Create a Claude cron job with a custom connector

Suppose your team owns https://example.com/team/weekly-status and wants it called every Monday at 8:30 AM New York time. This guide uses Claude to have an organization owner add Crontap, let a member connect it, create the recurring HTTP job, and read it back. Crontap calls the endpoint whether or not Claude is open. It does not schedule Claude messages or wake a Claude conversation.

Before you start

• You need a Crontap account and a public HTTPS endpoint that is safe to retry.
• Anthropic currently documents custom remote MCP connectors for Free, Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise. Free accounts are limited to one custom connector.
• On Team and Enterprise, only an Owner or Primary Owner can first add a custom connector to the organization. Members then connect it individually.
• Verified from Anthropic's custom connector guide and Routines guide on 2026-09-15.

Connect Claude to Crontap MCP

1. Open Customize, then Connectors.
2. Choose "+", then Add custom connector.
3. Enter https://mcp.crontap.com/mcp as the remote MCP server URL.

For an individual Pro or Max account, the documented path is Customize > Connectors > + > Add custom connector. Enter https://mcp.crontap.com/mcp, add it, then authenticate. For Team and Enterprise, an owner first uses Organization settings > Connectors > Add > Custom > Web. A member then opens Customize > Connectors and selects Connect.

Ask Claude with copyable prompts

These prompts move from an owner-installed connector to a member-authorized schedule without sharing Crontap credentials.

Use the Crontap connector to preview "Mondays at 8:30am" in America/New_York. Make no changes. Show the resolved cron and three upcoming runs.

Create a Crontap schedule named "weekly team status" that POSTs to https://example.com/team/weekly-status using the cadence we previewed. Summarize the exact tool input before asking me to approve it.

List my schedules, find "weekly team status", retrieve it by ID, and report the URL, method, timezone, status, and next run. Keep the resource unchanged.

Verify the Claude cron job worked

Verification has two halves. In Claude, inspect the returned ID and ask for the schedule again. This confirms that a durable Crontap resource exists, rather than Claude merely describing what it would create. In Crontap, open the same schedule and compare the endpoint, method, timezone, cadence, and status.

After its first fire, ask Claude to retrieve schedule history. A successful HTTP status means Crontap reached your route. Check your application's logs for the corresponding request and business action. If Crontap records a timeout or a 500 response, the schedule fired and the endpoint failed. If no history row exists after the expected time, investigate the cadence, timezone, and paused state first.

Keep API tokens out of the connector URL. Crontap authentication is handled through OAuth. Endpoint-specific secrets belong in request headers and should be handled with the smallest exposure your workflow allows.

Claude Routine or Crontap schedule?

A Claude Routine is the native choice when the recurring unit of work is a Claude Code prompt. Anthropic currently labels Routines a research preview. The docs list Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise, with creation at claude.ai/code/routines, in the Desktop Code tab, or through /schedule. The minimum custom interval is one hour. Routines run in cloud infrastructure and can include connected MCP connectors.

A Crontap schedule is the choice when the recurring unit of work is an HTTP request. It calls your endpoint independently of a Claude session and retains run history around that request.

The two can be combined, but keep the roles plain: a Routine wakes Claude and may use a connector; Crontap owns HTTP schedules. If an existing agent process should prove it is alive, have it ping a Crontap heartbeat.

Troubleshooting

There is no Add custom connector button

Confirm your account and organization role. On Team and Enterprise, an owner must add the connector at organization level before members can connect it. Workspace policy can also disable connectors.

The connector is configured but Claude ignores it

Enable Crontap for the current conversation from the + menu under Connectors. You can also name the connector and tool directly in the prompt.

Authentication works locally but not in Claude

Claude connects to remote MCP servers from Anthropic's cloud, including when you use Claude Desktop. Private VPN-only endpoints need firewall allowlisting. Crontap's production URL is public, but a corporate network can still block the browser OAuth path.

A write tool is not offered

Open Search and tools and confirm the relevant Crontap tools are enabled. Start with list_schedules to prove the connector works, then ask explicitly for create_schedule.

The request returns 401 or 403

That response is usually from your scheduled endpoint, not the MCP connection. Check the endpoint header separately. Avoid reposting the secret into the conversation.

Next steps

• Return to the Crontap MCP hub for supported tools and connection security.
• Follow the CLI version in Claude Code or compare Cursor.
• Use Scheduled tasks for AI-built apps to make the endpoint idempotent and observable.

Ready to connect Claude? Free forever tier. No credit card. Create your Crontap account →

Verified with Claude custom connector and current Anthropic documentation on 2026-09-15. Sources: custom connectors and Claude Routines.