cron

The cron block defines a cron schedule. Use it as a workflow node by referencing the block’s name in a workflow edge chain (alongside agent, tool, and webhook).

Syntax

cron <name> {
  schedule = <string>
  timezone = <string>  // optional
}

Fields

Field	Type	Required	Description
schedule	str	Yes	Cron expression (e.g. "0 9 * * 1-5")
timezone	str | null	No	IANA timezone (e.g. "America/New_York"). Defaults to UTC when unset

Workflow usage

Declare a named cron block, then use that name as the first (or any) node in a workflow:

cron daily {
  schedule = "0 9 * * 1-5"
  timezone  = "America/New_York"
}

agent researcher {
  model   = gpt4
  persona = "You research topics thoroughly."
}

workflow run {
  daily -> researcher
}

The keyword cron only starts a block declaration; inside workflow { ... }, node references are identifiers (the block name daily, not the word cron).

Cron 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)
│ │ │ │ │
* * * * *

Expression	Description
0 9 * * 1-5	Every weekday at 9:00 AM
0 * * * *	Every hour on the hour
*/15 * * * *	Every 15 minutes
0 0 1 * *	First day of every month at midnight

Compilation

The compiler emits an orca.cron(...) value in generated Python and includes the block as a LangGraph node when it appears in a workflow.