> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.rerun.build/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Automations
> Make an agent run on a schedule, or on an event from another service.
An agent that only answers when you write to it is a chatbot. Two things make it a worker: scheduled tasks and webhook triggers.
Both open their own session, so an automated run never lands in the middle of your conversation, and both are fully recorded in **Monitoring** and **Logs**.
## Scheduled tasks
A scheduled task is a cron plus an instruction. When it fires, the agent runs with no user message and follows that instruction.
Add one from the agent **Scheduled runs** tab, or just ask the agent to set it up.
Also decides the slug the task is addressed by.
What the agent does when it fires, written as if you were talking to it. This is the whole prompt for that run.
A standard 5-field expression. `0 9 * * 1` is every Monday at 9.
An IANA timezone, for example `Europe/Paris`. Set it, or the cron follows the Box server timezone.
A task can also be a one-off: give it a date instead of a cron and it disables itself after it fires.
Each task can carry its own model, which is useful when a nightly job should run on something cheaper than your daily driver. Without one, it uses the agent default.
Test the instruction before putting it live. **Run now** fires the task immediately, works on a disabled task, and does not touch its schedule. From the API that is [`run_schedule_now`](/api/tools/schedules#run-schedule-now).
### Continuity between runs
A scheduled run opens a fresh session every time. The agent does not remember last Monday's conversation.
What carries over is [memory](/concepts#memory) and the [database](/agents/data). If a task needs to know where it left off, tell it to write that down.
## Webhook triggers
A trigger gives the agent a public URL. Whoever calls it starts a run, with the caller payload attached.
Add one from the **Triggers** tab. You get a URL to paste into the other service.
Write the instruction as if the event had already happened:
> A Stripe refund event arrives. Record it in the `refunds` table and tell me if the amount is over 500.
The payload lands right after your instruction, so the agent does not have to fetch anything.
The URL is the credential. There is no signature and no secret header, so anyone holding it can fire your agent. Do not paste it into a shared document or a public repository. Rotate it from the **Triggers** tab if it leaks.
By default a trigger accepts `POST` only. See [Webhook triggers](/api/webhooks) for the full HTTP contract: methods, response codes, size limits and how link previews are filtered out.
### Which one to use
| You want | Use |
| ------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Something every morning, every Monday, every hour | A scheduled task |
| Something when another service says so | A trigger |
| Something once, at a date | A one-off scheduled task |
| Something on demand from your own script | A trigger, or [`send_message`](/api/tools/runs#send-message) |
## Unattended runs still pause for you
An agent running at 3am can still stop and ask you a question or request an approval. The run pauses, you get notified, and it resumes from your answer whenever you give it.
This is deliberate: an agent should not skip an approval just because nobody is watching. See [Human in the loop](/agents/human-in-the-loop).
## From the API
[`upsert_schedule`](/api/tools/schedules#upsert-schedule) and [`upsert_trigger`](/api/tools/triggers#upsert-trigger) do everything on this page, which is how you keep an automation setup in version control.