Automating Tasks
ClawDesk can run tasks automatically on a schedule — like getting a daily news summary, auto-responding to messages, or generating weekly reports.
What Can You Automate?
| Automation | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled messages | Send a prompt to an agent at a set time | "Summarize top tech news" every morning at 8 AM |
| Auto-responses | Respond to incoming channel messages automatically | Answer customer questions on Telegram 24/7 |
| Recurring reports | Generate reports on a schedule | Weekly budget summary every Friday |
| Pipeline workflows | Chain multiple steps together | Research → Draft → Review → Send |
Creating a Scheduled Task
Step 1: Go to Scheduled Jobs
Click Scheduled Jobs in the left sidebar (under the "Build" group).
Step 2: Create a New Job
Click "Create Job" or the "+" button.
Step 3: Fill in the Details
| Field | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Name | A short description | "Morning News Summary" |
| Agent | Which agent runs the task | Your "Research Assistant" agent |
| Prompt | What to ask the agent | "Give me a 5-bullet summary of today's top tech news" |
| Schedule | When to run (cron format — see below) | Every day at 8 AM |
| Channel (optional) | Where to send the result | Telegram, Discord, etc. |
Step 4: Set the Schedule
ClawDesk uses cron schedules — a standard way to define recurring times. Here are common examples:
| Schedule | Cron expression | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Every day at 8 AM | 0 8 * * * | Runs at 8:00 AM every day |
| Every Monday at 9 AM | 0 9 * * 1 | Runs at 9:00 AM every Monday |
| Every hour | 0 * * * * | Runs at the start of every hour |
| Every 30 minutes | */30 * * * * | Runs every 30 minutes |
| Weekdays at 6 PM | 0 18 * * 1-5 | Runs at 6 PM, Monday through Friday |
| First of each month | 0 9 1 * * | Runs at 9 AM on the 1st of each month |
Not sure about cron?
The format is: minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week
*means "every"*/30means "every 30"1-5means "1 through 5" (Monday through Friday)1,15means "the 1st and 15th"
Step 5: Save and Enable
Click Save. Your job appears in the list with a toggle to enable/disable it.
Job Templates
ClawDesk comes with pre-built templates to get you started quickly:
| Template | What it does |
|---|---|
| Daily Summary | Summarizes news or updates every morning |
| Budget Alert | Checks spending and alerts if over budget |
| Weekly Report | Generates a weekly summary report |
| Standup Reminder | Sends daily standup prompts to a channel |
| Content Calendar | Generates content ideas on a schedule |
To use a template:
- Go to Scheduled Jobs
- Click "From Template"
- Pick a template
- Customize the details
- Save
Pipeline Workflows
For more complex automations, you can create pipelines — multiple steps that run in sequence.
What's a Pipeline?
A pipeline is a series of steps where each step's output feeds into the next:
Step 1: Research → Step 2: Draft → Step 3: Review → Step 4: Send
Creating a Pipeline
- Go to Scheduled Jobs
- Click "Create Pipeline"
- Use the visual DAG canvas to arrange steps
- Connect steps by dragging between them:
- Sequential — One step after another
- Parallel — Multiple steps at the same time
- Conditional — Different paths based on results
Example Pipeline: Weekly Newsletter
1. [Research Agent] → "Find top 5 stories in AI this week"
2. [Writer Agent] → "Write a newsletter using these stories"
3. [Reviewer Agent] → "Proofread and improve the newsletter"
4. [Send to Telegram] → Deliver the final newsletter
Managing Automations
Viewing Jobs
The Scheduled Jobs page shows all your jobs with:
- Status — Active, paused, or disabled
- Last run — When it last ran
- Next run — When it will run next
- History — Past executions and their results
Pausing and Resuming
Toggle the switch next to any job to pause or resume it.
Editing
Click a job to edit its prompt, schedule, agent, or channel.
Viewing History
Click History on a job to see:
- Every past execution
- What the agent produced
- Whether it succeeded or failed
- How long it took
Overlap Prevention
What happens if a job is still running when the next scheduled run starts?
ClawDesk offers three strategies:
| Strategy | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Skip (default) | Skip the new run if the previous one is still going |
| Queue | Wait for the current run to finish, then start the new one |
| Cancel Previous | Stop the current run and start fresh |
Real-World Automation Examples
Morning Briefing
Schedule: Every day at 7:30 AM
Agent: Research Assistant
Prompt: "Give me a brief summary of: 1) top 3 tech news, 2) weather in San Francisco, 3) my calendar for today"
Channel: Telegram
Customer Support Bot
Schedule: Always active (channel-based)
Agent: Support Agent
Channel: Discord #support
Behavior: Automatically responds to questions using your FAQ knowledge
Weekly Team Update
Schedule: Every Friday at 4 PM
Agent: Report Writer
Prompt: "Generate a team update summarizing this week's accomplishments"
Channel: Slack #team-updates
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| Job doesn't run | Make sure the job is enabled (toggle on). Check that a provider is configured. |
| Wrong time | Check your system timezone. Cron schedules use your local time. |
| Job fails | Check the history for error messages. Make sure the agent and provider are working. |
| Output not sent to channel | Make sure the channel is connected and running. |
Related Guides
- Creating Agents → — Build agents for your automations
- Connecting Channels → — Set up channels for output delivery
- Extensions & MCP → — Add tools your automations can use