Cronlytic MCP Server

What is Cronlytic MCP Server about?

Provides an MCP server that connects LLM applications with the Cronlytic service, allowing automated creation, retrieval, updating, deletion, pausing, resuming, and monitoring of serverless cron jobs.

How to use Cronlytic MCP Server?

1. Install – clone the repository and run the provided setup_dev_env.sh script, which creates a virtual environment and installs dependencies.
2. Configure – supply Cronlytic credentials via environment variables (CRONLYTIC_API_KEY, CRONLYTIC_USER_ID), a JSON config file, or command‑line arguments.
3. Run – start the server with python -m cronlytic_mcp_server.server (add --debug for verbose logs or --config /path/to/config.json to use a custom file).
4. Integrate – point your LLM client (e.g., Claude Desktop) to the MCP server using the mcpServers block in the client’s configuration.

Key features of Cronlytic MCP Server

• Health Check – validates connectivity, authentication, and response times.
• Full CRUD – create, list, retrieve, update, and delete cron jobs.
• Job Control – pause and resume scheduled jobs.
• Logs & Metrics – fetch execution logs and performance data.
• Smart Prompts – 18 built‑in prompts guide agents through common workflows.
• Dynamic Resources – templated cron expressions and resource management.
• Structured Logging & Error Handling – detailed logs, retry logic, and clear error messages.
• Testing Suite – 88 passing tests ensuring production readiness.

Use cases of Cronlytic MCP Server

• AI‑driven automation – LLM agents schedule recurring data pipelines, report generation, or maintenance tasks without manual coding.
• Self‑service developer portals – developers interact with cron jobs through chat interfaces powered by LLMs.
• Monitoring & alerting – agents automatically pause failing jobs and resume them after remediation.
• Multi‑tenant SaaS – each tenant’s cron jobs can be managed securely via isolated API keys.

FAQ from the Cronlytic MCP Server

Q: What Python version is required? A: Python 3.8 or newer.

Q: How are credentials passed securely? A: Use environment variables, a protected JSON config file, or command‑line flags; never commit keys to source control.

Q: Can I run the server in a container? A: Yes. Build a Docker image that copies the source, installs dependencies, and runs python -m cronlytic_mcp_server.server as the entrypoint.

Q: What happens if the Cronlytic API rate‑limits requests? A: The client includes exponential backoff and automatic retries up to the configured max_retries.

Q: Is there support for custom prompts? A: Additional prompts can be added under src/prompts/ and referenced by your LLM integration.

Cronlytic MCP Server

🎉 PROJECT COMPLETED - PRODUCTION READY 🎉

A comprehensive Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that integrates with the Cronlytic API to provide seamless cron job management through LLM applications like Claude Desktop.

Final Status: ✅ All 6 phases complete | 88/88 tests passing | Production documentation ready

Overview

The Cronlytic MCP Server enables AI agents and LLM applications to:

• 🔍 Health Check: Test connectivity and authentication with the Cronlytic API ✅
• 📊 Job Management: Create, read, update, and delete cron jobs ✅
• ⏯️ Job Control: Pause, resume, and monitor job execution ✅
• 📝 Logs & Monitoring: Access execution logs and performance metrics ✅
• 🤖 Smart Prompts: 18 comprehensive prompts for guided assistance ✅
• 📚 Resources: Dynamic job resources and cron templates ✅
• ⚡ Performance: Built-in monitoring and optimization ✅

🏆 Project Status: ALL PHASES COMPLETED ✅

🎯 Final Achievement Summary:

• ✅ Phase 1: Core infrastructure and authentication
• ✅ Phase 2: Basic CRUD operations (13 tests)
• ✅ Phase 3: Advanced job management (22 tests)
• ✅ Phase 4: Resources implementation (14 tests)
• ✅ Phase 5: Prompts & UX (39 tests)
• ✅ Phase 6: Testing & documentation (performance monitoring)

📊 Key Metrics:

• 88/88 Tests Passing (100% success rate)
• 18 Interactive Prompts (225% of original scope)
• 9 Comprehensive Tools (Full job lifecycle)
• Complete Documentation Suite (8 detailed guides)
• Production Ready (Multi-platform deployment support)

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or higher
• Cronlytic account with API access

Install from Source

Quick Setup (Recommended)

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Cronlytic/cronlytic-mcp-server.git
cd cronlytic-mcp-server

# Run the setup script (creates venv and installs everything)
./setup_dev_env.sh

# Activate the virtual environment
source venv/bin/activate

Manual Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Cronlytic/cronlytic-mcp-server.git
cd cronlytic-mcp-server

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

# Upgrade pip
pip install --upgrade pip

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Install development dependencies (optional)
pip install -r requirements-dev.txt

# Install in development mode
pip install -e .

Configuration

The server needs your Cronlytic API credentials to function. You can provide these in several ways:

Method 1: Environment Variables (Recommended)

export CRONLYTIC_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"
export CRONLYTIC_USER_ID="your_user_id_here"

Method 2: Configuration File

Create a configuration file at one of these locations:

• ./cronlytic_config.json (current directory)
• ~/.cronlytic/config.json (user home directory)
• /etc/cronlytic/config.json (system-wide)

{
  "api_key": "your_cronlytic_api_key_here",
  "user_id": "your_cronlytic_user_id_here",
  "base_url": "https://api.cronlytic.com/prog",
  "timeout": 30,
  "max_retries": 3,
  "retry_delay": 1.0
}

Method 3: Command Line Arguments

python -m cronlytic_mcp_server.server --api-key "your_key" --user-id "your_id"

Getting API Keys

1. Log into your Cronlytic dashboard
2. Navigate to "API Keys" section
3. Click "Generate New API Key"
4. Copy your API key and User ID

Usage

Running the Server

# Basic usage (reads from environment variables or config file)
python -m cronlytic_mcp_server.server

# With command line arguments
python -m cronlytic_mcp_server.server --api-key "your_key" --user-id "your_id"

# With debug logging
python -m cronlytic_mcp_server.server --debug

# With custom config file
python -m cronlytic_mcp_server.server --config /path/to/config.json

Available Tools (Phase 1)

Health Check

Test connectivity and authentication with the Cronlytic API:

# The health_check tool requires no parameters
# It will test:
# - API connectivity
# - Authentication validity
# - Response times
# - Basic functionality

Example Output:

# Cronlytic API Health Check

**Status:** ✅ Cronlytic API connection is healthy and working correctly
**Timestamp:** 2025-01-27T10:30:00Z
**Response Time:** 150 ms

## Connection Details
- **Base URL:** https://api.cronlytic.com/prog
- **Connectivity:** ✅
- **Authentication:** ✅

## Job Information
- **Job Count:** 3
- **Can List Jobs:** ✅

## Performance
- **Performance Rating:** Good

## Recommendations
- 💡 Found 3 job(s). All systems appear to be working correctly.

Claude Desktop Integration

To use with Claude Desktop, add this to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cronlytic": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "cronlytic_mcp_server.server"],
      "env": {
        "CRONLYTIC_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here",
        "CRONLYTIC_USER_ID": "your_user_id_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

To run virtual environment of python

{
  "mcpServers": {
          "cronlytic": {
        "command": "python",
        "args": ["-m", "src.server"],
        "cwd": "PATH/cronlytic-mcp-server",
        "env": {
          "VIRTUAL_ENV": "PATH/cronlytic-mcp-server/.venv",
          "PATH": "PATH/cronlytic-mcp-server/.venv/bin:${PATH}",
          "CRONLYTIC_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here",
          "CRONLYTIC_USER_ID": "your_user_id_here"
        }
      }
  }
}

Development

Project Structure

cronlytic-mcp-server/
├── src/
│   ├── __init__.py              # Package initialization
│   ├── server.py                # Main MCP server implementation
│   ├── cronlytic_client.py      # Cronlytic API client wrapper
│   ├── tools/                   # Tool implementations
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   └── health_check.py      # Health check tool
│   ├── resources/               # Resource implementations (Phase 4)
│   ├── prompts/                 # Prompt implementations (Phase 5)
│   └── utils/                   # Utility modules
│       ├── __init__.py
│       ├── auth.py              # Authentication handling
│       ├── errors.py            # Custom error classes
│       └── validation.py        # Input validation
├── tests/                       # Test files (Phase 6)
├── config/
│   └── example_config.json      # Example configuration
├── requirements.txt
├── pyproject.toml
└── README.md

Running in Development Mode

# Activate virtual environment (if not already active)
source venv/bin/activate

# Install in development mode (if not already done)
pip install -e .

# Set environment variables for testing
export CRONLYTIC_API_KEY="your_test_key"
export CRONLYTIC_USER_ID="your_test_user_id"

# Run with debug logging
python -m cronlytic_mcp_server.server --debug

# Run validation tests
python validate_phase1.py

# Format code (if you have development dependencies)
black src/
ruff check src/

# Type checking
mypy src/

Testing with MCP Inspector

# Install MCP Inspector
npm install -g @modelcontextprotocol/inspector

# Test the server
mcp-inspector python -m cronlytic_mcp_server.server

Error Handling

The server provides comprehensive error handling:

• Authentication Errors: Clear guidance on credential issues
• Connection Errors: Network and connectivity diagnostics
• Validation Errors: Detailed field-by-field validation messages
• API Errors: Proper error codes and user-friendly messages
• Rate Limiting: Automatic retry with exponential backoff

Logging

Structured logging is provided at multiple levels:

# Normal operation
2025-01-27 10:30:00 - cronlytic_mcp_server.server - INFO - Cronlytic MCP Server initialized

# Debug mode
python -m cronlytic_mcp_server.server --debug

Roadmap

Phase 2: Basic CRUD Operations (Next)

• create_job - Create new cron jobs
• list_jobs - List all user jobs
• get_job - Get specific job details
• update_job - Update existing jobs
• delete_job - Delete jobs permanently

Phase 3: Advanced Job Management

• pause_job - Pause job execution
• resume_job - Resume paused jobs
• get_job_logs - Retrieve execution logs

Phase 4: Resources Implementation

• Dynamic job resources
• Cron template library
• Real-time resource updates

Phase 5: Prompts & UX

• Interactive job creation flows
• Monitoring and troubleshooting guidance
• User experience optimization

Phase 6: Testing & Documentation

• Comprehensive test suite
• Performance optimization
• Complete documentation

Contributing

This project follows a structured development approach with clearly defined phases. Each phase builds upon the previous one to ensure stability and maintainability.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests (Phase 6)
5. Submit a pull request

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Support

• Documentation: See docs/ directory for detailed specifications
• Issues: Report bugs and feature requests on GitHub
• API Reference: Check docs/cronlytic-API-specification.md

Related Projects

• Cronlytic - The cron job monitoring service
• Model Context Protocol - The open protocol for AI integration
• Claude Desktop - AI assistant with MCP support

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Current Version: 0.1.0 Last Updated: Jun 2025