Updated October 2026
Schedule AI agent tasks with cron
A scheduled agent task is a prompt that runs by itself at set times: a morning briefing, a weekly report, an hourly check on a folder. In CoWork OS you can schedule any task with a preset, a cron expression, or a sentence like "every weekday at 9am", and have the result delivered to the chat app you use.
Cron in one minute
A cron expression has five fields:
┌ minute (0–59)
│ ┌ hour (0–23)
│ │ ┌ day of month (1–31)
│ │ │ ┌ month (1–12)
│ │ │ │ ┌ day of week (0–6, Sunday = 0)
│ │ │ │ │
0 9 * * 1-5 → 09:00 every weekday
CoWork OS accepts standard five-field cron and rejects other formats, so an expression that works in a crontab works here. You can set a time zone per job.
Three ways to schedule a task
1. From any task. Open the task menu, choose Add automation..., and pick a preset or a custom expression. The automation can continue the same thread or start a new task each time.
| Preset | Runs |
|---|---|
| Every 30m | Every 30 minutes |
| Hourly | Every hour |
| Daily | 0 9 * * *, 09:00 every day |
| Weekdays | 0 9 * * 1-5, 09:00 Monday to Friday |
| Weekly | 0 9 * * 1, 09:00 every Monday |
| Custom | Any five-field cron expression |
2. In plain English, from chat. Type a schedule in a conversation, including from a chat app:
/schedule Every weekday at 9am, summarize new issues in this repo.
/schedule every 6h check the downloads folder and file new invoices
/schedule list
3. In Automation Studio. The Automations view builds multi-step flows that start on a schedule, a webhook, or an event from a connected service such as Gmail, Drive or Calendar. Save a draft, Turn on when it looks right, or Run now to test it. Automation Studio
Copy-paste examples
| Goal | Cron | Prompt |
|---|---|---|
| Morning briefing | 30 7 * * 1-5 | "Summarise today's calendar, unread mail that needs me, and open commitments." |
| Weekly report | 0 16 * * 5 | "Draft this week's status report from the project folder and save it as a document." |
| Month-end reminder | 0 9 28 * * | "List subscriptions and invoices due before the end of the month." |
| Hourly watch | 0 * * * * | "Check the shared folder for new contracts and summarise anything new." |
Where results go
Scheduled results arrive in the task's thread, and can be delivered to a channel such as Telegram, Slack or WhatsApp. You can deliver only when there's a result, so quiet runs stay quiet. Write the prompt so its final output is the answer you want to receive.
Bots: responsibilities instead of one-off jobs
For ongoing duties, give a Bot a responsibility: a trigger, the sources it may read, a review boundary and a budget. A new responsibility is saved paused, and Preview run shows the next run and any blockers before you Turn on it. Each one runs in Observe, Propose or Act mode within the scope you grant.
Cron vs heartbeat
Cron runs a fixed prompt at fixed times. CoWork OS also has a heartbeat: a background loop that checks a workspace checklist (.cowork/HEARTBEAT.md) and decides whether anything needs doing. Use cron when you know exactly what and when; use the heartbeat for "keep an eye on this". The heartbeat is capped at a few background tasks per workspace per day. Heartbeat documentation
Safety limits that apply to every run
- Each run follows the task's access profile, so actions that need approval still wait for you.
- Automation Studio flows are limited to 30 minutes and 100 operations per run, and ask before external actions by default.
- Each task has a cost cap, $10 by default, which a task's own budget can only lower.
Task automations documentation
Frequently asked questions
Can an AI agent run tasks on a schedule?
Yes. In CoWork OS you can schedule any task with a preset, a five-field cron expression, or plain English such as "every weekday at 9am", and have the result delivered to a chat app.
What cron format does CoWork OS use?
Standard five-field cron: minute, hour, day of month, month and day of week, with an optional time zone per job. For example, 0 9 * * 1-5 runs at 09:00 every weekday.
What is the difference between cron and a heartbeat?
Cron runs a fixed prompt at fixed times. The heartbeat is a background loop that checks a workspace checklist and decides whether anything needs doing, capped at a few tasks per day.
Can a scheduled agent do something risky while I am away?
Scheduled runs follow the same access profile and approvals as normal tasks, Automation Studio asks before external actions by default, and each task has a cost cap.
CoWork OS itself is free and open source. Model providers, gateways, connected services, and account plans may charge separately and apply their own eligibility and usage rules.
Last reviewed 2026-10-23 against official documentation. Features, plans and prices change; check the linked sources before deciding.