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Schedule Workflows

The Background Scheduler in rtrvr.ai allows you to automate tasks to run in the background at specified intervals. This is particularly useful for repetitive tasks like data extraction, reporting, or monitoring, allowing you to set up workflows and have them run automatically.

Core Concepts

Here are the core concepts of the Background Scheduler:

  • →Simple Interval Configuration: Define when your workflows should run using Days, Hours, and Minutes fields.
  • →One-Time or Recurring: Run workflows once or set them to repeat at regular intervals.
  • →Automated Execution: Workflows run automatically in the background without requiring manual intervention.
  • →Browser-Based: Schedules require your browser to be running to trigger.
  • →Workflow History: Select previously successful workflows from your history to schedule for automated execution.

Setting Up a Schedule

Here's how to create a scheduled workflow:

1. Create a Schedule

  • →Navigate to the Background Scheduler
  • →Click the "Create" button to start a new schedule

2. Configure Schedule Settings

  • →Title: Give your schedule a descriptive name (e.g., "Daily News Summary")
  • →Repeat Interval: Set how often the workflow should run:
    • →Use the Days, Hours, and Minutes fields
    • →Or set the Total Minutes directly
    • →For one-time execution: Set all fields to 0 or leave Total Minutes empty
    • →For recurring tasks: Minimum interval is 1 minute
  • →Start At: Choose when the first run should occur
    • →Must be in the future for one-time schedules
    • →For repeating schedules, past times will trigger based on current time and interval

3. Add Workflow Steps

  • →Click "Select a Workflow Step"
  • →Choose one or more tasks from your workflow history
  • →These steps will execute in order when the schedule triggers

Understanding Repeat Intervals

The scheduler uses a simple time-based system for defining intervals:

Setting Intervals

You can configure intervals in two ways:

  1. →Individual Fields: Set Days, Hours, and Minutes separately
  2. →Total Minutes: Enter the total number of minutes directly

Examples

  • →Every hour: 0 Days, 1 Hour, 0 Minutes (or 60 Total Minutes)
  • →Every day: 1 Day, 0 Hours, 0 Minutes (or 1440 Total Minutes)
  • →Every 30 minutes: 0 Days, 0 Hours, 30 Minutes (or 30 Total Minutes)
  • →Every week: 7 Days, 0 Hours, 0 Minutes (or 10080 Total Minutes)
  • →Run once: 0 Days, 0 Hours, 0 Minutes (or leave Total Minutes empty)

Important Considerations

Browser Requirements

  • →Keep Browser Running: Your browser must be running for schedules to trigger
  • →Handling Browser Closures: If your browser is closed when a schedule should run, it will execute shortly after you reopen the browser
  • →Interval Respect: The scheduler will maintain the specified interval even after browser restarts

Start Time Behavior

  • →One-Time Schedules: Start time must be in the future
  • →Recurring Schedules: If start time is in the past, the schedule calculates the next run based on the current time and your specified interval

Common Use Cases

Daily Reports

Title: "Daily Sales Report" Interval: 1 Day, 0 Hours, 0 Minutes Start At: Tomorrow at 9:00 AM Workflow: Extract sales data and email summary

Hourly Monitoring

Title: "Website Availability Check" Interval: 0 Days, 1 Hour, 0 Minutes Start At: Today at current time + 1 hour Workflow: Check website status and alert if down

Weekly Data Collection

Title: "Weekly Competitor Analysis" Interval: 7 Days, 0 Hours, 0 Minutes Start At: Next Monday at 8:00 AM Workflow: Crawl competitor websites and extract pricing

One-Time Task

Title: "End of Month Report" Interval: 0 Days, 0 Hours, 0 Minutes Start At: Last day of month at 5:00 PM Workflow: Generate and send monthly summary

Managing Schedules

View All Schedules

  • →Click the "Schedules" button in the Background Scheduler
  • →See all your active and past schedules
  • →Monitor execution status and history

Edit or Delete Schedules

  • →Access your schedule from the schedules list
  • →Modify intervals, start times, or workflow steps
  • →Delete schedules that are no longer needed

Clear Form

  • →Use the "Clear Form" button to reset all fields when creating a new schedule

Tips for Effective Scheduling

  • →Test First: Run your workflow manually before scheduling to ensure it works correctly
  • →Start Small: Begin with longer intervals (daily) before moving to more frequent schedules
  • →Monitor Performance: Check execution logs regularly to ensure workflows complete successfully
  • →Consider Timing: Schedule resource-intensive tasks during off-peak hours
  • →Use Descriptive Titles: Make it easy to identify schedules at a glance
  • →Plan for Failures: Have contingency plans for when scheduled workflows encounter errors

Troubleshooting

Schedule Not Running

  • →Ensure your browser is open and running
  • →Verify the start time is correctly set
  • →Check that the interval is properly configured (minimum 1 minute for recurring)

Missed Executions

  • →If browser was closed, the schedule will run shortly after reopening
  • →Check the schedules list for execution history

Workflow Errors

  • →Test the workflow manually to identify issues
  • →Ensure all required tabs/data are accessible
  • →Verify API keys and permissions are still valid

Next Steps