FAQ
What does Cronix actually do?
Section titled “What does Cronix actually do?”Chronix is like a reliable, automated personal assistant for your digital tasks. It takes those repetitive, time-consuming chores—like updating records, running reports, or talking to other online tools—and does them for you automatically. You just tell it what to do and when you want it done, and Chronix works quietly in the background to make sure everything stays accurate and on schedule. It’s designed to be simple and self-contained, so it doesn’t need a team of experts to keep it running, and it can even handle tasks across different offices or home networks without any complicated setup.
How does ‘Integrated Persistence’ work?
Section titled “How does ‘Integrated Persistence’ work?”Chronix features a built-in, high-performance persistence engine that manages all system state and execution history. This eliminates the need for external databases like PostgreSQL or Redis. It uses write-ahead logging (WAL) for thread-safe state management, ensuring your data is always consistent and easily portable—backups are as simple as copying a directory.
Is it really just a single binary?
Section titled “Is it really just a single binary?”Yes. Chronix is distributed as a single, statically-linked binary for Linux, macOS, and Windows. This binary includes the server engine, the integrated persistence layer, and the full React-based web dashboard. There are no external dependencies, libraries, or runtimes to install.
What does ‘Sovereign Infrastructure’ or ‘Total Sovereignty’ actually mean?
Section titled “What does ‘Sovereign Infrastructure’ or ‘Total Sovereignty’ actually mean?”Total Sovereignty means you have complete control over your automation infrastructure and data. Because Chronix is self-contained and doesn’t require cloud-based components or external databases, it can run entirely within your own network—even in air-gapped environments. Your data never leaves your infrastructure unless you explicitly configure it to.
Can the Chronix Agent work behind strict firewalls?
Section titled “Can the Chronix Agent work behind strict firewalls?”Absolutely. The Chronix Agent is designed for secure, outbound-only communication. It connects back to the Chronix Server via a secure websocket, meaning you don’t need to open any inbound ports on the systems being managed. As long as the agent can reach the server, it can execute tasks.
What kind of tasks can Chronix automate?
Section titled “What kind of tasks can Chronix automate?”Chronix supports a wide range of tasks, including SQL execution (SQLite, PostgreSQL, MySQL), Shell scripting (local and remote via SSH), and Web tasks (HTTP requests with JSONPath capture). You can even pipe results from one task into the next for complex workflows, or use it as a reporting tool to send task output via email or SMS.
How is security handled?
Section titled “How is security handled?”Security is baked in from the start. We use Ed25519-signed JWTs for agent identity and Trust-On-First-Use (TOFU) pinning. All stored credentials (like SSH keys or database passwords) are encrypted using a master key that never leaves the server.
Can Chronix be used as a reporting tool?
Section titled “Can Chronix be used as a reporting tool?”Yes! Chronix has evolved from a scheduled task tool into a comprehensive reporting platform. You can configure jobs to send their full output directly to you via email or SMS on a regular schedule, whether it’s a summary of a database query, the result of a shell script, or data from a web task.
Does Chronix support standard Cron expressions?
Section titled “Does Chronix support standard Cron expressions?”Yes, Chronix supports standard 5-field Cron expressions. In addition, it offers human-friendly scheduling rules like “Last Friday of the month” and advanced concurrency controls to prevent overlapping task runs.
What platforms are supported?
Section titled “What platforms are supported?”Chronix binaries are available for Linux (x86_64, ARM64), macOS (Intel, Apple Silicon), and Windows. The agent can run on any platform that supports a compatible binary, making it ideal for heterogeneous environments.
What is the update policy for the Perpetual License?
Section titled “What is the update policy for the Perpetual License?”The Perpetual license ($699) grants a lifetime right to use the software and includes all updates for the current major version (e.g., all v1.x releases). When a new major version (e.g., v2.0) is released, perpetual license holders will be eligible for a discounted upgrade price.
How does SMS alerting work?
Section titled “How does SMS alerting work?”SMS alerting is available in the Enterprise and Perpetual tiers. Chronix supports major providers including Twilio, Plivo, and Telnyx. Users must provide their own service account and credentials for their chosen provider. Please note that while Chronix includes the integration, any SMS transmission fees are paid directly by the user to their respective service provider.
Is there a discount for annual billing?
Section titled “Is there a discount for annual billing?”Yes! If you choose annual billing for the Professional or Enterprise tiers, you receive two months free (a 17% discount compared to monthly billing).