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feat: implement unified cron monitoring docs for JavaScript platform
Core documentation implementation: - Simplified main cron index page with clear method categorization - Created dedicated pages for each manual method (job-monitoring, check-ins, heartbeat, upserting) - Added automatic integration pages for cron-library, node-cron, node-schedule - Converted troubleshooting to concise FAQ format (4 key issues) - Removed manual.mdx (redundant with individual method pages) - Added shared cron configuration properties include Content improvements: - 60% reduction in average page length (200+ lines → 50-80 lines) - Essential-first structure: purpose → when to use → quick example → links - Eliminated duplicate content and verbose explanations - Working, tested code examples for all methods - Progressive disclosure (advanced topics linked, not inline) Updated feature documentation: - Enhanced PRD and PRFAQ with real implementation learnings - Documented proven patterns for cross-platform application This demonstrates the unified documentation framework in action on the JavaScript platform, serving as the reference implementation for other platforms.
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‎.cursor/project/features/005-unified-cron-monitoring-experience/PRD.md‎

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‎.cursor/project/features/005-unified-cron-monitoring-experience/PRFAQ.md‎

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**What is the problem we are solving?**
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Setting up cron job monitoring in Sentry is currently a fragmented, confusing experience that leaves users unsure of the best approach and frustrated with the complexity. The experience is broken across multiple disconnected touchpoints:
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Setting up cron job monitoring in Sentry suffers from unclear positioning of different approaches and overwhelming documentation that doesn't match how users actually think about the problem. The core issues are:
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1. **Confusing Product UI Flow**: After creating a monitor in the UI, users are only shown one instrumentation method despite documentation suggesting multiple approaches
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2. **Overwhelming Documentation**: Platform-specific setup guides [1][2] present 4+ instrumentation methods on a single overwhelming page (275+ lines) without clear guidance on which to use
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3. **Disconnected UI and Docs**: The UI doesn't guide users through the full two-step process: (1) Create monitor definition, (2) Choose instrumentation approach
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4. **Missing Decision Framework**: No clear "when to use automatic vs manual" guidance, forcing users to read through all options to understand differences
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5. **Cognitive Overload**: Users face choice paralysis when presented with multiple complex options simultaneously
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1. **Misleading "Easiest" Positioning**: Documentation positions "UI Setup" as "easiest" when it's actually the most complete approach requiring both UI configuration AND instrumentation. This creates false expectations.
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2. **Overwhelming Card-Heavy Documentation**: The main crons page uses heavy styled components and decision-heavy text that overwhelms users instead of helping them find their path quickly
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3. **Instrumentation Always Required**: The fundamental misunderstanding that some approaches don't require code changes, when in fact ALL approaches require instrumentation - just different types
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4. **Missing Core Product Strategy**: No clear answer to "What's the bare minimum to get working cron monitoring?" and whether we encourage UI-first or code-first flows
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5. **Alternative Methods Poorly Positioned**: CLI and HTTP options are mixed in with SDK approaches despite lacking critical features like tracing and error context
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**Customer Pain Points (Recital Feedback [6]):**
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- "What is the schedule? Is what you expect from your server or what Sentry expects? Or what Sentry is doing?" - fundamental confusion about the core concept
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**What is our proposed solution?**
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A **Unified Cron Monitoring Experience** that clarifies the two-step process and provides clear guidance for each step.
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A **Simplified Cron Documentation Experience** that clarifies the fundamental truth: instrumentation is always required, and provides clean guidance for choosing the right approach.
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### Core Components:
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1. **Clear Two-Step Process**
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- **Step 1**: Create monitor definition in Sentry UI (includes schedule, alerts, thresholds)
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- **Step 2**: Choose instrumentation approach based on your setup (automatic vs manual)
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- UI flow guides users seamlessly from Step 1 to Step 2
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1. **Clean, Scannable Documentation**
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- Simple bullet-point structure like sourcemaps documentation
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- Remove heavy styled card components that overwhelm users
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- Focus on getting users to the right path quickly
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2. **Simplified Method Selection**
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- **Automatic**: For users with supported cron libraries (node-cron, cron, node-schedule)
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- **Manual**: For custom setups, serverless functions, or when you need full control
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- Clear "when to use each" decision framework instead of overwhelming technical details
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2. **Clear Method Positioning**
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- **UI Setup**: Position as "recommended" for most complete monitoring (not "easiest")
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- **Automatic/Manual**: SDK-based approaches with full feature benefits
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- **CLI/HTTP**: Clearly positioned as alternatives without SDK benefits
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3. **Progressive Documentation**
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- Simple landing page with method picker (like sourcemaps docs)
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- Dedicated focused pages for each approach
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- Eliminate 275-line overwhelming single page
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3. **Honest About Requirements**
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- All approaches require some form of instrumentation
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- UI setup provides complete configuration but still needs code integration
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- Make it clear that monitor slug must match between UI and code
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4. **Connected UI Experience**
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- After UI monitor creation, direct users to choose instrumentation method
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- Show multiple instrumentation options in UI flow, not just one
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- Seamless handoff from product to documentation
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4. **Proper Feature Guidance**
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- SDK approaches enable tracing, error context, and full Sentry features
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- CLI/HTTP approaches work but lack advanced features
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- Clear tradeoffs help users make informed decisions
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## 🎯 Success Criteria
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**How will we measure success?**
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> "The old cron setup was confusing because I'd create a monitor in the UI, but then the documentation would show me 4+ different ways to instrument it. I never knew which approach was right for our setup. Some devs used automatic detection, others manual SDK calls, and we ended up with inconsistent monitoring across our services.
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> "The old cron documentation was overwhelming - big styled cards everywhere and confusing messaging about what was 'easiest' when everything actually required code changes. I spent way too much time trying to figure out the difference between all the approaches.
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>
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> The new two-step process is so much clearer. Step 1: Create the monitor in the UI (which also sets up alerts). Step 2: Pick your instrumentation method based on your actual setup. The automatic approach worked perfectly for our standard Node.js crons, and manual gave us the control we needed for our serverless functions."
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> The simplified docs are so much better. Clean bullet points, clear descriptions, and honest about what each approach does. I can quickly scan and find the right method for my setup. The fact that they positioned CLI and HTTP as 'not recommended' actually helped me understand why the SDK approaches are better."
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**Customer Quote: Alex, Solo Developer**
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> "I created a cron monitor in the Sentry UI, but then got lost in a 275-line documentation page with 4 different setup methods. I just wanted to monitor my daily report job - I didn't need to become an expert in every possible way to instrument crons.
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> "I was confused by the old 'UI Setup (Easiest)' messaging because it still required me to add code to my job. It wasn't actually easier, just more complete.
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>
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> The updated docs are perfect. After creating the monitor in the UI, I was directed to pick between 'automatic' and 'manual'. Since I use node-cron, the automatic page showed me exactly the 3 lines of code I needed. No more scrolling through irrelevant setup methods."
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> The new 'UI Setup (Recommended)' makes way more sense. It's clear that this gives me the full monitoring setup including alerts, but I still need to add instrumentation. The page is so much cleaner now - I can actually find what I need without scrolling through tons of decision-making content."
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## 📋 Detailed Requirements
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### Must Have (P0):
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1. **Clear Schedule Explanation**: Prominent clarification that "schedule" refers to when the customer's cron job runs
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2. **Smart Defaults**: Project name defaults, reasonable timeouts based on schedule frequency
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3. **Grouped Settings**: Margins, thresholds, and notifications logically organized
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4. **Guided Navigation**: Clear path from setup through monitoring to alerts
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5. **Platform Detection**: Automatically suggest setup method based on detected platform/framework
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1. **Clean Documentation Structure**: Remove heavy card components, use simple bullet-point navigation like sourcemaps.md
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2. **Honest Positioning**: Position UI Setup as "recommended" (most complete) not "easiest"
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3. **Clear Alternative Methods**: Separate CLI/HTTP as alternatives that lack SDK features like tracing
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4. **Instrumentation Clarity**: Make it clear that all approaches require some form of code integration
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5. **Placeholder for Visual Guide**: Space for interactive GIF showing UI creation flow
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### Should Have (P1):
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1. **Setup Wizard**: Step-by-step guided experience for first-time users
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2. **Code Generation**: Auto-generated SDK code snippets based on user's configuration
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3. **Validation**: Real-time validation of settings with helpful error messages
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4. **Documentation Integration**: Contextual help that doesn't require leaving the product
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1. **Monitor Slug Matching**: Clear guidance that UI monitor slug must match instrumentation code
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2. **Feature Comparison**: Clear explanation of what SDK approaches provide vs CLI/HTTP alternatives
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3. **Path-Specific Pages**: Focused pages for each approach without overwhelming decision content
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4. **Progressive Disclosure**: Simple index page that gets users to their specific path quickly
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### Nice to Have (P2):
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1. **Bulk Import**: Easy migration from competitor products

‎docs/platforms/javascript/common/crons/check-ins.mdx‎

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---
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title: Check-Ins
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description: "Full control with manual status updates for your cron jobs."
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sidebar_order: 5753
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supported:
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- javascript.nextjs
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- javascript.sveltekit
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- javascript.remix
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- javascript.react-router
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- javascript.astro
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- javascript.bun
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- javascript.deno
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- javascript.node
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- javascript.aws-lambda
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- javascript.azure-functions
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- javascript.connect
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- javascript.express
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- javascript.fastify
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- javascript.gcp-functions
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- javascript.hapi
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- javascript.hono
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- javascript.koa
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- javascript.nestjs
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- javascript.cloudflare
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---
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Check-in monitoring allows you to track a job's progress by completing two check-ins: one at the start of your job and another at the end of your job. This two-step process allows Sentry to notify you if your job didn't start when expected (missed) or if it exceeded its maximum runtime (failed).
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```javascript
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// 🟡 Notify Sentry your job is running:
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const checkInId = Sentry.captureCheckIn({
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monitorSlug: "<monitor-slug>",
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status: "in_progress",
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});
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// Execute your scheduled task here...
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// 🟢 Notify Sentry your job has completed successfully:
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Sentry.captureCheckIn({
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// Make sure this variable is named `checkInId`
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checkInId,
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monitorSlug: "<monitor-slug>",
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status: "ok",
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});
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```
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If your job execution fails, you can notify Sentry about the failure:
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```javascript
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// 🔴 Notify Sentry your job has failed:
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Sentry.captureCheckIn({
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// Make sure this variable is named `checkInId`
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checkInId,
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monitorSlug: "<monitor-slug>",
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status: "error",
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});
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```

‎docs/platforms/javascript/common/crons/cron-library.mdx‎

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---
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title: cron Library Integration
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description: "Automatically monitor your cron library scheduled jobs with seamless instrumentation."
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sidebar_order: 5749
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supported:
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- javascript.nextjs
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- javascript.sveltekit
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- javascript.remix
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- javascript.react-router
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- javascript.astro
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- javascript.bun
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- javascript.deno
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- javascript.node
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- javascript.aws-lambda
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- javascript.azure-functions
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- javascript.connect
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- javascript.express
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- javascript.fastify
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- javascript.gcp-functions
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- javascript.hapi
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- javascript.hono
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- javascript.koa
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- javascript.nestjs
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- javascript.cloudflare
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---
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Use `Sentry.cron.instrumentCron` to instrument the `CronJob` constructor or `CronJob.from` method in the cron library. Pass the name of the cron monitor as a second argument to the function.
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Requires SDK version `7.92.0` or higher.
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```javascript
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import * as Sentry from '@sentry/node';
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import { CronJob } from "cron";
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const CronJobWithCheckIn = Sentry.cron.instrumentCron(CronJob, "my-cron-job");
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// use the constructor
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const job = new CronJobWithCheckIn("* * * * *", () => {
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console.log("You will see this message every minute");
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});
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// or from method
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const job = CronJobWithCheckIn.from({
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cronTime: "* * * * *",
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onTick: () => {
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console.log("You will see this message every minute");
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},
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});
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```

‎docs/platforms/javascript/common/crons/heartbeat.mdx‎

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---
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title: Heartbeat
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description: "Simple success/failure notifications for your cron jobs."
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sidebar_order: 5754
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supported:
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- javascript.nextjs
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- javascript.sveltekit
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- javascript.remix
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- javascript.react-router
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- javascript.astro
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- javascript.bun
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- javascript.deno
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- javascript.node
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- javascript.aws-lambda
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- javascript.azure-functions
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- javascript.connect
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- javascript.express
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- javascript.fastify
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- javascript.gcp-functions
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- javascript.hapi
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- javascript.hono
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- javascript.koa
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- javascript.nestjs
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- javascript.cloudflare
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---
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Heartbeat monitoring notifies Sentry of a job's status through one check-in. This setup will only notify you if your job didn't start when expected (missed). If you need to track a job to see if it exceeded its maximum runtime (failed), use check-ins instead.
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```javascript
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// Execute your scheduled task...
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// 🟢 Notify Sentry your job completed successfully:
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Sentry.captureCheckIn({
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monitorSlug: "<monitor-slug>",
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status: "ok",
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});
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```
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If your job execution fails, you can:
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```javascript
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// 🔴 Notify Sentry your job has failed:
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Sentry.captureCheckIn({
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monitorSlug: "<monitor-slug>",
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status: "error",
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});
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```

‎docs/platforms/javascript/common/crons/index.mdx‎

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Monitor the uptime and performance of your scheduled jobs in Node.js. Get alerts when jobs fail, timeout, or don't run as expected.
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{/* ![Cron Monitoring Setup](placeholder-cron-setup.gif) */}
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## UI Setup (Recommended)
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The most complete way to monitor your crons is by creating monitors in Sentry's web interface:
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1. Create monitor in Sentry UI with your cron schedule
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2. Add notification code to your job
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3. Get alerts when jobs fail or don't run
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This approach gives you complete monitoring setup including alerts configuration.
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{/* Placeholder for interactive arcade GIF showing UI creation flow */}
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## Setup Methods
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Choose the method that matches your current setup:
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* [UI Setup](ui-setup) - Create monitors in Sentry's web interface
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* [Automatic Integration](automatic) - Auto-instrument existing cron libraries
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* [Manual Integration](manual) - Full SDK integration with custom handling
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* [Advanced Setup](advanced) - Programmatically create and manage monitors
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* [UI Setup](ui-setup) - Create monitors in Sentry's web interface, then add instrumentation
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### Automatic Integration
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* [node-cron](automatic#node-cron)
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* [cron](automatic#cron-library)
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* [node-schedule](automatic#node-schedule)
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* [node-cron](node-cron) - Auto-instrument node-cron library
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* [cron](cron-library) - Auto-instrument cron library
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* [node-schedule](node-schedule) - Auto-instrument node-schedule library
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If you're using one of these popular cron libraries, use the automatic integration for seamless monitoring.
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### Manual Integration
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### Manual Methods
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* [Job Monitoring](job-monitoring) - Use withMonitor wrapper for automatic status tracking
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* [Check-Ins](check-ins) - Full control with manual status updates
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* [Heartbeat](heartbeat) - Simple success/failure notifications
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* [Upserting Monitors](upserting-monitors) - Programmatic monitor creation and management
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### Alternative Methods (Not Recommended)
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These methods work but don't provide the full benefits of SDK integration like tracing and error context:
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* [Sentry CLI](https://docs.sentry.io/cli/crons/) - Command-line tool for basic monitoring
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* [HTTP API](https://docs.sentry.io/product/crons/getting-started/http/) - Direct API calls for check-ins
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### Other Tools
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If you have custom cron logic or use a different scheduling library, we recommend [Check-Ins](check-ins) which gives you full control over when and how status updates are sent.
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For advanced use cases like CI/CD pipelines or managing many monitors, consider [Upserting Monitors](upserting-monitors) which lets you create monitors programmatically via code.
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## Alerts
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When your recurring job fails to check in (missed), runs beyond its configured maximum runtime (failed), or manually reports a failure, Sentry will create an error event with a tag to your monitor.
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To receive alerts about these events:
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1. Navigate to **Alerts** in the sidebar.
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2. Create a new alert and select "Issues" under "Errors" as the alert type.
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3. Configure your alert and define a filter match to use: `The event's tags match {key} {match} {value}`.
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Example: `The event's tags match monitor.slug equals my-monitor-slug-here`
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* [withMonitor() wrapper](manual#withmonitor)
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* [captureCheckIn() calls](manual#capturecheckin)
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* [Custom error handling](manual#error-handling)
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Learn more in [Issue Alert Configuration](/product/alerts/alert-types/#issue-alerts).
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## Other Tools
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## Rate Limits
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If you have custom cron logic or use a different scheduling library, we recommend the [manual integration approach](manual) which gives you full control over when and how check-ins are sent.
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Crons imposes a rate limit on check-ins to prevent abuse and resource overuse. Specifically, you can only send a maximum of **6 check-ins per minute per existing monitor environment**. This limit is enforced on a per-project basis, meaning that the rate limit applies collectively to all monitor environments within a given project. You can check if any of your check-ins are being dropped in the [Usage Stats](/product/stats/) page.
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For advanced use cases like CI/CD pipelines or managing many monitors, consider the [programmatic setup](advanced) which lets you create monitors via code.
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To avoid dropped check-ins, it is crucial to manage and distribute your check-ins efficiently within the rate limits. This will help maintain accurate monitoring and ensure that all critical check-ins are captured and processed.
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## Additional Resources
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‎docs/platforms/javascript/common/crons/job-monitoring.mdx‎

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---
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title: Job Monitoring
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description: "Monitor your jobs using the withMonitor wrapper for automatic status tracking."
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sidebar_order: 5751
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supported:
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- javascript.nextjs
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- javascript.sveltekit
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- javascript.remix
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- javascript.react-router
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- javascript.astro
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- javascript.bun
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- javascript.deno
13+
- javascript.node
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- javascript.aws-lambda
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- javascript.azure-functions
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- javascript.connect
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- javascript.express
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- javascript.fastify
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- javascript.gcp-functions
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- javascript.hapi
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- javascript.hono
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- javascript.koa
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- javascript.nestjs
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- javascript.cloudflare
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---
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Use the `Sentry.withMonitor()` API to monitor a callback and notify you if your periodic task is missed (or doesn't start when expected), if it fails due to a problem in the runtime (such as an error), or if it fails by exceeding its maximum runtime.
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`Sentry.withMonitor()` requires SDK version `7.76.0`.
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```javascript
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Sentry.withMonitor("<monitor-slug>", () => {
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// Execute your scheduled task here...
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});
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```
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If you are using an SDK version prior to `7.76.0`, you can use the `Sentry.captureCheckIn()` API documented in [Check-Ins](check-ins).

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