Google Cloud Scheduler + Node: Schedule endpoint calls | ShillehTek

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Project Overview

Google Cloud Scheduler + Node App: In this tutorial, you create a Google Cloud Scheduler (cron) job that hits a backend endpoint in your Node application (running on GCP App Engine) to automatically clear unverified MongoDB users with zero credits.

You can adapt the same pattern to schedule any periodic task your application needs.

• Time: 20 to 40 minutes
• Skill level: Intermediate
• What you will build: A scheduled Cloud Scheduler job that sends a POST request to a Node API endpoint

Prerequisites: You should be able to deploy a Node application to GCP App Engine and be familiar with creating APIs in Node.

Parts List

From ShillehTek

• None

External

• Google Cloud Platform (GCP) App Engine
• Google Cloud Scheduler
• Node.js application with an API route
• MongoDB database
• Mongoose (MongoDB ODM for Node)
• https://crontab.guru - help building cron expressions

Note: This example uses a shared secret sent in the JSON body to protect the endpoint. Replace the hardcoded value with a secure approach for production.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1 - Set up a backend endpoint in your Node application

Goal: Create a POST endpoint that Cloud Scheduler can call to run your cleanup logic.

What to do: Add a POST route (example: /clearUnverifiedUsers) to your Node app. The request checks a secret value from the JSON body, then deletes MongoDB users where verified = false and credits = 0.

Code:

app.post('/clearUnverifiedUsers', async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const secret = req.body.secret;
    if (secret !== 'password') {
      return res.status(403).json({ message: `Body ${secret}` });
    }
    
    const result = await signinTable.deleteMany({ verified: false, credits: 0 });
    return res.json({ message: 'Users cleared successfully', deletedCount: result.deletedCount });
  } catch (error) {
    return res.status(500).json({ error: 'Internal Server Error' });
  }
});

Depending on your purposes, you will likely want to change the code in this endpoint.

Expected result: Your deployed Node app has a working POST endpoint at /clearUnverifiedUsers that rejects invalid secrets and runs the database cleanup when authorized.

Step 2 - Create a cron job in GCP (Cloud Scheduler)

Goal: Schedule Cloud Scheduler to call your Node endpoint on a recurring schedule.

What to do: In GCP, go to App Engine, open the Cron Jobs tab, then select GO TO CLOUD SCHEDULER and click CREATE JOB.

Cloud Scheduler will ask you for job details. The key setting is the frequency, which uses a cron expression. If you need help building the expression, use https://crontab.guru.

Configure the job to call your Node endpoint URL (your App Engine URL plus /clearUnverifiedUsers).

Set the request headers for Content-Type: application/json, and include a JSON payload body that contains the secret your endpoint expects.

Save the cron job.

If your job runs weekly (or any long interval), use Force Run from the Cloud Scheduler menu to verify it works right away. A successful call should show an execution status of Success.

Expected result: Cloud Scheduler successfully sends a POST request to your Node endpoint on demand (Force Run) and on the schedule you configured.

Conclusion

You set up a Google Cloud Scheduler cron job that calls a POST endpoint in a Node application hosted on GCP App Engine. In this example, the endpoint checks a shared secret and then removes unverified MongoDB users with zero credits using Mongoose.

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