> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.appfarm.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.appfarm.io/reference/flows/schedules.md). # Schedules A schedule runs a Flow [action](/reference/actions.md) automatically on a cron expression. Common use cases are recurring integration runs, periodic data refreshes, and other background work that runs at set times. Schedules are configured per Flow action, in the **Triggers** section at the top of the Flow action editor. A single Flow action can have any number of schedules. When triggered, the schedule runs the Flow action under the selected [service account](/reference/security/service-accounts.md). {% hint style="info" %} **Important** * The selected service account must have permission to run the Flow action and any object class permissions required by the action. If the action updates a [secret](/reference/security/secrets.md), that permission must also be granted. * To change the **Schedule**, **Time Zone**, or **Service Account** of a saved schedule, first clear the **Enabled** checkbox. Re-enable the schedule when you are done. {% endhint %} ### Usage Any task that needs to be run on a regular schedule is a candidate for a schedule. * Fetch data from an external API every 15 minutes to populate a dashboard. * Synchronize customer data with a CRM nightly at 2am. * Refresh an OAuth access token used for integrations every 3 hours. * Send a summary email every morning with the previous day's orders. ### Properties | Property | Description | | ------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Schedule** | The schedule on which the Flow action will be run, in the form of a [cron expression](#cron-expression). The expression is validated and an error is shown if it is not valid. | | **Time Zone** | The time zone used by the schedule when evaluating the cron expression. Defaults to Europe/Oslo. | | **Service Account** | The service account that will be used to run the Flow action. | | **Limit to Environments** | By default a schedule will run on all enabled environments in a solution that have the **Enable Scheduler** checkbox selected under [Environments](/reference/configuration/environments.md). You can restrict which environments the schedule will run on by selecting this checkbox and then selecting the environments where the schedule should be enabled. | | **Enabled** | Activate the schedule. This must be checked for the schedule to run. | | **Description** | A longer description of the schedule. It may be useful to specify what the Flow action does and why it runs on this schedule. | ### Cron expression A cron expression typically consists of five values separated by spaces, in this order, within the stated ranges. * Minute (0–59) * Hour (0–23) * Day of month (1–31) * Month (1–12) * Day of week (0–6, where 0 = Sunday) The following example would be run every 3rd hour, on the hour: `0 */3 * * *`. **Available patterns** | Symbol | Description | Example | | ------ | --------------- | ------- | | \* | any value | \* | | , | list of values | 1,5,7 | | - | range of values | 1-3 | | / | steps | \*/2 | {% hint style="info" %} **Good to know** * A written description of the current cron expression appears as the title of the schedule. * Use [crontab guru](https://crontab.guru/) to help you generate a valid expression and to find common examples. {% endhint %} ### Action params A schedule does not provide input values to the Flow action's [action params](/reference/actions/action-params.md). Flow actions intended to run on a schedule should not require input. If the action needs inputs, trigger it from [Run Flow](/library/action-nodes/run-flow.md) or an [API Endpoint](/reference/flows/api-endpoints.md) instead, where values can be supplied at the call site. ### Behavior **Overlapping runs are skipped.** If a scheduled Flow action is still running when the next cron tick arrives, the next tick is silently skipped. There is no configurable concurrency mode. **Minimum interval between runs.** The platform enforces a minimum interval between successful runs of a schedule. The default is 5 minutes. Cron expressions that schedule more frequent runs effectively run at the configured minimum. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. 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