Recently there is a simple requirement to implement automatic check-in for some websites. Before that, I tried QianDao for Python3, but it was tedious to write HAR for each task. Moreover, I am lazy, so I was looking for a simpler solution, and finally found cron-job.org.

Automatic check-in needs to meet the following requirements:

1. Support scheduled HTTP requests.
2. Support custom request headers.
3. Support passing cookies.

I tried some HTTP monitoring tools that can customize request headers, such as Monitoring Bao, but it repeatedly sends HTTP requests periodically and does not support custom time, so I gave up.

Then I tried using shell scripts + crontab to meet all the above requirements, but it is not very convenient to add and modify.

Is there a web tool with a visual interface that supports sending HTTP requests at custom times? Finally, with the recommendation of a friend, I found cron-job.org, which meets the above 3 requirements.

About cron-job.org: cron-job.org is an open-source free HTTP scheduled task tool with the following features:

• Easy to use visual interface.
• Support custom request headers.
• Support passing cookies.
• Detailed execution logs and error reports.

Registering cron-job.org: After registering at https://console.cron-job.org/signup, you can use it after verifying your email. The free version does not limit the number of tasks, but there are some differences compared to the premium version, as shown in the screenshot.

Adding an automatic check-in task with cron-job.org: Note: The following content involves some professional knowledge and requires an understanding of the HTTP protocol.

Create a new task in the backend: https://console.cron-job.org/jobs/create. The settings in "COMMON" are shown in the screenshot.

Switch to "Advanced" to customize the headers. Usually, we need to customize 3 headers. If some websites are stricter, more headers may be needed. Analyze the HTTP packet capture content by yourself.

• Cookie: View the cookie after logging in to your target website.
• Referer: Set it to any URL that is the same as the target website.
• User-Agent: It is recommended to be consistent with the User-Agent of the browser.

Finally, click "TEST RUN" at the bottom to check the test result. If there is no problem, click "SAVE".

Security risks: The above content uses the online service provided by cron-job.org, which will hand over the cookie content to cron-job.org. Although cron-job.org may not actively leak it, it cannot guarantee the possibility of passive leakage. If you plan to use cron-job.org for automatic check-in, it is suitable for small websites that are not important. For very important or privacy-related data, it is not recommended.

In addition, cron-job.org is already open-source on Github (complex to set up), you can study it yourself if you are interested: https://github.com/pschlan/cron-job.org

Other website check-in solutions:

• QianDao for Python3
• Qinglong

Additional notes: There are some shortcomings in checking in with cookies. Cookies have a certain validity period, and the validity period varies for different websites. After the cookie expires, you need to retrieve it again and update it in the task of cron-job.org.

cron-job.org can do more than just website check-in. Check-in is just one scenario. For example, you can also use cron-job.org to monitor your API interface. In short, use cron-job.org reasonably according to your own needs. (Note: Abuse will result in account deletion)