Overview
The Cronlytic Trigger node allows workflows in n8n to be triggered based on advanced cron scheduling managed by the external Cronlytic service. Instead of relying solely on local cron expressions, this node registers a job with Cronlytic, which then triggers the workflow via webhook according to the specified schedule.
This is beneficial when you need reliable, externally managed cron jobs that can handle complex schedules or offload scheduling responsibility from your n8n instance. For example, you could use it to trigger data sync workflows every weekday at 9 AM, or run periodic reports every 5 minutes without worrying about local server downtime affecting the schedule.
Properties
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Job Name | Unique identifier for the cron job; must be alphanumeric and may include hyphens or underscores. |
| Cron Expression | A standard 5-field cron expression defining the schedule (minute, hour, day, month, day-of-week). Examples: 0 9 * * * (daily at 9 AM), */5 * * * * (every 5 minutes). |
| Webhook Body | Optional JSON data sent as the body payload with each webhook trigger request. |
| Additional Headers | Optional additional HTTP headers to include in the webhook POST requests. You can specify multiple headers by name and value. |
Output
The node outputs JSON data containing details about the webhook trigger event:
headers: The HTTP headers received in the webhook request.params: Query parameters included in the webhook URL.body: The JSON body payload sent by Cronlytic (or customized via the "Webhook Body" property).timestamp: ISO string timestamp of when the webhook was received.source: A fixed string"cronlytic"indicating the origin of the trigger.
No binary data output is produced by this node.
Dependencies
- Requires an API key credential for the Cronlytic service (an API key and user ID).
- The node communicates with the Cronlytic API at
https://api.cronlytic.com/prog. - The node needs to register and manage jobs remotely via this API.
- The workflow must expose a publicly accessible webhook URL for Cronlytic to call.
Troubleshooting
- Job creation failure: Errors during job creation often relate to invalid cron expressions, duplicate job names, or authentication issues with the API key. Verify the cron syntax and credentials.
- Webhook not triggering: Ensure the webhook URL is publicly reachable and correctly registered with Cronlytic. Also check any firewall or network restrictions.
- API errors: The node surfaces API error messages returned by Cronlytic. Common messages include "not found" when deleting non-existent jobs or authentication failures.
- Warming Lambda failures: The node attempts to "warm" the Cronlytic lambda endpoint before creating jobs. If this fails after retries, it throws an error. This usually indicates network or service availability problems.
Links and References
This summary is based on static analysis of the node's source code and provided property definitions.