In short
A schedule. The thing that runs an agent at 10:15 every morning whether anyone remembers or not.
Cron is the old Unix word for a scheduler, and it is still the right word. A cron job says: at this time, on these days, run this. An agent on a cron runs without being asked.
This is what turns a tool into a system. A chat window does nothing until you open it. An agent on a schedule publishes the post, sends the brief, and trims the archive on time, every time, and reports only when something needs a person.
We use schedules for anything that repeats and never use polling loops. A job that watches for something should end itself when the something happens.
Example
What it looks like.
cron.mdplain text
0 10 * * * scan the inbox for new drafts15 10 * * * publish whatever is queued0 9 1 * * send the monthly search report
Related
Read next.
- agentSoftware that reads its instructions, looks at the situation, takes actions with real tools, and reports back. Runs on a schedule or on a trigger, without being prompted.Read the definition
- output contractThe rule that says what an agent may say when it is done: one line if something needs a human, nothing at all otherwise.Read the definition
- workflowA piece of work from trigger to done, run by an agent under instructions. Not a flowchart. The agent handles the branches the chart never drew.Read the definition