Automations
Price watch automation
Daily check on the prices you care about; a report only when something moved.
Last reviewed July 17, 2026
A cron automation recipe that checks named product or service prices daily against a tracking file and reports only on changes past your threshold.
Schedule: Every day at 06:00
0 6 * * *Automation instructions
Check the current prices of the items in /Ops/price-watch.md (each line: item, where to check, last seen price, alert threshold). Search for each item's current price at its named source. Update the last-seen price in the file with today's date. Only when a price moved past its threshold, add a line to the CHANGES section at the top: item, old price, new price, percent change, link. If nothing crossed a threshold, update the file silently and do not add a changes entry. Never report a price without the link you got it from; skip an item with a note when its source is unreachable rather than guessing.
Set it up
- 1
Create the tracking file
Make /Ops/price-watch.md with one line per item: name, source, last price, threshold (absolute or percent).
- 2
Copy the instructions
The silent-update design means your attention is only spent when something crossed YOUR threshold.
- 3
Create the automation
Daily at 06:00; the file's CHANGES section becomes your price history over time.