htekdev/hermes-rocha-family/cron-strategy

Cron Strategy

Overview

Cron scheduling for Hermes is constrained by three factors: cost (model tier selection), conflict avoidance (3-min minimum gap), and family-care priority (family jobs run before all others). The source-of-truth pattern is the htekdev/copilot-home-assistant cron.json structure.

When to Use

• Adding a new cron job to Hermes
• Auditing the current schedule for conflicts or inefficiency
• Selecting appropriate model tier (Sonnet vs Haiku) for a job
• Deciding job frequency for a monitoring loop
• Investigating why a job is silent or overactive

Backbone Slots (Reserved Minute Offsets)

Rule: Minimum 3-minute gap between any two jobs in the same hour. Never stack jobs at :00.

Cost-Optimized Model Tiers

Heartbeat optimization: 2x full/day (6 AM + 9 PM) + 6x lightweight. Was 8x full — high savings, same coverage.

Lightweight checkin MUST:

• Only scan urgent emails (last 2h), upcoming events (next 2h), HIGH/URGENT tasks
• Stay completely silent if nothing urgent
• Skip: sub-agent dispatches, working memory updates, full categorization

Family Care Jobs — Always Protected

These jobs run regardless of cost optimization passes. Never reduce frequency or disable without explicit approval:

NICU/PPD state: While NICU or PPD window is active, these jobs are exempt from early-termination and cost-opt. Never disable nicu-care or wellness-coach during active NICU phase.

Daily Job Schedule (Rocha-Adapted)

Weekday

Weekend

Content Pipeline Jobs

Backbone slot: :30–:42. All 4x-daily cadence.

Content blitz: Disabled as of 2026-05-22 — hallucination risk at high pace. Do not re-enable without explicit approval.

Cost Optimizer Protected Agents

Cost-optimizer MUST NEVER touch these regardless of usage:

nicu-care, wellness-coach, health-coach, content-*, 
entrepreneur-*, coding-agent, finance-manager

Adding a New Job — Checklist

1. Identify backbone slot (or gap ≥ 3 min from nearest job)
2. Choose model tier (Haiku for routine checks, Sonnet for planning/reporting)
3. Confirm job is NOT duplicating an existing job
4. Verify it does NOT run inside quiet hours (10 PM – 6 AM) unless exempt
5. Add to ~/.hermes/cron.json with unique ID
6. Test with single dry-run before enabling recurring

Common Pitfalls

• ❌ Scheduling two jobs at the same minute → queue collision
• ❌ Using Sonnet for lightweight checkins → unnecessary cost
• ❌ Disabling family-care jobs during cost optimization pass
• ❌ Running content jobs during quiet hours
• ❌ Overlapping content-blitz with content-analytics (separate concerns)
• ❌ Forgetting 3-min minimum gap in busy slots like 8 AM

Verification Checklist

• [ ] New job assigned to backbone slot or gap ≥ 3 min
• [ ] Model tier appropriate (Haiku routine / Sonnet planning)
• [ ] Family care jobs intact and protected
• [ ] No quiet-hours violations (10 PM – 6 AM)
• [ ] cost-optimizer protected-agents list updated if new critical agent added