# Schedule Claude Code tasks with cron in AgentVera

URL: https://agentvera.dev/en/blog/schedule-claude-code-tasks/ · Published: 2026-10-24

Schedule Claude Code tasks: send a message to any coding agent on a cron schedule, choose what happens when it is busy, and move up to event-driven automations.

**In short:**

- A scheduled task in AgentVera sends a message to an agent of your choice at the times you set, from presets such as every weekday at 09:00 or a custom cron expression.
- You decide what happens when the agent is busy, and whether a stopped agent is started first; scheduled tasks run while the app is open and are on the free plan.
- For work that should start on its own in a fresh worktree, automations (Pro and Team) react to CI failures, PR comments, issue labels or a cron schedule.

**To schedule Claude Code tasks, open your project in AgentVera, add a scheduled task under Details → Automation → Scheduled, and pick an agent, a time and a message: at every run the message is sent to that agent as if you had typed it.** Presets cover the usual cases, such as every hour or every weekday at 09:00, and a custom cron expression covers the rest. It works for any agent in the project, Claude Code, Codex or another CLI, and it is on the free plan.

This post walks through setting up a schedule, the options that matter, good jobs to schedule and when to move up to automations or the night shift.

## What a scheduled task does

A scheduled task is a timer attached to one agent. When the time comes, AgentVera types your message into that agent’s terminal. The agent keeps its conversation, its folder and its tools, so a daily task can build on what it did yesterday.

That is the main difference from running `claude -p` from a system crontab: the system cron starts a fresh process each time and you have to collect the output somewhere. Here the run lands in an agent you can open, read and answer, and the usual [notifications](/en/features/notifications-and-approvals/) tell you when it finishes.

## Set up a scheduled task, step by step

1. **Open the project and go to Details.** In the Automation group, choose the **Scheduled** tab.
2. **Press New task.** The dialog says it plainly: it sends a message to the chosen agent at the times you set, and runs while the app is open.
3. **Name it.** For example "Morning report".
4. **Pick the agent.** The list shows the project’s agents, running or stopped.
5. **Choose when.** Pick a preset or write a custom cron expression. Under the field, AgentVera previews the next runs, so you can check the expression before saving.
6. **Write the message.** This is the prompt the agent receives. You can insert `{{date}}`, `{{time}}` and `{{weekday}}`, which are filled in at run time.
7. **Set the options** below, leave **Task enabled** on and save.

Press **Run now** to try the task once without waiting for the schedule.

## Schedule presets and cron expressions

| Preset | Cron expression |
| --- | --- |
| Every 15 minutes | `*/15 * * * *` |
| Every hour | `0 * * * *` |
| Every day at 09:00 | `0 9 * * *` |
| Every weekday at 09:00 | `0 9 * * 1-5` |
| Weekdays at 18:00 | `0 18 * * 1-5` |
| Every Monday at 10:00 | `0 10 * * 1` |
| On the 1st of every month at 09:00 | `0 9 1 * *` |

A custom expression uses the standard five fields: minute, hour, day of month, month and day of week. The preview of the next runs is the quickest way to catch a mistake such as `9 0 * * *` (00:09) instead of `0 9 * * *` (09:00).

## The options that matter

**If the agent is busy.** A schedule will sooner or later fire while the agent is mid-task. You choose what happens:

| Option | What happens | Use it for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Send when its turn ends | The message waits until the agent is free | Most tasks |
| Send even while it works | The message is sent right away | Short nudges the agent can take mid-turn |
| Skip this run | Nothing is sent this time | Frequent checks where the next run is soon anyway |

**Start the agent if it is stopped.** With this on, a stopped agent is started first, its conversation resumes where it left off, and then the message is sent. With it off, the run is skipped while the agent is stopped.

Each task shows its last run and its result, so a skipped or failed run is visible in the list. If you connect Telegram, the **Scheduled task failed** alert tells you on your phone; see [Claude Code notifications](/en/blog/claude-code-notifications/).

## Keep your computer ready

Scheduled tasks run while AgentVera is open. Runs missed while it is closed are not made up later, which is usually what you want: you do not come back to ten stacked "hourly" runs.

For a laptop, leave **Keep the computer awake** on in Settings → Notifications. While AgentVera is open the computer will not sleep, though the display can turn off.

## Good jobs to schedule

The best scheduled jobs are short, repeatable and useful to read:

- **Morning summary.** Every weekday at 09:00: "Summarize the changes since yesterday and list open work."
- **Test watch.** Every hour: "Run the tests and report failures."
- **Weekly dependency check.** Every Monday at 10:00: list outdated packages and which upgrades look safe.
- **End-of-day notes.** Weekdays at 18:00: write a short handoff of what changed today and what is half done.
- **Monthly cleanup.** On the 1st: look for dead code, stale TODOs and unused feature flags, and only report them.

Ask for a report rather than broad edits in scheduled prompts. A run you do not watch should leave you something to read, not a surprise diff. When you do want edits, give the agent its own [git worktree](/en/blog/git-worktree-parallel-agents/) so it cannot collide with your work.

## When to use automations instead

A scheduled task talks to an agent that already exists. [Automations](/en/features/automations/) (Pro and Team) start fresh work on their own: a Claude Code or Codex agent in its own worktree, on its own branch, following a playbook.

| | Scheduled task | Automation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Starts on | A time | CI turned red, a PR comment, an issue label, or a schedule |
| Agent | An existing agent you pick | A new Claude Code or Codex agent in its own worktree |
| Result | The agent’s reply | A branch, a PR, a merge queue entry or a branch left for you |
| Limits | One message per run | Runs per day and auto fixes per branch are capped |
| Plan | Free | Pro and Team |

Automations have their own **Scheduled** trigger with a five-field cron expression in local time, and there is a ready-made rule to update dependencies on Mondays. Use a scheduled task when you want a report in a conversation you already have; use an automation when a schedule should produce a branch or a PR. For CI failures specifically, see [auto-fix CI failures with AI](/en/blog/auto-fix-ci-failures-with-ai/).

## Scheduled tasks vs the night shift

The [night shift](/en/features/night-shift/) (Pro and Team) is a different tool for a different job. Instead of one message on a timer, it works through a queue of tasks in a time window, 23:00 to 07:00 by default, commits without pushing, opens draft PRs and leaves you a morning report. If what you want is "do this list while I sleep", read [run Claude Code overnight](/en/blog/run-claude-code-overnight/). If what you want is "every morning at nine, tell me what changed", a scheduled task is simpler.

## Get started

[Download AgentVera](/en/download/), open a project, start an agent and add your first scheduled task under Details → Automation → Scheduled. Start with one daily report and press Run now to see the result before trusting the timer. Compare plans on the [pricing](/en/pricing/) page when you are ready for automations.

## Frequently asked questions

**How do I schedule a Claude Code task?** Open the project in AgentVera, go to Details → Automation → Scheduled and press New task. Pick the Claude Code agent, choose a schedule such as every weekday at 09:00, write the message and save. At each run the message is sent to that agent.

**Does the schedule run when AgentVera is closed?** No. Scheduled tasks run while the app is open, and runs missed while it is closed are not made up later. Keep the computer awake setting on so a laptop does not sleep through a run.

**What if the agent is still working when the schedule fires?** You choose per task: send the message when its turn ends, send it even while it works, or skip this run. Sending when the turn ends is the safe default.

**Can I schedule tasks for Codex or other agents?** Yes. A scheduled task targets one of the project’s agents, whichever CLI it runs. Automations, which start a new agent in its own worktree, use Claude Code or Codex.

**Are scheduled tasks free?** Yes, scheduled tasks are on the free plan. Automations and the night shift come with Pro and Team.

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**About AgentVera.** AgentVera is a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux, built by Solviera Teknoloji. It runs 18 AI coding agents (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Copilot, Cursor, Antigravity, opencode, Hermes, Qwen Code, Kimi Code, Kiro, Amp, Droid, Goose, Vibe, Crush, Aider, Cline) side by side, per project, in real terminals with the user's own CLI installs and logins. The free plan has unlimited agents. Download: https://agentvera.dev/en/download/ · Pricing: https://agentvera.dev/en/pricing/