# Cron to Flow

Cron to Flow agents execute a flow on a schedule instead of waiting for an inbound HTTP request or an external event.

## What they do

* run the selected flow according to the cron expression in the agent's **Schedule** field
* expose a **Manual Run** action in the agent UI for ad hoc execution
* use flows built around `Event Start`, `Event End`, and `Event Error` nodes rather than HTTP entry points

## Flow requirements

Cron to Flow agents use flows built around the event nodes. In practice, that means the selected flow should include:

* at least one [Event Start](/documentation-and-resources/components-and-data/flows/node-reference/event/event-start.md) node
* one or more [Event End](/documentation-and-resources/components-and-data/flows/node-reference/event/event-end.md) and/or [Event Error](/documentation-and-resources/components-and-data/flows/node-reference/event/event-error.md) nodes

This matches the same event-node requirement used for other event-driven agent types.

## How they differ from long-running agents

Cron to Flow agents are configured around a schedule. In the current product UI, the schedule field replaces the parallel-instance scaling controls shown for HTTP and event-stream agents.

## Schedule examples

* `0 * * * *` runs at the start of every hour
* `0 0 * * *` runs once a day at midnight

## Good fits

* recurring data synchronization
* hourly or daily rollups
* scheduled cleanup and maintenance jobs
* periodic notifications, exports, or follow-up tasks


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