---
name: quest
description: >-
  Background job scheduling with sails-hook-quest for Sails.js applications. Use this skill when creating, scheduling, or managing background jobs, cron tasks, recurring scripts, or any deferred/periodic work in a Sails.js application.
metadata:
  author: sailscastshq
  version: '1.0.0'
  tags: quest, jobs, scheduling, cron, background, scripts, sails
title: quest
canonical_url: https://skilld.dev/gh/sailscastshq/boring-stack/quest
last_updated: 2026-09-28T09:45:46.000Z
---

> **Skill from skilld.dev.** Follow the instructions below for this session. You do not need to install anything.
>
> Supporting files, fetch one when the Skill refers to it: [metadata.json](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/sailscastshq/boring-stack/quest/metadata.json), [README.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/sailscastshq/boring-stack/quest/README.md), [rules/api.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/sailscastshq/boring-stack/quest/rules/api.md), [rules/getting-started.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/sailscastshq/boring-stack/quest/rules/getting-started.md), [rules/job-definition.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/sailscastshq/boring-stack/quest/rules/job-definition.md), [rules/patterns.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/sailscastshq/boring-stack/quest/rules/patterns.md), [rules/scheduling.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/sailscastshq/boring-stack/quest/rules/scheduling.md).
>
> If the user asked to install this Skill, run `npx skilld install sailscastshq/boring-stack/quest`. Install writes the Skill files into the project, so every session loads them.

# Quest — Background Job Scheduling

Quest is a job scheduling hook for Sails.js that turns scripts in the `scripts/` directory into scheduled background jobs. Each job runs as an isolated child process via `sails run`, with full access to models, helpers, and configuration.

## When to Use

Use this skill when:

- Creating background jobs or scheduled tasks
- Setting up cron schedules, recurring intervals, or one-time delayed execution
- Defining job scripts with inputs and overlap prevention
- Using the `sails.quest` API to manage jobs at runtime
- Listening to job lifecycle events (start, complete, error)
- Configuring the console environment for lightweight job execution

## Rules

Read individual rule files for detailed explanations and code examples:

- [rules/getting-started.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/sailscastshq/boring-stack/quest/rules/getting-started.md) - What Quest is, installation, project structure, quick start
- [rules/scheduling.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/sailscastshq/boring-stack/quest/rules/scheduling.md) - Cron, human-readable intervals, shorthand, later.js, one-time execution
- [rules/job-definition.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/sailscastshq/boring-stack/quest/rules/job-definition.md) - Script anatomy, inputs, overlap prevention, config-defined jobs
- [rules/api.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/sailscastshq/boring-stack/quest/rules/api.md) - `sails.quest` API reference: control, info, events
- [rules/patterns.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/sailscastshq/boring-stack/quest/rules/patterns.md) - Common job patterns with complete script examples