diff --git a/__tests__/bundle/cronJobsInput.test.ts b/__tests__/bundle/cronJobsInput.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3a52e0d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/__tests__/bundle/cronJobsInput.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+import type { FakeGithub } from './fakeGithub'
+import { afterAll, afterEach, beforeAll, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+
+import { start } from './fakeGithub'
+import { token } from './helpers'
+import { runBundle } from './runBundle'
+
+vi.setConfig({ testTimeout: 30_000 })
+
+// the `jobs` input validation of the cron dispatcher, driven through dist/index.js: the push event routes to the
+// cron jobs like schedule and workflow_dispatch do, and a blank list fails the run before anything talks to the api
+describe('dist/index.js cron jobs input', () => {
+  let gh: FakeGithub
+
+  beforeAll(async () => {
+    gh = await start()
+  })
+  afterEach(() => gh.reset())
+  afterAll(() => gh.close())
+
+  it('push without a jobs input fails the run naming the missing list and calls no api', async () => {
+    const result = await runBundle({ eventName: 'push', payload: {}, inputs: token, apiUrl: gh.url })
+
+    expect(result.status, result.stdout).toBe(1)
+    expect(result.errors.some(e => /please provide a list of space delimited/.test(e))).toBe(true)
+    expect(gh.requests).toEqual([])
+  })
+
+  it('a jobs input of only whitespace is treated as missing', async () => {
+    const result = await runBundle({ eventName: 'schedule', payload: {}, inputs: { ...token, jobs: ' \n\t ' }, apiUrl: gh.url })
+
+    expect(result.status, result.stdout).toBe(1)
+    expect(result.errors.some(e => /please provide a list of space delimited/.test(e))).toBe(true)
+    expect(gh.requests).toEqual([])
+  })
+})