ncode Desktop Automation
Scheduled tasks
A scheduled task is a prompt ncode runs by itself: a nightly dependency check, a Monday summary of last week's commits, a review of the day's changes every evening. Each time it fires, it opens a fresh conversation in the task's project and runs there, so you can read the result like any other conversation.
Note Schedules fire only while the ncode app is running. Closing its window is fine; quitting it is not. The ncode terminal app can manage tasks but never fires them.
Creating a task#
- Click Scheduled tasks in the rail.
- Click New scheduled task (the + by the calendar), or New task from a description to have the assistant fill in the form from a sentence.
- Fill in the form:
- Name and Prompt: what the task is called and what it should do.
- Kind: Chat, Swarm or Workflow (then pick the workflow and its arguments).
- Mode: Build, or Plan for a read-only plan.
- Project the task runs in, and optionally a Model and Effort of its own.
- Schedule: once, daily, weekly, monthly or cron, with its date, time, days or expression.
- A colour, to tell tasks apart in the calendar and the sidebar.
- Click Save task.
Scheduled tasks#
A scheduled task runs a prompt on its own at the times you choose, each time in a fresh conversation.
| Field | Choices |
|---|---|
| Kind | Chat, Swarm or Workflow (a saved workflow with its arguments) |
| Mode | Build or Plan |
| Schedule | once (a date and time), daily (a time of day, 09:00 by default), weekly (days and a time), monthly (a day of the month, 1 to 31) or a cron expression such as 0 9 * * mon-fri |
| Model and effort | the scheduled defaults, or the task's own |
| Project | the project the task runs in |
| Colour | orange, violet, teal, green, pink or yellow |
When tasks fire#
- Only the desktop app fires schedules. It checks every 30 seconds while it is open, even with its window closed. If the app is not running, nothing fires.
- Catch up missed runs is on by default: a run missed while the app was closed runs when the app is back, as long as it is less than 24 hours late. Missed runs at startup start 10 seconds apart.
- With catch-up off, a run more than 2 minutes late is recorded as skipped. A run more than 24 hours late is always skipped.
Following a task's runs#
The Scheduled tasks page shows a calendar and the tasks of the selected day. Each task's menu has Run now, Edit, Pause (or Enable for a paused task) and Delete. You can filter the calendar by project and export your tasks as JSON.
In the Chats sidebar, Scheduled tasks lists each task with its latest runs underneath; click a run to open its conversation. Tasks are grouped by project; tasks without a project appear under a GLOBAL group, which you can hide in Settings → Appearance (Show global scheduled tasks).
Tips#
- Use Plan mode for tasks that should only report, so nothing changes while you are away.
- A task that changes files still follows the project's approval mode. In Auto, a command that needs approval waits for you (for up to 10 minutes), so let unattended tasks read and report, or give them commands you have already approved with Always allow.
- Scheduled runs use the Default scheduled model from Settings unless the task has its own.