ORCFLO Documentation

Overview

Scheduled executions let you run workflows automatically at specified intervals. Whether you need daily reports, hourly data syncs, or weekly summaries, scheduling makes your workflows run hands-free.

Reliability is key

Scheduled executions allow for reliable, scalable workflow execution. No additional setup required.

Setting Up Schedules

Configure a schedule for your workflow to run automatically at specified intervals.

Open Workflow Settings

Open your workflow and navigate to the trigger configuration section.

Select Schedule Trigger

Choose "Scheduled" as the trigger type.

Enter Cron Expression

Define when your workflow should run using a cron expression.

Save and Activate

Save the workflow. The schedule becomes active immediately.

Quick Setup Options

Common schedules are available as presets:

Every hourEvery day at 9amEvery MondayEvery 15 minutesFirst of monthCustom cron

Cron Expressions

Cron expressions define when your workflow runs. The format consists of fields that specify minute, hour, day, month, and weekday.

Cron Expression Format

text

┌───────────── minute (0 - 59)
│ ┌───────────── hour (0 - 23)
│ │ ┌───────────── day of month (1 - 31)
│ │ │ ┌───────────── month (1 - 12)
│ │ │ │ ┌───────────── day of week (0 - 6 or SUN - SAT)
│ │ │ │ │                (0 or SUN = Sunday, 1 or MON = Monday, etc.)
│ │ │ │ │
* * * * *

Special Characters

Character	Description
`*`	Any value (wildcard)
`,`	Value list separator (e.g., 1,3,5)
`-`	Range of values (e.g., 1-5)
`/`	Step values (e.g., */15 for every 15)

Day of Week Values

For the day of week field, you can use either numeric values (0-6) or three-letter abbreviations (SUN-SAT). We recommend using abbreviations for clarity:

Day	Numeric	Abbreviation (Recommended)
Sunday	`0`	`SUN`
Monday	`1`	`MON`
Tuesday	`2`	`TUE`
Wednesday	`3`	`WED`
Thursday	`4`	`THU`
Friday	`5`	`FRI`
Saturday	`6`	`SAT`

Ranges and Lists

You can use ranges (e.g., MON-FRI or 1-5) and lists (e.g., MON,WED,FRI or 1,3,5) for the day of week field.

Cron Expression Tester

Use online tools like crontab.guru to validate and understand cron expressions before applying them to your workflow.

Common Patterns

Here are frequently used cron patterns for common scheduling needs.

Schedule	Description	Expression
Every hour	Run at the start of every hour	`0 * * * *`
Every 15 minutes	Run four times per hour	`/15 * * *`
Daily at 9 AM	Run once every day at 9:00 AM	`0 9 * * *`
Daily at 6 PM	Run once every day at 6:00 PM	`0 18 * * *`
Every Monday at 9 AM	Weekly on Monday mornings	`0 9 * * MON`
Every Friday at 5 PM	Weekly on Friday afternoons	`0 17 * * FRI`
Weekdays at 8 AM	Monday through Friday	`0 8 * * MON-FRI`
Every Sunday at 8 AM	Weekly on Sunday mornings	`0 8 * * SUN`
First of month at 6 AM	Monthly on the 1st	`0 6 1 * *`
Twice daily	At 9 AM and 5 PM	`0 9,17 * * *`

Timezone Handling

Schedule times are evaluated in UTC by default. Understanding timezone handling ensures your workflows run at the expected local time.

Timezone Configuration

You can specify a timezone for your schedule. The cron expression will be evaluated in that timezone.

America/New_YorkAmerica/Los_AngelesEurope/LondonEurope/ParisAsia/TokyoAustralia/Sydney

Timezone Tips

Use Explicit Timezones: Always specify a timezone to avoid confusion with UTC.
DST Awareness: Named timezones automatically handle daylight saving time.
Document Your Schedule: Note the timezone in workflow descriptions for clarity.
Test Around DST: Verify schedules work correctly during time changes.

Best Practices

Follow these guidelines for reliable scheduled workflows:

Use descriptive names for scheduled workflows
Set appropriate timeouts for long-running tasks
Monitor scheduled executions for failures
Avoid schedules that overlap with peak usage times
Test cron expressions before deploying to production
Configure alerts for failed scheduled runs
Consider idempotency for recurring workflows

Important Limitations

Minimum schedule interval: 1 minute
Maximum concurrent executions may apply
Scheduled runs count toward your execution quota
Disabled workflows will not run on schedule

Example: Daily Report Workflow

Schedule

0 9 * * MON-FRI (Weekdays at 9 AM)

Workflow

Fetch data from API, analyze with AI

Output

Send summary email to workflow owner

Key Takeaways

Scheduled executions run workflows automatically using cron expressions
Cron format: minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week
Specify timezone to run at expected local times
Monitor scheduled runs and configure failure alerts

Scheduled Executions