Tasks & Scheduling

The Tasks system allows you to schedule your experts to run automatically at specific times or intervals. Each task can have its own workspace with todos and files, making it perfect for recurring reports, data processing, monitoring, and automated workflows.

Overview

Scheduled Execution

Run tasks on a schedule or on-demand

Task Workspace

Each task has its own todos and files

Automation

Set it and forget it automation

Accessing Tasks

Navigate to Tasks in the main sidebar to access the scheduler interface. Tasks Overview

Task Views

The scheduler offers three different views:

List View
Calendar View
Form View

Best for: Managing individual tasksSee all tasks in a list with:

Task name and description
Schedule information
Status (active/paused)
Last run time
Next run time
Quick actions

Actions available:

▶️ Run Now
⏸️ Pause/Resume
📂 Open Workspace
✏️ Edit Task
🗑️ Delete Task

Creating a Task

Open Task Form

Click Create New Task or switch to Form View

Basic Information

Task Name: Descriptive name for the task
Description: What this task does
Expert/Assistant: Select which AI to use
Priority: High, Medium, or Low

Configure Schedule

Choose scheduling method:

Cron Expression: For complex schedules
Simple Interval: Every X hours/days
One-time: Run once at specific time
Manual Only: No automatic schedule

Set Input

Define what the expert should do:

Prompt/Instructions: Task instructions
Input Data: Pre-defined data or variables
Context: Additional information

Configure Output

How to handle results:

Save to Workspace: Store files automatically
Send Notification: Email or webhook
Trigger Webhook: POST results to URL
Update Database: Store in system

Save & Schedule

Review and save the task. It will run according to schedule.

Schedule Configuration

Cron Expressions

Use cron syntax for precise scheduling:

# Format: minute hour day month weekday
# *     *    *   *     *

# Examples:
0 9 * * *           # Every day at 9 AM
0 */6 * * *         # Every 6 hours
0 0 * * 1           # Every Monday at midnight
0 12 * * 1-5        # Weekdays at noon
0 0 1 * *           # First day of each month
*/30 * * * *        # Every 30 minutes
0 8,12,18 * * *     # At 8 AM, noon, and 6 PM

Cron Expression Builder: The form includes a visual cron builder to help create expressions without memorizing syntax.

Simple Intervals

For basic repeating tasks:

Hourly
Daily
Weekly
Monthly

Every 1 hour
Every 2 hours
Every 6 hours
Every 12 hours

Task Workspace

New Feature! Each task has its own workspace separate from chat conversations.

Opening Workspace

Click Open Workspace on any task to access its dedicated workspace with: Tasks Tab:

Todo list specific to this scheduled task
Track multi-step processes
Monitor task progress
Add manual todos for planning

Files Tab:

Files generated by the task
Input data files
Output reports
Logs and results

Workspace Features

Persistent State

Workspace persists between task runs

Version Control

Track changes across executions

File Management

Organize outputs by run date

Todo Tracking

Multi-step task management

Workspace Example

Task: "Daily Sales Report"

📋 Todos:
├── ✅ Fetch sales data from database
├── ✅ Calculate daily metrics
├── ✅ Generate charts and graphs
├── ⏳ Write executive summary
└── ⏳ Email report to stakeholders

📁 Files:
├── sales_data_2025-11-25.csv
├── daily_metrics.json
├── sales_chart.png
├── growth_trend.png
└── report_2025-11-25.md

Use Cases

1. Daily Reports

Sales Analytics

Schedule: Every day at 8 AMTask:

Fetch sales data from previous day
Calculate key metrics (revenue, orders, conversion)
Generate comparison charts
Write summary report
Email to management team

Output:

Daily report PDF
CSV data file
Chart images
Email notification

System Health Report

Schedule: Every 6 hoursTask:

Check server status
Monitor error rates
Review performance metrics
Alert on anomalies

Output:

Health dashboard JSON
Alert notifications (if issues)
Historical logs

2. Data Processing

ETL Pipeline

Schedule: Every hourTask:

Extract data from source systems
Transform and clean data
Load into data warehouse
Validate data quality

Output:

Processed data files
Quality reports
Error logs
Success/failure notifications

Batch Analysis

Schedule: Daily at midnightTask:

Process accumulated data
Run machine learning models
Generate predictions
Update dashboards

Output:

Analysis results
Prediction files
Model performance metrics

3. Content Generation

Social Media Posts

Blog Article Drafts

Schedule: Weekly on MondaysTask:

Research topic trends
Outline article structure
Write draft content
Suggest images and SEO

Output:

Article drafts
SEO recommendations
Image suggestions
Publishing checklist

4. Monitoring & Alerts

Website Monitoring

Schedule: Every 15 minutesTask:

Check website availability
Test key user flows
Monitor response times
Alert on failures

Output:

Uptime status
Performance metrics
Incident alerts
Historical logs

Security Scans

Schedule: Daily at 2 AMTask:

Scan for vulnerabilities
Check security updates
Review access logs
Generate security report

Output:

Vulnerability report
Update recommendations
Security alerts
Compliance status

Task Execution

Execution Flow

Execution Logs

Each task execution creates a log entry:

Start Time: When execution began
End Time: When it completed
Duration: How long it took
Status: Success, Failed, or Cancelled
Output Summary: What was produced
Error Details: If any errors occurred
Resource Usage: Tokens, API calls, etc.

Manual Execution

Run any task manually:

Find Task

Locate the task in List View

Click Run Now

Click the ▶️ Run Now button

Confirm

Confirm manual execution

Monitor

Watch real-time execution in the log

Output Handling

Save to Workspace

Automatically save outputs to the task’s workspace:

{
  save_to_workspace: true,
  file_prefix: "report_",
  include_timestamp: true
  // Saves as: report_2025-11-25_09-00-00.md
}

Email Notifications

Send results via email:

{
  notify_email: true,
  recipients: ["[email protected]"],
  subject: "Daily Report - {{date}}",
  attach_outputs: true,
  summary_only: false
}

Webhook Integration

POST results to external systems:

{
  webhook_url: "https://api.yourapp.com/tasks/results",
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Authorization": "Bearer token123"
  },
  include_workspace: true
}

Database Storage

Store results in database:

{
  save_to_database: true,
  table: "task_results",
  include_metadata: true
}

Task Management

Pausing Tasks

Temporarily stop a task without deleting:

Click Pause in task actions
Task won’t run on schedule
Can resume anytime
Workspace preserved

When to pause:

Maintenance windows
Testing other configurations
Temporary suspension
Seasonal adjustments

Editing Tasks

Modify existing tasks:

Changes take effect immediately. Next run will use new configuration.

Editable fields:

Schedule
Input instructions
Output handling
Notification settings

Cannot change:

Task ID
Historical execution logs
Existing workspace files

Deleting Tasks

Permanently remove a task:

Select Task

Find the task to delete

Click Delete

Click the 🗑️ delete icon

Confirm

Confirm deletion (this is permanent!)

Warning: Deleting a task removes:

Task configuration
Execution history
Workspace todos
Workspace files

This action cannot be undone!

Best Practices

Naming Convention

Use descriptive names:✅ Good:

“Daily Sales Report - 9 AM”
“Hourly Server Health Check”
“Weekly Content Generation”

❌ Bad:

“Task 1”
“Report”
“Check”

Schedule Wisely

Consider:

Off-peak hours for heavy tasks
Business hours for reports
Data availability timing
API rate limits

Example:

Heavy processing: 2-4 AM
Reports: 8-9 AM before work
Monitoring: Every 15 min

Error Handling

Always configure:

Error notifications
Fallback behavior
Retry logic
Escalation procedures

Test failure scenarios:

Missing data
API failures
Network issues
Invalid inputs

Resource Management

Monitor:

Execution duration
Token usage
API costs
Storage growth

Optimize:

Adjust frequency if needed
Clean old workspace files
Use efficient prompts
Archive old results

Troubleshooting

Task Not Running

Check:

Is task active (not paused)?
Is schedule configured correctly?
Are credentials valid?
Is expert/assistant available?

Debug:

View execution logs
Try manual run
Check cron expression
Verify permissions

Execution Failures

Common causes:

Invalid input data
API key expired
Rate limits exceeded
Network timeouts
Expert configuration issues

Solutions:

Review error logs
Test inputs manually
Check API keys
Adjust rate limits
Update expert configuration

Missing Outputs

Verify:

Output handling configured?
Workspace save enabled?
Correct file paths?
Permissions set?

Check:

Execution logs for errors
Workspace files tab
Email delivery logs
Webhook response codes

Workspace Issues

If workspace not updating:

Refresh the workspace view
Check task execution completed
Verify save_to_workspace enabled
Review execution logs

If files missing:

Check execution success
Verify file generation in logs
Look for error messages
Contact support if persists

Next Steps

Distribution Channels

Learn about the Tasks distribution channel

DeepAgents Workspace

Understand workspace todos and files

Create Expert

Create an expert to use in tasks

API Reference

Programmatic task management via API

Get Started

Essentials

New Features

Declarations

​Tasks & Scheduling

​Overview

Scheduled Execution

Task Workspace

Automation

​Accessing Tasks

​Task Views

​Creating a Task

​Schedule Configuration

​Cron Expressions

​Simple Intervals

​Task Workspace

​Opening Workspace

​Workspace Features

Persistent State

Version Control

File Management

Todo Tracking

​Workspace Example

​Use Cases

​1. Daily Reports

​2. Data Processing

​3. Content Generation

​4. Monitoring & Alerts

​Task Execution

​Execution Flow

​Execution Logs

​Manual Execution

​Output Handling

​Save to Workspace

​Email Notifications

​Webhook Integration

​Database Storage

​Task Management

​Pausing Tasks

​Editing Tasks

​Deleting Tasks

​Best Practices

Naming Convention

Schedule Wisely

Error Handling

Resource Management

​Troubleshooting

​Next Steps

Distribution Channels

DeepAgents Workspace

Create Expert

API Reference

Tasks & Scheduling

Overview

Accessing Tasks

Task Views

Creating a Task

Schedule Configuration

Cron Expressions

Simple Intervals

Task Workspace

Opening Workspace

Workspace Features

Workspace Example

Use Cases

1. Daily Reports

2. Data Processing

3. Content Generation

4. Monitoring & Alerts

Task Execution

Execution Flow

Execution Logs

Manual Execution

Output Handling

Save to Workspace

Email Notifications

Webhook Integration

Database Storage

Task Management

Pausing Tasks

Editing Tasks

Deleting Tasks

Best Practices

Troubleshooting

Next Steps