Task Scheduler

The Task Scheduler lets you run your automations automatically at specified intervals — every few minutes, every few hours, once a day, or once a week. You set it up once, and RTILA X handles the rest. No more remembering to click “Run” manually.

Think of the Task Scheduler as an alarm clock for your automations. You tell it when to wake up and run, and it does it faithfully, whether you’re at your computer or not (as long as your computer is on and RTILA X is running).

Schedule Types

RTILA X supports four schedule types:

Schedule Type	Description	Configuration
Every X Minutes	Runs every N minutes	Enter the interval in minutes (e.g., 5 = every 5 minutes)
Every X Hours	Runs every N hours	Enter the interval in hours (e.g., 2 = every 2 hours)
Daily	Runs once per day at a specific time	Set the time (e.g., 09:00 = 9:00 AM)
Weekly	Runs once per week on a specific day and time	Set the day of the week and time

Creating a Schedule

There are two ways to create a schedule:

Method 1: Via the AI Assistant

The simplest way. Just ask the AI:

“Schedule this project to run every day at 9 AM.”

or

“Set up a schedule to run this project every 30 minutes.”

The AI will create the schedule for you automatically.

Method 2: Via the Task Scheduler Page

1. Go to Task Scheduler in the sidebar (the calendar icon).
2. Click New Scheduled Task at the top.
3. The Schedule Configuration dialog opens.
4. Configure the schedule (see below).
5. Click Create.

Schedule Configuration Dialog

The dialog contains the following fields:

Field	Type	Required	Description
Automation Project	Dropdown	✅ Yes	Select which project to schedule. Shows all your projects.
Frequency	Dropdown	✅ Yes	Choose: Every X Minutes, Every X Hours, Daily, or Weekly.
Interval	Number	If Minutes/Hours	The number of minutes or hours between runs.
Time	Time picker	If Daily/Weekly	The time of day to run (24-hour format, e.g., 09:00).
Day of Week	Dropdown	If Weekly	The day of the week (Sunday through Saturday).
Show notification on task start and completion	Checkbox	No	Whether to show a notification when the scheduled run starts and completes. Default: On.
Task Enabled	Checkbox	No	Whether the schedule is active. Default: On.

Example Configurations

Schedule	Frequency	Interval/Time	Result
Run every 5 minutes	Every X Minutes	5	Runs every 5 minutes
Run every 2 hours	Every X Hours	2	Runs every 2 hours
Run every day at 9 AM	Daily	09:00	Runs every day at 9:00 AM
Run every Monday at 8 AM	Weekly	Monday, 08:00	Runs every Monday at 8:00 AM
Run every Friday at 5 PM	Weekly	Friday, 17:00	Runs every Friday at 5:00 PM

Viewing Schedules

The Task Scheduler Page

The Task Scheduler page has two tabs:

Tab	Description
Project Schedules	Schedules for automation projects
Trigger Chain Schedules	Schedules for trigger chains (new in v8.3.2)

Click a tab to switch between the two views.

Project Schedules Table

The Project Schedules table shows all your project schedules with the following columns:

Column	Description
Automation Project	The name of the project being scheduled
Frequency	A human-readable description of the schedule (e.g., “Every 5 minutes”, “Daily at 09:00”, “Weekly on Monday at 08:00”)
Total Runs	The total number of times this schedule has triggered a run
Last Run Status	The status of the most recent run (completed, failed, running)
Active	Whether the schedule is currently enabled (toggle switch)
Next Scheduled Run	The date and time of the next scheduled run
Actions	Edit and Delete buttons

Frequency Display Examples

Schedule Configuration	Displayed Frequency
Every 5 minutes	“Every 5 minute(s)”
Every 2 hours	“Every 2 hour(s)”
Daily at 09:00	“Daily at 09:00”
Weekly on Monday at 08:00	“Weekly on Monday at 08:00”

Trigger Chain Schedules Table

The Trigger Chain Schedules tab shows schedules for trigger chains with similar columns:

Column	Description
Chain Name	The name of the trigger chain being scheduled
Frequency	A human-readable description of the schedule
Total Runs	The total number of times this schedule has triggered a chain run
Last Run Status	The status of the most recent chain run
Active	Whether the schedule is currently enabled
Next Scheduled Run	The date and time of the next scheduled run
Actions	Edit and Delete buttons

Schedule Actions

Toggle Active/Inactive

You can enable or disable a schedule without deleting it:

1. In the schedule table, find the schedule.
2. Click the toggle switch in the Active column.
3. The schedule is immediately enabled or disabled.

When a schedule is disabled:

• It stops triggering runs.
• Its configuration is preserved.
• The “Next Scheduled Run” shows the next time it would run if re-enabled.

Editing a Schedule

1. Click the Edit button (pencil icon) next to the schedule.
2. The Schedule Configuration dialog opens with the current settings.
3. Modify the settings.
4. Click Save.

The next scheduled run is recalculated based on the new settings.

Deleting a Schedule

1. Click the Delete button (trash icon) next to the schedule.
2. A confirmation dialog appears.
3. Click Delete to confirm.

Warning: Deleting a schedule is permanent. The project is not affected — only the schedule is removed. The project can still be run manually.

How Scheduling Works Behind the Scenes

RTILA X uses a background cron job that runs every minute to check for due schedules:

1. Every minute, the cron job (runDueSchedules) runs.
2. It queries the database for all enabled schedules where next_run_at is less than or equal to the current time.
3. For each due schedule: a. It checks if there’s already a pending or running job for this project. If so, it skips this schedule to prevent duplicate runs. b. It creates a new queue record with type "project_run" and status "pending". c. The job executor picks up the pending job and launches the automation engine. d. The schedule’s last_run_at is updated to the current time. e. The schedule’s next_run_at is recalculated based on the schedule type. f. If notifications are enabled, a notification is sent.

Next Run Calculation

Schedule Type	How Next Run Is Calculated
Every X Minutes	Current time + X minutes
Every X Hours	Current time + X hours
Daily	Next occurrence of the specified time. If today’s time has passed, schedules for tomorrow.
Weekly	Next occurrence of the specified day and time. If this week’s time has passed, schedules for next week.

Notifications

When Show notification on task start and completion is enabled for a schedule:

Event	Notification	Type
Scheduled run starts	“Scheduled Task Started” — “Scheduled project ‘[Project Name]’ has started.”	Info (blue)
Run completes successfully	“Project ‘[Project Name]’ completed successfully.”	Success (green)
Run fails	“Project ‘[Project Name]’ failed.”	Error (red)

Notifications appear in the Notification Panel (bell icon in the sidebar) and in the system notification area.

Important Considerations

Your Computer Must Be On

Scheduled tasks only run when:

• Your computer is turned on.
• RTILA X is running.
• Your internet connection is active (for the automation to access websites).

If your computer is off, sleeping, or RTILA X is closed when a scheduled run is due, that run is skipped. It will not run retroactively when your computer turns back on.

Disable Sleep Mode

If you have schedules that need to run reliably, configure your computer to stay awake:

Operating System	How to Disable Sleep
Windows	Settings → System → Power & Sleep → Set “Sleep” to “Never”
macOS	System Preferences → Energy Saver → Set “Turn display off” to “Never” and disable sleep
Linux	System Settings → Power → Set “Blank Screen” to “Never” and disable suspend

Tip: If you don’t want to disable sleep entirely, set your computer to sleep only after a long period (e.g., 4 hours) to ensure your scheduled runs complete.

Duplicate Run Prevention

RTILA X prevents duplicate runs automatically. If a scheduled run is triggered but a previous run of the same project is still pending or running, the new run is skipped. This prevents multiple instances of the same automation from running simultaneously.

One Schedule Per Project

Each project can have only one schedule. If you create a new schedule for a project that already has one, the new schedule replaces the old one.

Tips and Best Practices

Tip	Why It Matters
Test manually first	Run the project manually once to verify it works before scheduling it.
Start with longer intervals	Begin with hourly or daily schedules. Once you’re confident, shorten the interval.
Enable notifications	Notifications tell you when runs start and complete, so you don’t have to check manually.
Check your computer’s power settings	Ensure your computer won’t sleep during scheduled runs.
Monitor the Last Run Status	Check the scheduler page regularly to verify runs are completing successfully.
Use descriptive project names	Makes it easy to identify schedules in the table.
Avoid very short intervals	Running every 1–2 minutes can put significant load on your computer. Use intervals of 5 minutes or more unless absolutely necessary.
Combine with triggers	Schedule a project and add triggers to automatically deliver data after each run.
Use checkpoints for long runs	Enable checkpoints so interrupted runs can be resumed.
Check Total Runs	The Total Runs column tells you how many times a schedule has triggered, helping you verify it’s working.

Trigger Chain Schedules

In addition to project schedules, you can also schedule Trigger Chains to run on their own schedule. This is useful for post-processing pipelines that need to run independently of any specific project.

Creating a Trigger Chain Schedule

1. Go to Task Scheduler in the sidebar.
2. Click the Trigger Chain Schedules tab.
3. Click New Trigger Chain Schedule.
4. Select the trigger chain to schedule.
5. Configure the schedule (same options as project schedules).
6. Click Create.

Differences from Project Schedules

Aspect	Project Schedule	Trigger Chain Schedule
What runs	An automation project	A trigger chain (post-processing pipeline)
Queue type	project_run	trigger_chain_run
Browser launched	Yes (for web automation)	No (only post-processing)
Data source	Scraped data from the project	Data from the trigger chain’s input

Trigger Chain Schedule Table Columns

Column	Description
Chain Name	The name of the trigger chain
Frequency	The schedule frequency
Total Runs	Total number of chain runs triggered
Last Run Status	Status of the most recent chain run
Active	Whether the schedule is enabled
Next Scheduled Run	When the chain will next run
Actions	Edit and Delete buttons

Troubleshooting

Problem	Cause	Solution
Schedule didn’t run	Computer was asleep or RTILA X was closed	Ensure your computer is awake and RTILA X is running
Schedule didn’t run	Schedule is disabled	Check the Active toggle in the schedule table
Schedule didn’t run	Project is already running	Duplicate prevention skipped the run. Wait for the current run to finish.
Next Scheduled Run shows a past time	Schedule was disabled and re-enabled	The next run time is recalculated when the schedule is re-enabled
Total Runs not increasing	Schedule is not triggering	Check that the schedule is enabled and the project exists
Last Run Status shows “failed”	The project encountered an error	Check the execution logs for details
Multiple runs happening at once	Multiple schedules for the same project	Each project can only have one schedule. Remove duplicates.
Run took longer than the interval	Long-running project	The next run is skipped while the current one is running. This is by design.