Cron Jobs

Cron processes run on a schedule as Nomad periodic batch jobs.

Defining a Cron Process

Add a process with a schedule field to your infraspec:

processes:
  cleanup:
    schedule: "0 3 * * *"
    command: ./cleanup
    resources:
      cpu: 100
      memory: 256

The schedule field uses standard cron syntax. This process is excluded from the main service job and gets its own Nomad periodic batch job with ID {appName}-{processName}.

Nomad Periodic Jobs

The translator creates a separate periodic batch job:

job "myapp-cleanup" {
  type = "batch"
  periodic {
    cron    = "0 3 * * *"
    enabled = true
  }
  group "cleanup" {
    task "cleanup" {
      driver = "docker"
      config {
        image   = "ghcr.io/user/myapp:abc1234"
        command = "/bin/sh"
        args    = ["-c", "./cleanup"]
      }
    }
  }
}

CLI Management

# View cron status
norn cron myapp

# Trigger a cron job immediately (outside schedule)
norn cron myapp trigger

# Pause the periodic job
norn cron myapp pause

# Resume a paused job
norn cron myapp resume

# Update the schedule
norn cron myapp schedule "0 6 * * *"

API Endpoints

Method	Path	Description
GET	/api/apps/{id}/cron/history	Execution history
POST	/api/apps/{id}/cron/trigger	Trigger immediately
POST	/api/apps/{id}/cron/pause	Pause the periodic job
POST	/api/apps/{id}/cron/resume	Resume a paused job
PUT	/api/apps/{id}/cron/schedule	Update the cron expression

Execution History

View past executions in the UI's cron panel or via the API:

curl http://localhost:8800/api/apps/myapp/cron/history

Each execution shows:

• Start time and duration
• Exit code
• Nomad allocation ID

Multiple Cron Processes

An app can have multiple cron processes — each becomes a separate Nomad periodic job:

processes:
  daily-cleanup:
    schedule: "0 3 * * *"
    command: ./cleanup
  hourly-digest:
    schedule: "0 * * * *"
    command: ./digest

This creates two Nomad jobs: myapp-daily-cleanup and myapp-hourly-digest.