# Cron Tools (oci · ghcr.io/basitalisandhu/mcp-cron-tools)

Parse, explain and validate 5-field cron expressions and list upcoming runs in a time zone.

- Trust score: 50/100 (low)
- Change this week: +30
- Registry status: active
- Liveness: live
- Owner verified: no
- Last scored: 2026-10-16

## Components

- oci · `ghcr.io/basitalisandhu/mcp-cron-tools`: 50/100 (this document), [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/basitalisandhu-mcp-cron-tools/ghcr-io-basitalisandhu-mcp-cron-tools.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/basitalisandhu-mcp-cron-tools/ghcr-io-basitalisandhu-mcp-cron-tools)

## Channel facts

- Registry: `oci`
- Package: `ghcr.io/basitalisandhu/mcp-cron-tools`
- Version: `0.2.1`
- Transport: `stdio`

## Trust breakdown

How this component scores in each security and reliability category. Every signal is checked automatically from public evidence about the published package, including repeated runs of it in an isolated sandbox, and we only credit what we can confirm. Scores are 0–100 per category. Scoring method: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring (what has changed: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring/changelog)

Scored 2026-10-16.

- **Supply Chain Security**: 0/100
  - No malware scan is available for this kind of package: the supply-chain vendors we use do not cover it. This is a permanent gap in our coverage, not a finding about the package.
  - Known CVEs could not be checked: this artifact ships no SBOM or dependency manifest, so there is no dependency list to read.
  - Install-script risk not yet assessed.
  - Dependency health could not be checked: this artifact ships no SBOM or dependency manifest, so there is no dependency list to read.
- **Provenance & Transparency**: 100/100
  - Source repository is publicly reachable at the declared URL.
  - Cryptographically verified build provenance (signed, bound to basitalisandhu/dev-mcp-servers).
  - Clear OSI-approved license (MIT).
  - Actively maintained (last published 2 days ago).
  - Publishes a security disclosure policy (SECURITY.md).
- **Schema Quality & AI Usability**: 71/100
  - AI-judged instruction clarity (excellent).
  - Context-footprint check failed: tool/resource definitions use about 885 tokens (~177/item across 5 items; 5 tools + 0 resources), over budget; trim descriptions and params.
  - Usage-examples check failed: none of the tools include examples.
- **Stability & Change Management**: 0/100
  - Stability not yet verified: not enough scan history yet (needs a 30-day window).
- **Tool Coverage**: 94/100
  - 100% of tools have a non-trivial description (not blank, and not just the tool's name).
  - 82% of tool parameters carry a description.
- **Tool Safety**: 100/100
  - No prompt-injection markers were found in the server instructions, tool names or descriptions we captured.
  - We read all 5 captured tool definition(s), and no name or description among them implies an irreversible operation.
  - An AI judge read all 6 captured unit(s) of tool text and found none that tries to manipulate the model reading it.
- **Capabilities**: 100/100
  - Implements a supported MCP spec version (2025-11-25); the latest is 2026-07-28.

**Unverified: 2 categories.** Categories scored 0 because we could not verify them: a data source with nothing on this package, evidence we could not reach, or a check we could not run. We only credit what we can confirm.

## Install

### How do I install the Cron Tools MCP server?

Cron Tools runs locally as a container image, launched with docker run --rm -i ghcr.io/basitalisandhu/mcp-cron-tools:0.2.1. Ready-made configuration for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and 3 more is on this page, copied from each client's own documentation.

### Claude

```bash
claude mcp add basitalisandhu-mcp-cron-tools -- docker run --rm -i ghcr.io/basitalisandhu/mcp-cron-tools:0.2.1
```

### Cursor

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "basitalisandhu-mcp-cron-tools": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "ghcr.io/basitalisandhu/mcp-cron-tools:0.2.1"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

### VS Code

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "basitalisandhu-mcp-cron-tools": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "ghcr.io/basitalisandhu/mcp-cron-tools:0.2.1"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

### Codex

```bash
codex mcp add basitalisandhu-mcp-cron-tools -- docker run --rm -i ghcr.io/basitalisandhu/mcp-cron-tools:0.2.1
```

### opencode

```json
{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "basitalisandhu-mcp-cron-tools": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": [
        "docker",
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "ghcr.io/basitalisandhu/mcp-cron-tools:0.2.1"
      ],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}
```

### Hermes

```yaml
mcp_servers:
  basitalisandhu-mcp-cron-tools:
    command: "docker"
    args: ["run", "--rm", "-i", "ghcr.io/basitalisandhu/mcp-cron-tools:0.2.1"]
```

### Netclaw

```json
{
  "McpServers": {
    "basitalisandhu-mcp-cron-tools": {
      "Transport": "stdio",
      "Command": "docker",
      "Arguments": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "ghcr.io/basitalisandhu/mcp-cron-tools:0.2.1"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

### Other

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "basitalisandhu-mcp-cron-tools": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "ghcr.io/basitalisandhu/mcp-cron-tools:0.2.1"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

## Changelog

Every change recorded for this component, newest first. Days that predate change tracking, or that we cannot explain, say so: "we were watching and nothing happened" and "we were not watching" are different claims.

### 2026-10-14 (score 50, +30)

- [security improvement] Injection markers: unverified → pass
- [security] First check of Judged manipulation: pass
- [security] Stability: Stability not yet verified: not enough scan history yet (needs a 30-day window).
- [functional improvement] Tool coverage: unverified → 100
- [functional improvement] MCP protocol: unverified → pass
- [functional] First check of Schema quality: fail
- [functional] First check of Schema quality: excellent
- [functional] First check of Destructive annotations: pass
- [functional] First check of Schema quality: fail
- [functional] First check of Tool coverage: 82

### 2026-10-13 (score 20, 0)

- [functional] Package version: 0.2.0 → 0.2.1

### 2026-10-12 (score 20, 0)

- [functional] Package version: 0.1.1 → 0.2.0

### 2026-10-06 (score 20)

First indexed and scored.

## MCP tools (5)

### `parse_cron` (~92 tokens)

Parse a cron expression

Parse a 5-field cron expression (or @ macro) and return, for each field, the raw text, whether it is a wildcard, and every value it accepts, plus the normalised expression. Returns an error with the offending field when the expression is invalid.

Input parameters:

- `expression` (string, required): Five space-separated fields (minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week) or a macro such as @daily.

### `explain_cron` (~113 tokens)

Explain a cron expression in English

Translate a 5-field cron expression into one English sentence, for example '*/15 9-17 * * 1-5' becomes 'At every 15th minute past every hour from 9 through 17 on Monday through Friday.' When both day fields are restricted the sentence says 'or', matching Vixie cron semantics. Also returns the validation warnings.

Input parameters:

- `expression` (string, required): Five space-separated fields (minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week) or a macro such as @daily.

### `validate_cron` (~103 tokens)

Validate a cron expression

Check a 5-field cron expression and return valid (boolean), errors (syntax or range problems) and warnings for expressions that parse but behave unexpectedly: day-of-month and day-of-week both restricted (OR semantics), days that do not exist in the selected months, 7 used for Sunday, ? spelling, macro expansion.

Input parameters:

- `expression` (string, required): Five space-separated fields (minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week) or a macro such as @daily.

### `next_runs` (~218 tokens)

List the next runs of a cron expression

Compute the next count (1 to 100, default 5) run times of a 5-field cron expression in an IANA time zone (default UTC), strictly after 'from' (ISO 8601 date-time, default now). Each run is returned in the zone's local time with its UTC offset and in UTC. Daylight-saving transitions follow the zone's rules: a wall-clock time skipped by a forward transition is not run that day, and a repeated hour runs twice. Reports when no run exists within ten years. Results are oldest first.

Input parameters:

- `count` (integer)
- `expression` (string, required): Five space-separated fields (minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week) or a macro such as @daily.
- `from` (string): ISO 8601 date-time to start after, for example 2026-01-31T09:00:00Z. Default: now.
- `timezone` (string): IANA zone such as Europe/Berlin or America/New_York. Default UTC.

### `previous_runs` (~218 tokens)

List the previous runs of a cron expression

Compute the previous count (1 to 100, default 5) run times of a 5-field cron expression in an IANA time zone (default UTC), strictly before 'from' (ISO 8601 date-time, default now). Each run is returned in the zone's local time with its UTC offset and in UTC. Daylight-saving transitions follow the zone's rules: a wall-clock time skipped by a forward transition is not run that day, and a repeated hour runs twice. Reports when no run exists within ten years. Results are newest first.

Input parameters:

- `count` (integer)
- `expression` (string, required): Five space-separated fields (minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week) or a macro such as @daily.
- `from` (string): ISO 8601 date-time to start before, for example 2026-01-31T09:00:00Z. Default: now.
- `timezone` (string): IANA zone such as Europe/Berlin or America/New_York. Default UTC.

## Diagnostics

Captured diagnostic sections: Provenance. The full working is on the page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/basitalisandhu-mcp-cron-tools/ghcr-io-basitalisandhu-mcp-cron-tools#diagnostics

## Score history

- 2026-10-16: 50
- 2026-10-15: 50
- 2026-10-14: 50
- 2026-10-13: 20
- 2026-10-12: 20
- 2026-10-07: 20
- 2026-10-06: 20

## Common questions

### What is the Cron Tools MCP server?

Cron Tools is an MCP server listed in the public MCP registry as io.github.basitalisandhu/mcp-cron-tools. Parse, explain and validate 5-field cron expressions and list upcoming runs in a time zone. This page covers its container image (ghcr.io/basitalisandhu/mcp-cron-tools).

### Is the Cron Tools MCP server safe to use?

Cron Tools scores 50 out of 100 on VerifyMCP. Its build provenance is signed and verified. That is a record of what we were able to check automatically, not an endorsement. The category breakdown on this page shows every signal behind the number, including the ones we could not confirm.

### What tools does the Cron Tools MCP server expose?

Cron Tools exposes 5 tools: parse_cron, explain_cron, validate_cron, next_runs, previous_runs. Their descriptions and schemas cost roughly 744 tokens of context every time the server is loaded.

### Is the Cron Tools MCP server still maintained?

Cron Tools is still listed as active in the MCP registry. We last reached this channel on 16 October 2026. Those dates come from our own scans of the registry and the channel itself, not from anything the publisher announced.

### What licence is the Cron Tools MCP server under?

Cron Tools declares the MIT licence, which is OSI-approved. That covers the source only, and says nothing about the cost of any service it calls.

## Links

- GitHub Container Registry: https://ghcr.io/basitalisandhu/mcp-cron-tools
- Repository: https://github.com/basitalisandhu/dev-mcp-servers
- Website: https://basitalisandhu.github.io/dev-mcp-servers/
- Changelog RSS feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/basitalisandhu-mcp-cron-tools/ghcr-io-basitalisandhu-mcp-cron-tools.xml
- Changelog JSON feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/basitalisandhu-mcp-cron-tools/ghcr-io-basitalisandhu-mcp-cron-tools.json
- HTML version of this page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/basitalisandhu-mcp-cron-tools/ghcr-io-basitalisandhu-mcp-cron-tools