$ the control plane for cron
Know when a cron job didn’t run. Fix it from wherever you are.
norc lists every job on every machine, flags runs that are missed or fail, and lets you edit the schedule from your desktop, terminal or phone.
What norc adds to cron
Cron doesn’t keep a run history or alert you when a job is missed. norc adds both, on top of the cron you already run.
Missed-run detection
norc checks every job against its schedule, so it flags runs that never happened after a reboot, a stopped daemon or a corrupted crontab.
Catch-up for missed runs
Laptop asleep at 2am? When it reconnects, norc queues the missed runs, up to the limit you choose.
One view of every machine
Laptops, servers and VMs in one list, each job with its run history. No more SSHing around to find where the 2am backup lives.
Safe edits, no SSH
Edit crontabs in a UI with next-run previews. norc only touches the jobs it manages; hand-written entries stay untouched.
Outbound-only agent
The agent connects out to norc. No inbound ports, no SSH keys handed over. Your system cron still runs the jobs, even if norc is down.
Plain-English schedules
Optional: describe a schedule and get the cron expression, with the next runs previewed. Bring your own key.
How it works
Pair a machine, see its jobs, get flagged when a run is missed. The agent connects outbound only.
Pair a machine
Link a laptop or server in a few seconds with a device code. Nothing inbound, no credentials to hand over.
See every job
Your existing crontab shows up as it is; hand-written entries are listed and left alone. Add or edit jobs in the UI or with norc jobs add.
Get told when a run is missed
norc checks each job against its schedule and alerts you when a run is missed or fails, then catches up what it can.
How norc differs from heartbeat monitors
Heartbeat monitors notice when a job doesn’t check in. They don’t edit the schedule, show every machine, or catch up a missed run. norc adds those and keeps the monitoring.
| norc | Healthchecks.io | Cronitor | Sentry Crons | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | flat tier by machines and jobs | per job | per monitor + user | per cron monitor |
| Jobs keep running if norc is down | ✓ real cron runs them | n/a · monitors only | n/a · monitors only | n/a · monitors only |
| Edit jobs remotely, no SSH | ✓ | — | Partial · CLI only | — |
| One view of every machine | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Plain-English schedules (optional) | ✓ | — | — | — |
$ norc runs on macOS desktop, the command line, and iOS and Android, so you can check your jobs from your phone. Windows and Linux desktop are in progress.
// cron runs your jobs. It never tells you when one doesn’t.
norc sits on top of it and does.