop(): void               // Stop the scheduler
  addJob(input: CronJobCreate): CronJob
  updateJob(id: string, patch: CronJobPatch): CronJob | undefined
  removeJob(id: string): boolean
  listJobs(includeDisabled?: boolean): CronJob[]
  getJob(id: string): CronJob | undefined
  getStatus(): CronStatus
  runJobNow(id: string, force?: boolean): Promise<Result>
}

4. Executor (executor.ts)

Handles actual job execution by spawning OpenCode processes.

Features:

• Spawns opencode run subprocess
• Captures stdout/stderr
• Timeout handling (5 minutes)
• Error backoff strategy
• Log file management

Error Backoff Schedule:

const ERROR_BACKOFF_MS = [
  30_000,   // 1st error → 30 seconds
  60_000,   // 2nd error → 1 minute
  300_000,  // 3rd error → 5 minutes
  900_000,  // 4th error → 15 minutes
  3600_000  // 5th+ error → 60 minutes
];

5. MCP Server (index.ts)

Exposes cron functionality through MCP protocol.

Available Tools:

Tool	Description
cron_add	Add a new scheduled job
cron_list	List all jobs
cron_remove	Delete a job
cron_run	Execute a job immediately
cron_status	Get scheduler status

MCP Tools Schema

cron_add

{
  "name": "cron_add",
  "description": "Add a new scheduled job",
  "inputSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "name": { "type": "string", "description": "Job name" },
      "description": { "type": "string", "description": "Optional description" },
      "schedule": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "kind": { "type": "string", "enum": ["at", "every", "cron"] },
          "atMs": { "type": "number", "description": "One-time: absolute timestamp (ms)" },
          "everyMs": { "type": "number", "description": "Interval: interval in ms" },
          "expr": { "type": "string", "description": "Cron: cron expression" },
          "tz": { "type": "string", "description": "Timezone" }
        },
        "required": ["kind"]
      },
      "payload": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "kind": { "type": "string", "enum": ["agentTurn", "systemEvent"] },
          "message": { "type": "string", "description": "Prompt or message" }
        },
        "required": ["kind", "message"]
      },
      "options": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "deleteAfterRun": { "type": "boolean" },
          "maxRetries": { "type": "number" }
        }
      }
    },
    "required": ["name", "schedule", "payload"]
  }
}

cron_list

{
  "name": "cron_list",
  "description": "List all scheduled jobs",
  "inputSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "includeDisabled": { "type": "boolean", "description": "Include disabled jobs" }
    }
  }
}

cron_remove

{
  "name": "cron_remove",
  "description": "Remove a scheduled job",
  "inputSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "jobId": { "type": "string", "description": "Job ID to remove" }
    },
    "required": ["jobId"]
  }
}

cron_run

{
  "name": "cron_run",
  "description": "Execute a job immediately",
  "inputSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "jobId": { "type": "string", "description": "Job ID to run" }
    },
    "required": ["jobId"]
  }
}

cron_status

{
  "name": "cron_status",
  "description": "Get scheduler status",
  "inputSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {}
  }
}

Usage

Installation

1. Build the project:

cd ~/Documents/opencode-mcp-cron
npm install
npm run build

2. Configure in OpenCode:

{
  "mcp": {
    "cron": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["node", "/path/to/dist/index.js"],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

3. Add Skill:

# Copy skill to ~/.config/opencode/skills/mcp-cron/

Natural Language Commands

# Add one-time reminder (5 minutes later)
"5分钟后提醒我喝水"

# Add daily reminder
"每天早上9点提醒我打卡"

# Add weekday reminder
"每周一到周五下午6点提醒我下班"

# List all jobs
"查看所有定时任务"

# Remove a job
"取消喝水提醒"

# Run job immediately
"立即执行打卡提醒"

Direct MCP Tool Usage

# Check status
opencode run "使用 cron_status 工具查看调度器状态"

# Add one-time task
opencode run '使用 cron_add 工具添加一次性任务，5分钟后提醒我喝水'

# Add cron task
opencode run '使用 cron_add 工具添加每天早上8点提醒我打卡的周期性任务'

# List jobs
opencode run "使用 cron_list 工具查看所有定时任务"

# Remove job
opencode run '使用 cron_remove 工具删除任务，jobId 是 job_xxx'

Cron Expression Examples

Expression	Description
0 8 * * *	Every day at 8:00 AM
0 9 * * 1-5	Weekdays at 9:00 AM
0 18 * * 1-5	Weekdays at 6:00 PM
0 9 * * 0,6	Weekends at 9:00 AM
0 */2 * * *	Every 2 hours
0 0 * * *	Daily at midnight

Data Storage

Job Storage

• Location: ~/.config/mcp-cron/jobs.json
• Format: JSON file containing job definitions

Execution Logs

• Location: ~/.local/share/mcp-cron/logs/
• Format: One log file per job execution

Comparison with OpenClaw Cron

Feature	MCP Cron Server	OpenClaw Cron
Cron Expressions	✅	✅
One-time Tasks	✅	✅
Interval Tasks	✅	✅
Job Persistence	✅	✅
Error Retry	✅ (manual)	✅ (auto)
Agent Execution	opencode run	Built-in
Channel Integration	Via Skill	Built-in
Web UI	❌	✅
Webhook	✅ (fetch)	✅

Extensibility

Adding Notification Channels

To add QQ notification, modify the executor to call qqbot_send after job completion:

// In executor.ts, after job completes
if (job.payload.deliver && job.payload.channel === 'qqbot') {
  spawn('opencode', ['run', `使用 qqbot_send 发送到 ${job.payload.to}，内容是：${result.output}`]);
}

Custom Execution Modes

Add new payload kinds in types.ts:

type CronPayload = {
  kind: 'agentTurn' | 'systemEvent' | 'webhook' | 'custom';
  // ... other fields
};

Troubleshooting

Job Not Executing

1. Check if scheduler is running:

opencode run "使用 cron_status 工具查看调度器状态"

2. Verify job is enabled:

opencode run "使用 cron_list 工具查看所有定时任务"

3. Check log files:

ls ~/.local/share/mcp-cron/logs/
cat ~/.local/share/mcp-cron/logs/<job-id>.log

MCP Server Not Connecting

1. Verify MCP configuration in opencode.json
2. Test server manually:

node ~/Documents/opencode-mcp-cron/dist/index.js

3. Check OpenCode MCP list:

opencode mcp list

Files Reference

• Main entry: src/index.ts
• Types: src/types.ts
• Storage: src/store.ts
• Scheduling: src/scheduler.ts
• Execution: src/executor.ts
• Schedule parsing: src/schedule.ts
• Skill guide: ~/.config/opencode/skills/mcp-cron/SKILL.md

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Last updated: 2026-02-25