Task Scheduler

Automate your Agentastic workflows by scheduling launcher prompts to run at specific times. Perfect for recurring tasks, reminders, and automated workflows.

Overview

The Task Scheduler allows you to:

• Schedule prompts to run once at a specific time
• Set up recurring tasks with cron expressions
• Use natural language for time specifications
• Manage and monitor scheduled tasks
• Automatically launch Agentastic with your prompts
• Tasks execute in the background and mark as completed automatically

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Ensure the Agentastic daemon is running:

agentastic service status

# Start if not running
agentastic service start

Creating Your First Scheduled Task

Schedule a task to run in 30 minutes:

agentastic schedule add \
  --prompt "Check my calendar and summarize today's meetings" \
  --title "Daily Calendar Check" \
  --at "in 30 minutes"

Task Types

One-Time Tasks

Schedule tasks to run once at a specific time:

# Tomorrow at 5pm
agentastic schedule add \
  --prompt "Send weekly status report" \
  --title "Weekly Report" \
  --at "5pm tomorrow"

# Specific date and time
agentastic schedule add \
  --prompt "Prepare presentation notes" \
  --title "Presentation Prep" \
  --at "2024-12-15 14:00"

# Natural language
agentastic schedule add \
  --prompt "Review pull requests" \
  --title "PR Review" \
  --at "next Monday at 10am"

Recurring Tasks

Use cron expressions for tasks that repeat:

# Every weekday at 9am
agentastic schedule add \
  --prompt "Check team standup notes" \
  --title "Daily Standup" \
  --cron "0 9 * * MON-FRI"

# Every 30 minutes during work hours
agentastic schedule add \
  --prompt "Check for urgent emails" \
  --title "Email Check" \
  --cron "*/30 9-17 * * MON-FRI"

# Weekly report every Friday at 4pm
agentastic schedule add \
  --prompt "Generate weekly summary" \
  --title "Weekly Summary" \
  --cron "0 16 * * FRI"

Managing Tasks

List All Tasks

View all scheduled tasks with their status:

agentastic schedule list

Output shows:

• Task ID
• Title
• Next execution time
• Status (active/disabled)
• Schedule type (once/recurring)

Check Task Status

Get detailed information about a specific task:

agentastic schedule status <task-id>

Shows:

• Full task details
• Execution history
• Last run status
• Next scheduled time

Enable/Disable Tasks

Temporarily disable a task without removing it:

# Disable task
agentastic schedule disable <task-id>

# Re-enable task
agentastic schedule enable <task-id>

Remove Tasks

Permanently delete a scheduled task:

agentastic schedule remove <task-id>

Run Tasks Immediately (Testing)

Test tasks without waiting for their scheduled time:

# Run an existing scheduled task immediately
agentastic schedule run <task-id>

# Run a one-off task without scheduling
agentastic schedule run --prompt "Test prompt" --title "Quick Test"

# Short form
agentastic schedule run -p "Check emails" -t "Email Check"

This feature is useful for:

• Testing: Verify prompts work before scheduling them
• Debugging: Immediately test problematic scheduled tasks
• Manual Triggers: Run scheduled tasks on-demand
• Quick Tasks: Execute one-off AI prompts without scheduling

Example workflow:

# 1. Create a scheduled task
agentastic schedule add --prompt "Daily report" --title "Report" --at "tomorrow 5pm"
# Output: Task ID: abc-123...

# 2. Test it immediately before waiting
agentastic schedule run abc-123

# 3. Or test a new prompt without scheduling
agentastic schedule run -p "Test: Current time is $(date)" -t "Time Test"

Natural Language Time Examples

The scheduler understands various time formats:

Relative Times

• "in 30 minutes"
• "in 2 hours"
• "tomorrow"
• "next week"
• "next Monday"

Specific Times

• "5pm"
• "9:30am"
• "14:00"
• "5pm tomorrow"
• "Monday at 9am"

Dates

• "December 25"
• "12/25/2024"
• "2024-12-25 10:00"
• "Christmas day at noon"

Cron Expression Reference

Cron format: minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week

Common Patterns

Special Characters

• * - Any value
• , - Value list separator (e.g., 1,3,5)
• - - Range of values (e.g., 1-5)
• / - Step values (e.g., */5 = every 5)

Day Names

• MON, TUE, WED, THU, FRI, SAT, SUN

Month Names

• JAN, FEB, MAR, APR, MAY, JUN
• JUL, AUG, SEP, OCT, NOV, DEC

Use Cases

Daily Automation

# Morning briefing
agentastic schedule add \
  --prompt "Summarize my calendar, unread emails, and weather" \
  --title "Morning Briefing" \
  --cron "0 8 * * *"

# End-of-day summary
agentastic schedule add \
  --prompt "What did I accomplish today? Create tomorrow's priorities" \
  --title "Daily Review" \
  --cron "0 18 * * MON-FRI"

Project Management

# Sprint planning reminder
agentastic schedule add \
  --prompt "Review sprint backlog and prepare planning notes" \
  --title "Sprint Planning" \
  --cron "0 9 * * MON"

# Weekly status report
agentastic schedule add \
  --prompt "Generate project status report from this week's updates" \
  --title "Status Report" \
  --cron "0 16 * * FRI"

Personal Productivity

# Break reminder
agentastic schedule add \
  --prompt "Time for a 5-minute break. Stretch and hydrate!" \
  --title "Break Reminder" \
  --cron "0 */2 9-17 * * MON-FRI"

# Learning reminder
agentastic schedule add \
  --prompt "Time for daily learning. Pick a topic to study for 30 minutes" \
  --title "Learning Time" \
  --cron "0 15 * * *"

Task Storage

Tasks are stored locally on your system:

macOS:

~/Library/Application Support/agentastic/tasks/
├── <task-id-1>.json
├── <task-id-2>.json
└── history/
    └── <execution-logs>

Windows:

%APPDATA%\agentastic\tasks\

Linux:

~/.config/agentastic/tasks/

Each task file contains:

• Task configuration
• Schedule information
• Execution history
• Status and metadata

Important Notes

Execution Context

• Tasks run with the same permissions as the Agentastic daemon
• The launcher window appears when tasks execute
• Tasks have a 5-minute timeout by default
• Failed tasks retry with exponential backoff

Best Practices

1. Test First: Use agentastic schedule run -p "prompt" to test before scheduling
2. Clear Titles: Use descriptive titles for easy management
3. Time Zones: Tasks use system time zone
4. Monitor Logs: Check agentastic log for execution details
5. Resource Usage: Avoid scheduling too many concurrent tasks
6. Immediate Testing: Always test scheduled tasks with schedule run <task-id> after creating them

Troubleshooting

Tasks not executing:

1. Verify daemon is running: agentastic service status
2. Check task status: agentastic schedule status <task-id>
3. Review logs: agentastic log | grep scheduler
4. Ensure correct time zone settings
5. Ensure tasks directory exists: ~/Library/Application Support/agentastic/tasks/

Tasks failing:

1. Test with immediate execution: agentastic schedule run <task-id>
2. Test prompt manually: agentastic schedule run -p "your prompt"
3. Check for syntax errors in prompt
4. Verify API keys and permissions
5. Review execution timeout settings

Tasks stuck in "Pending" status:

• This has been fixed - tasks now properly update to "Completed" after launching
• If you see this on older versions, update to the latest version

Performance issues:

1. Limit concurrent task execution
2. Stagger task schedules
3. Use appropriate retry settings
4. Monitor system resources

Advanced Configuration

Task Execution Settings

Tasks execute the Agentastic launcher with these defaults:

• Timeout: 5 minutes
• Retry count: 3
• Retry backoff: Exponential
• Max concurrent: Unlimited

Integration with Other Features

Scheduled tasks work seamlessly with:

• AI Commands: Schedule any AI command
• Memory Channels: Tasks can use memory context
• Agent Mode: Complex multi-step workflows
• Tool Access: Full tool capabilities available

Examples Gallery

Content Creation

# Daily blog post ideas
agentastic schedule add \
  --prompt "Generate 3 blog post ideas based on trending topics" \
  --title "Blog Ideas" \
  --cron "0 9 * * *"

Code Reviews

# PR review reminder
agentastic schedule add \
  --prompt "List open pull requests that need my review" \
  --title "PR Review" \
  --cron "0 10,15 * * MON-FRI"

Health & Wellness

# Hydration reminder
agentastic schedule add \
  --prompt "Reminder: Drink water and take a short walk" \
  --title "Health Break" \
  --cron "0 * 9-17 * * *"

Communication

# Team check-in
agentastic schedule add \
  --prompt "Draft team check-in message with today's priorities" \
  --title "Team Update" \
  --cron "0 9 * * MON-FRI"

Security Considerations

• Tasks are stored locally with user-only permissions
• No tasks are shared or synced to cloud
• Sensitive prompts should use memory channels
• API keys are never stored in task files
• Tasks run with your user permissions only

What's Next?

Explore related features:

• Memory Channels - Add context to scheduled tasks
• Custom Prompts - Create reusable prompt templates
• AI Commands - Advanced AI capabilities

Ready to automate? Start with a simple daily task and build from there!