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Configuration

Define cron schedules directly in your function’s config. No external configuration needed.
index.ts
import { define, z } from "@jelou/functions";

export default define({
  name: "appointment-reminder",
  description: "Sends appointment reminders via WhatsApp",
  input: z.object({}),
  config: {
    cron: [
      { expression: "0 8 * * *", timezone: "America/Guayaquil" },
      { expression: "0 8 * * *", timezone: "America/Bogota" },
    ],
  },
  handler: async (_input, ctx) => {
    if (!ctx.isCron) return { skipped: true };

    ctx.log("Sending reminders", { cron: ctx.trigger.cron });
    const apiKey = ctx.env.get("JELOU_API_KEY");

    const res = await fetch("https://api.jelou.ai/v1/messages/send", {
      method: "POST",
      headers: {
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
        Authorization: `Bearer ${apiKey}`,
      },
      body: JSON.stringify({
        botId: ctx.bot.id,
        phone: "593987654321",
        message: "Hi, we remind you that you have an appointment tomorrow at 10:00 AM.",
      }),
    });

    return { sent: 1, status: res.status };
  },
});

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Local testing

Start the server with jelou dev. You can send an HTTP request to the function, but the isCron guard will reject it because it is not a real cron trigger: 
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000 \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{}'
You cannot simulate a real cron trigger from curl — the platform injects ctx.isCron and the cryptographic signature automatically. To test cron logic, use createMockContext({ isCron: true }) in your tests.

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Syntax

Each schedule has two fields:
FieldTypeRequiredDescription
expressionstringYesStandard 5-field cron
timezonestringNoIANA timezone. Default: UTC.

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Expression format

┌───────────── minute (0-59)
│ ┌───────────── hour (0-23)
│ │ ┌───────────── day of month (1-31)
│ │ │ ┌───────────── month (1-12)
│ │ │ │ ┌───────────── day of week (0-7, 0 and 7 = Sunday)
│ │ │ │ │
* * * * *

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Common examples

ExpressionDescription
0 9 * * *Every day at 9:00 AM
0 9 * * 1-5Monday to Friday at 9:00 AM
*/30 * * * *Every 30 minutes
0 0 1 * *First day of each month at midnight
0 */2 * * *Every 2 hours
30 14 * * 3Wednesday at 2:30 PM

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Timezones

Use any valid IANA zone: 
config: {
  cron: [
    { expression: "0 9 * * *", timezone: "America/Guayaquil" },   // Ecuador
    { expression: "0 9 * * *", timezone: "America/Bogota" },      // Colombia
    { expression: "0 9 * * *", timezone: "America/Mexico_City" }, // Mexico
    { expression: "0 9 * * *", timezone: "America/Argentina/Buenos_Aires" },
    { expression: "0 3 * * *" },                                   // UTC by default
  ],
}

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isCron guard

Your function can receive both HTTP requests and cron triggers. Use ctx.isCron to distinguish them: 
handler: async (_input, ctx) => {
  if (!ctx.isCron) {
    return { skipped: true, reason: "not a cron trigger" };
  }

  ctx.log("Cron task running", { cron: ctx.trigger.cron });
  return { executed: true };
}
Without the isCron guard, any HTTP request to your function will execute the cron logic. Always include this check.

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How it works

  1. You define the schedules in config.cron
  2. When you run jelou deploy, the platform reads your configuration and creates the schedules
  3. When a schedule fires, your function receives a request with ctx.isCron === true and ctx.trigger.cron with the expression that triggered it
  4. Cryptographic signature verification prevents unauthorized invocations

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Limits

  • Maximum 10 cron schedules per function
  • Exceeding this limit throws an error at definition time

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Management

Schedules are declarative — they are defined in code and synchronized on each deployment. To modify a schedule, change config.cron in your code and redeploy. To view active schedules: 
jelou cron list query-customer
# ▸ Expression     Timezone             Enabled  Last Triggered
# ▸ 0 8 * * *     America/Guayaquil    yes      2 hours ago
# ▸ 0 8 * * *     America/Bogota       yes      2 hours ago

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Multi-tool cron

When you use app(), each tool can have its own independent cron schedules. Cron requests are sent to the specific route of each tool. 
import { app, define, z } from "@jelou/functions";

export default app({
  tools: {
    dailyCleanup: define({
      description: "Cleans up stale records",
      input: z.object({}),
      config: { cron: [{ expression: "0 3 * * *", timezone: "UTC" }] },
      handler: async (_input, ctx) => {
        if (!ctx.isCron) return { skipped: true };
        return { cleaned: true };
      },
    }),
    hourlySync: define({
      description: "Syncs external data",
      input: z.object({}),
      config: { cron: [{ expression: "0 * * * *" }] },
      handler: async (_input, ctx) => {
        if (!ctx.isCron) return { skipped: true };
        return { synced: true };
      },
    }),
  },
});
The 10 cron schedule limit is aggregated across all tools in an app(). If one tool uses 6 schedules, the other tools can only use 4 in total.

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Common issues

Cron schedules are synchronized on deploy. If you changed the cron expression, you need to redeploy:
jelou deploy
Verify that the schedule is active:
jelou cron list my-function
# ▸ Expression     Timezone             Enabled  Last Triggered
# ▸ 0 8 * * *     America/Guayaquil    yes      2 hours ago
If the Enabled column shows no, check that the cron expression is valid.
See the full multi-tool guide for more details about app().