CronSignal
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MCP Integration

Connect AI assistants like Claude and Cursor to CronSignal using MCP (Model Context Protocol). Create and manage checks, debug failed jobs, and get intelligent suggestions - all through natural conversation.

Quick Start

1. Get Your API Key

Go to cronsignal.io/mcp to create an API key. You'll need this to authenticate the MCP server.

2. Configure Your AI Assistant

Cursor

Add to your Cursor settings (Settings → Features → MCP):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cronsignal": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["cronsignal-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CRONSIGNAL_API_KEY": "cs_live_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude config file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cronsignal": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["cronsignal-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CRONSIGNAL_API_KEY": "cs_live_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Your AI Assistant

Close and reopen Cursor or Claude Desktop to load the MCP server.

Available Tools

Check Management

Tool Description
list_checks List all checks with their current status
get_check Get details of a specific check including stats
create_check Create a new check (returns ping URL and code snippets)
update_check Update check settings (name, period, grace)
delete_check Delete a check permanently
pause_check Pause a check (no alerts while paused)
resume_check Resume a paused check

Debugging Tools

Tool Description
get_check_output View captured stdout/stderr from recent job runs
diagnose_check Analyze why a check is failing with actionable suggestions

Example Conversations

Creating a Check

You: "Create a check for my nightly database backup that runs at 2 AM"

Assistant: Creates a check with 24-hour period and provides the ping URL, ready-to-use curl commands, and code snippets for output capture.

Debugging a Failure

You: "Why is my backup job failing?"

Assistant: Uses diagnose_check to analyze the check status, examine captured output for error patterns, and suggest specific fixes like checking credentials, file paths, or permissions.

Quick Status Check

You: "How are my cron job checks doing?"

Assistant: Lists all checks with their status, last ping time, and uptime percentage.

Output Capture

CronSignal can capture the stdout/stderr from your cron jobs. This lets AI assistants read the actual error messages when diagnosing failures.

To enable output capture, pipe your job's output to the ping:

# Capture output and send to CronSignal
your-backup-script 2>&1 | curl -fsS -X POST -d @- https://api.cronsignal.io/ping/YOUR_CHECK_ID

# Include exit code
your-backup-script; curl -fsS "https://api.cronsignal.io/ping/YOUR_CHECK_ID?exit_code=$?"

Environment Variables

Variable Required Description
CRONSIGNAL_API_KEY Yes Your CronSignal API key (starts with cs_live_)

Manual Installation

You can also install the MCP server globally:

npm install -g cronsignal-mcp

Or run directly with npx:

CRONSIGNAL_API_KEY=cs_live_... npx cronsignal-mcp

Links