> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://notara-1.gitbook.io/notara-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://notara-1.gitbook.io/notara-docs/automations/scheduled.md).

# Scheduled Tasks

Scheduled tasks run the Notara agent on a cron schedule — daily, weekly, monthly, or any custom cadence you configure.

## Creating a Scheduled Task

1. In the dashboard, go to **Automations → Scheduled**.
2. Click **+ New Task**.
3. Fill in the task fields:

| Field               | Description                                              |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Name**            | Human-readable label (e.g., "Monday Engineering Digest") |
| **Prompt**          | The instruction the agent receives when the task runs    |
| **Channel**         | The Slack channel where the output is posted             |
| **Cron expression** | When the task runs (see below)                           |

4. Optionally select a **Skill** to activate for this task run.
5. Click **Save** — the task starts in **Active** state and will run at the next scheduled time.

## Cron Syntax

Notara uses standard 5-field cron syntax: `minute hour day month weekday`.

| Expression          | Meaning                                            |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| `0 9 * * 1`         | Every Monday at 9:00 AM                            |
| `0 9 * * 1-5`       | Every weekday at 9:00 AM                           |
| `0 8 * * *`         | Every day at 8:00 AM                               |
| `0 9 1 * *`         | First of every month at 9:00 AM                    |
| `0 17 * * 5`        | Every Friday at 5:00 PM                            |
| `*/30 9-17 * * 1-5` | Every 30 minutes during business hours on weekdays |

All times are in UTC. If your team is in a different timezone, adjust accordingly (e.g., 9am EST = `0 14 * * *`).

**Helpful tool:** [crontab.guru](https://crontab.guru) is a visual cron expression editor.

## Writing a Good Task Prompt

The task prompt should be a clear, specific instruction. The agent runs it without any prior context from a conversation, so it needs to be self-contained.

**Good prompt:**

```
Run the growth-weekly-digest skill. Pull the past 7 days of activity and 
post a structured digest with: (1) MRR and new customers from Stripe, 
(2) top competitor mentions from Perplexity, (3) key highlights in 3 bullets.
Keep the total under 400 words. Format for Slack (bold headers, bullet points).
```

**Less effective prompt:**

```
Do the weekly digest
```

If you have a well-designed skill for the task, reference it in the prompt — skills provide all the formatting and tool instructions so the prompt can be short.

## Managing Tasks

### Pausing a Task

Click **Pause** on the task card. The task stops running on schedule but retains its configuration. Click **Resume** to re-enable it.

### Editing a Task

Click the task name to open the editor. All fields are editable. Changes take effect at the next scheduled run.

Every save creates a **revision** — visible in the task's revision history. You can view or restore any previous configuration.

### Archiving a Task

Archiving is the two-step path to deletion:

1. Click **Archive**. The task is disabled immediately and marked as Archived.
2. Archived tasks are visible in the automations list with the Archived state filter.
3. Click **Restore** to bring it back. Note: restored tasks start in the **Paused** state — they don't automatically re-enable.
4. To permanently delete, contact <support@notara.ai>.

The two-step flow is intentional — it prevents accidentally deleting an active automation. Archiving also disables it, so there's no risk of a "deleted" task continuing to run.

## Run History

Each task maintains a run history log showing:

* Run time and trigger type (scheduled vs manual)
* Duration
* Status (success, failed, truncated)
* The channel where output was posted

Click any run to see the agent's output for that run. Useful for debugging or verifying that an automation ran as expected.

## System Actor Behavior

Scheduled tasks run as the **system actor** — not as a specific team member. Key implications:

* **No interactive approval prompts**: write tools execute without requiring an admin to approve via Slack DM. The act of an admin creating and enabling the task is the approval.
* **No user-facing gates**: destructive confirmation prompts (the in-channel "Confirm/Cancel" Block Kit message) are not displayed for system actor runs. Admins should only give system-actor tasks access to destructive tools if they're certain of the intended action.
* **Audit log**: all tool calls from scheduled tasks are logged with `trigger: scheduled` and the task ID.

If you're unsure whether a tool is safe to run unattended, test it with **Run Now** first and review the output before enabling the schedule.

## Common Recipes

**Weekly sprint summary (every Monday):**

```
Cron: 0 8 * * 1
Prompt: Use the eng-weekly-digest skill to summarize last week's Linear sprint.
Channel: #engineering
```

**Daily MRR pulse (every weekday):**

```
Cron: 0 9 * * 1-5
Prompt: Check Stripe and report today's MRR, new customers in the last 24h, 
and any failed payments. Keep it under 150 words. Format for Slack.
Channel: #growth
```

**Monthly board prep (first of month):**

```
Cron: 0 8 1 * *
Prompt: Pull the past month's Stripe data and ChartMogul analytics. 
Generate a board-ready revenue summary: MRR, growth rate, churn, top accounts.
Channel: #leadership
```