Schedules
A schedule runs a workflow automatically on a recurring basis — nobody has to open the editor and click Run. You set the rule once ("every Monday at 09:00"), and Arketic starts the workflow for you from then on.
Scheduled workflows run unattended, and the exact next occurrence is calculated by Arketic when you save.
Open Workflows → Schedules to see and manage them.
Before you create a schedule
A schedule is just a timer — it starts a workflow that already exists. Two things have to be true for it to actually fire:
| Requirement | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| The workflow exists and is saved | You pick it from a dropdown when you create the schedule |
| The workflow is Active | A schedule only starts workflows whose status is Active. If the workflow is Paused, Draft, or Archived, the schedule quietly skips its turn instead of running |
Deactivating a workflow disarms all of its automatic triggers, including its schedules. The schedule row still shows Active, but nothing runs until you activate the workflow again from its card on the Workflows tab.
Test the workflow manually with Run in the editor before you schedule it. A manual run always works regardless of the workflow's status, so it's the fastest way to confirm the workflow is healthy. See Running Workflows.
The Schedules list
The tab shows the schedules in your organization, newest first, with these columns:
| Column | Shows |
|---|---|
| Workflow | Which workflow this schedule starts |
| Schedule | The recurring rule written out in plain language — for example Daily at 09:00 (Europe/Istanbul) |
| Next run | When it will run next. Shown only while the schedule is Active; a paused or auto-disabled schedule shows — |
| Last run | When it last ran, or — if it hasn't run yet |
| Status | Active, Paused, or Auto-disabled (plus a failure badge when relevant) |
| (actions) | Pause/Resume, Edit, and Delete buttons at the end of each row |
Times are shown in your own local format.
The list refreshes itself about once a minute, so Next run and Last run stay current without you reloading the page.
If you have no schedules yet, the tab shows "No schedules yet" with a New schedule button. If the list can't be loaded, you get a Try again button rather than an empty screen.
Schedule statuses
| Status | Color | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Active | Green | The schedule is armed and will start the workflow at the next occurrence |
| Paused | Amber | You paused it. It won't run until you resume it, and Next run is cleared |
| Auto-disabled | Red | Arketic switched it off by itself after 100 consecutive failures |
The "failed" badge
When a schedule has failed at least once but hasn't been auto-disabled yet, an amber {n} failed badge appears next to the status — for example 3 failed. It counts consecutive failures: as soon as a run starts successfully, the counter goes back to zero and the badge disappears.
Auto-disabled schedules
If a schedule fails 100 times in a row, Arketic disables it so it doesn't keep hammering a broken workflow. Hovering the status explains it: "Auto-disabled after 100 consecutive failures — check the workflow, then Resume."
To recover:
- Open the workflow and fix whatever is failing — the Logs tab shows the failed runs step by step (see Logs).
- Make sure the workflow is Active.
- Come back to Schedules and click Resume on the row.
Resuming clears the failure count and recalculates the next run, so the schedule starts fresh.
Creating a schedule
- Go to Workflows → Schedules and click New schedule.
- In the New Schedule dialog, pick the Workflow to run (required — the dropdown starts on "Select a workflow…").
- Choose a Run frequency.
- Fill in the fields that appear for that frequency (see the table below).
- Choose a Timezone if the field is shown.
- Read the summary line at the bottom of the dialog to confirm the rule.
- Click Create.
The button reads Creating… while it saves, then you get a Schedule created confirmation and the new row appears in the list.
Run frequency options
| Frequency | What you set | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Every X Minutes | Every X minutes (1-1440) | Runs at a fixed interval, e.g. every 15 minutes |
| Hourly | Minute of the hour (0-59) | Runs once an hour, e.g. hourly at minute 0 |
| Daily | Time | Runs once a day, e.g. daily at 09:00 |
| Weekly | Day + Time | Runs once a week, e.g. every Monday at 09:00 |
| Monthly | Day of month (1-31) + Time | Runs once a month, e.g. monthly on day 1 at 09:00 |
| Custom (Cron) | Cron expression | Runs on your own advanced rule, e.g. 0 0 * * * |
The dialog opens on Daily with a time of 09:00. The other defaults are: weekday Monday, day of month 1, interval 15 minutes, and minute 0 for hourly.
Time and timezone
- Time is a normal time picker (hours and minutes).
- Day for a weekly schedule is a dropdown of full weekday names, Sunday through Saturday.
- Timezone is a dropdown of the world's timezones. It defaults to the timezone your computer is set to.
The Timezone field is hidden for Every X Minutes and Hourly. Those two frequencies repeat on an interval rather than at a wall-clock time, so a timezone would make no difference.
The summary line
At the bottom of the dialog, Arketic writes the rule back to you in plain language so you can check it before saving:
- Every 15 minutes
- Hourly at minute 0
- Daily at 09:00 (Europe/Istanbul)
- Every Monday at 09:00 (Europe/Istanbul)
- Monthly on day 1 at 09:00 (Europe/Istanbul)
Underneath it, a note reminds you that the exact next run is calculated when you save — and that the calculation is daylight-saving aware, so a 09:00 daily schedule stays at 09:00 across clock changes.
If something in the form isn't valid, the summary is replaced by a red message and Create stays disabled. For example:
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| Interval must be a whole number between 1 and 1440. | Enter a whole number of minutes in range |
| Minute must be between 0 and 59. | Fix the minute of the hour |
| Pick a valid time (HH:MM). | Set a proper time |
| Day of month must be between 1 and 31. | Fix the day |
| Enter a cron expression. | The Custom field is empty |
| Cron must have 5 fields (minute hour day month weekday). | Your cron expression has the wrong number of parts |
Custom (Cron) is for people who already know cron. The dialog only checks the basic shape of what you type; the full check happens when you save, and an invalid expression is rejected there. If you're not sure, use one of the friendly frequencies instead.
Editing a schedule
Click the pencil icon on a row to open the Edit Schedule dialog.
What you can change:
| Field | Editable? |
|---|---|
| Workflow | No — locked. A schedule always belongs to the workflow it was created for |
| Frequency & time (or cron) | Yes |
| Timezone | Yes |
In edit mode the frequency is always shown as Custom (Cron) with the raw expression in the field. This is deliberate: showing the exact saved expression guarantees your schedule is preserved character for character instead of being re-interpreted. You can retype it, or switch the Run frequency dropdown to a friendly option (Daily, Weekly, …) and rebuild the rule from there.
Click Save changes (it shows Saving… while it works). You'll see a Schedule updated confirmation, and the Schedule column updates to the new rule.
To move a schedule to a different workflow, delete it and create a new one.
Pausing and resuming
Each row has a pause button while the schedule is active, and a play button while it isn't.
- Pause — the schedule stops firing, the status turns to Paused, and Next run clears to —. You'll see Schedule paused.
- Resume — the schedule is armed again, the failure count is reset, and the next run is recalculated. You'll see Schedule resumed.
Use Pause while you're editing or troubleshooting the workflow, so a run doesn't fire halfway through your changes.
Deleting a schedule
Click the trash icon on the row. A confirmation asks:
Delete schedule? Delete this schedule for "workflow name"? Runs already queued are not affected.
Confirm and you'll see Schedule deleted. Deleting a schedule removes the timer only — the workflow itself, and its run history in Logs, are untouched.
Who can manage a schedule
You can edit, pause, resume, and delete the schedules you created. Administrators can manage any schedule in the organization. You can only schedule a workflow that you're allowed to run.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Status is Active but nothing ever runs | The workflow itself isn't Active. Activate it from its card on the Workflows tab |
| A {n} failed badge keeps growing | Runs are failing to start. Open Logs and check the workflow |
| Status turned Auto-disabled | 100 consecutive failures. Fix the workflow, then Resume |
| Next run shows — | The schedule is Paused or Auto-disabled — resume it |
| It ran at the wrong hour | Check the Timezone on the schedule and edit it if needed |
| Nothing appears in Logs | Confirm the run happened at all — Last run in the Schedules list tells you when Arketic last started it |
Tips
- Start with a generous frequency (hourly, daily) and tighten it once you trust the workflow.
- Give the workflow a clear name — the Schedules list identifies a schedule by its workflow name, so vague names are hard to tell apart.
- Watch the Status column — a red Auto-disabled row means the workflow has been failing for a long time.
- Check the Logs tab to see exactly what each scheduled run did; scheduled runs are labeled with a Schedule trigger pill (see Logs).
- Pause instead of deleting if you only want a temporary break — you keep the rule and can resume in one click.
Related pages
- Workflows Overview — the Workflows page and its tabs
- Creating Workflows — build the workflow you want to schedule
- Running Workflows — every way a workflow can start
- Logs — see what each scheduled run did