Schedules

Some AI tasks are better on autopilot. A daily journal prompt at 8 AM. A weekly code summary on Friday afternoon. A monthly goals review on the first. Schedules let you set these up once and let Osaurus run them — you just review the results.

All you need is one of your own agents and Osaurus running at the scheduled time. Where Watchers react to file changes, schedules run on a clock.

Get started

1. Open Settings… (⌘ ,) → Schedules.
2. Click Create Schedule.
3. Fill in:
   • Name — what this schedule is for
   • Frequency — once, every few minutes, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or a custom pattern
   • Time — when it runs (for repeating schedules)
   • Agent — which agent does the task (one of your agents, or a shared workspace agent)
   • Instructions — the message to send the agent when it runs
4. Click Create Schedule to save it.

The schedule is now active. See past runs anytime with History.

Frequency options

Frequency	What it does	Example
Once	Runs a single time on a set date	One-time reminder
Minutes	Every few minutes	Frequent check-ins
Hourly	Every hour (or every few hours)	Inbox sweeps
Daily	Every day at a set time	Morning journaling
Weekly	Once a week on a day you choose	Weekly progress reports
Monthly	Once a month on a date you choose	Monthly goal reviews
Yearly	Once a year on a date you choose	Annual reflection
Cron Expression	A custom cron pattern for anything else	Weekday mornings

For repeating schedules, set the time (24-hour clock) and the day of the week (weekly) or day of the month (monthly).

Timing

Schedules run while Osaurus is open. If your Mac is asleep or Osaurus is closed at the scheduled time, the task runs once the next time you open the app. Even if it missed several times, it catches up with a single run rather than replaying each one.

Picking an agent

Each schedule runs through one of your agents. The agent's system prompt, default model, and theme are used for the run. Different schedules can use different agents.

To have the run work in a particular folder, set the optional Working Directory in the editor. Without one, the run uses the agent's Working Folder, if it has one. Either way, a scheduled run with a folder works directly with the files there — even if the agent normally runs in its Sandbox.

A shared workspace agent runs on its owner's Mac, with their instructions, model, and tools. If their Mac is offline when the schedule fires, that run is skipped until the next scheduled time.

The right tools and skills are picked automatically for each run, based on your instructions. Just pick the agent whose personality fits the task best. How skills get picked →

Example pairings:

• Daily Journal — a reflective, conversational agent
• Code Summary — a technical agent (Git tools appear automatically when the instructions mention a code repository)
• Research Digest — a research-focused agent (web search tools appear automatically)

Writing good instructions

Be specific. The instructions are the message sent to the agent — clear instructions give useful results.

Daily journaling:

Good morning! Let's start the day with a brief reflection.

Please ask me:
1. What are my top 3 priorities for today?
2. Is there anything from yesterday I need to follow up on?
3. What's one thing I'm looking forward to?

Keep the conversation warm and encouraging.

Weekly report:

Generate a weekly summary based on our conversations from the past week.

Include:
- Key topics discussed
- Decisions made
- Action items identified
- Questions that remain open

Format as a concise bullet-point summary.

Managing schedules

Viewing your schedules

The Schedules screen lists all your schedules with their name, frequency, next run time, agent, and whether they're active or paused.

Editing

1. Click the schedule.
2. Change the settings.
3. Click Save Changes.

Pausing and resuming

Turn a schedule off or on without deleting it. Paused schedules don't run until you turn them back on.

Running now

To run a schedule right away:

1. Click the schedule.
2. Click Run Now.

This is handy for testing a new schedule, running it at an unusual time, or catching up on a missed run. If it's already running, Osaurus tells you instead of starting a second run.

Deleting

1. Click the schedule.
2. Click Delete.
3. Confirm.

Reviewing past runs

After a schedule runs, you can see exactly what happened:

1. Click the schedule.
2. Click History.

The full conversation opens — your instructions, the agent's reply, and any tools it used.

Each run is also saved as its own new chat with a schedule badge in the chat sidebar, so one run's conversation never carries into the next. The sidebar groups runs under their schedule; filter it by source to see all your scheduled runs in one place.

Example schedules

Daily journaling

Setting	Value
Name	Morning Journal
Frequency	Daily at 8:00 AM
Agent	Personal Coach
Instructions	"Start my day with 3 reflection questions about priorities, energy, and gratitude."

Weekly code summary

Setting	Value
Name	Weekly Dev Summary
Frequency	Weekly on Friday at 5:00 PM
Agent	Code Assistant
Instructions	"Review git activity this week and summarize commits, branches, and open items."

Monthly goals

Setting	Value
Name	Monthly Goals Review
Frequency	Monthly on the 1st at 9:00 AM
Agent	Personal Coach
Instructions	"Let's review my goals for last month and set intentions for the new month."

Daily news digest

Setting	Value
Name	Tech News Digest
Frequency	Daily at 7:00 AM
Agent	Research Helper
Instructions	"Search for the latest AI and developer tools news and give me a 5-item digest."

Tips

1. Start simple — begin with one or two schedules and add more later.
2. Use clear names — so you can tell schedules apart at a glance.
3. Match the agent to the task — pick an agent with the right style and tools.
4. Be specific in instructions — clear instructions give better results.
5. Check results now and then — make sure each schedule is still useful.
6. Adjust the timing — find times that fit your routine.
7. Test with Run Now — check a new schedule works before waiting for the timer.

Troubleshooting

A schedule didn't run

• Was Osaurus open? Schedules only run while the app is open.
• Is the schedule turned on? Paused schedules don't run.
• Has the time come yet? Check the next run time on the card.

Unexpected results

• Check the instructions — vague instructions give inconsistent results.
• Check the agent — make sure the right one is picked.
• See which tools ran — open Insights (Settings… → Insights) to see exactly which skills and tools were used. If the wrong ones loaded, make the instructions more specific.

Missed schedules

If Osaurus wasn't open at the scheduled time:

• A missed schedule runs once automatically the next time you open the app (several missed times become one run).
• Use Run Now to run it yourself anytime.

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Under the hood

• Cron syntax: Cron Expression accepts standard cron syntax, for example 0 9 * * 1-5 for 9:00 AM on weekdays.
• Missed runs: missed slots collapse into a single catch-up run on the next launch.
• File access: a run with a Working Directory (or an inherited Working Folder) gets host file access to that folder, even when the agent normally runs with the sandbox on.
• Chat tagging: each run is saved as a new chat session tagged schedule. The schedule's session key only groups runs in the sidebar; it never reattaches a run to an earlier chat.
• Capability selection: tools and skills are auto-selected per run from the instructions; Insights records which capabilities loaded and which tool calls ran.

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Related:

• Agents — choose which agent runs your schedules
• Watchers — run an agent when files change (works alongside Schedules)
• Skills — skills are picked automatically for each run