# Scheduled — unattended runs on a clock
How to have Jazz do something every morning without you being there.
For an always-on host without launchd or cron, switch to in-process mode and run `jazz daemon`.
The daemon then checks due schedules once per minute and runs each latest due slot once. This
mode is opt-in; launchd and cron remain the defaults on supported platforms.
```bash
jazz config set scheduler.mode in-process # persists across restarts
# or, for a single run without touching config:
JAZZ_SCHEDULER=in-process jazz daemon
```
You can also flip this from **Scheduler** in `jazz config`. See
[Configuration → `scheduler`](../reference/configuration.md#scheduler) for both settings.
A scheduled run is a [workflow](../concepts/workflows.md) handed to your OS scheduler.
Jazz writes the launchd plist or crontab entry for you; from then on the run happens with
no terminal, no TUI, and nobody to answer an approval prompt.
```bash
jazz workflow schedule daily-standup-prep
jazz workflow scheduled # confirm it's installed
jazz workflow history daily-standup-prep # see what happened
```
---
## What actually gets installed
```mermaid
flowchart TD
WF["WORKFLOW.md
schedule: 0 9 * * 1-5
autoApprove: read-only"]
CMD["jazz workflow schedule <name>"]
WF --> CMD
CMD --> OS{"Platform?"}
OS -->|macOS| LD["launchd
~/Library/LaunchAgents/
StartCalendarInterval"]
OS -->|Linux| CR["cron
crontab entry"]
LD --> RUN["jazz workflow run <name> --auto-approve"]
CR --> RUN
RUN --> POLICY["Tools gated by the
workflow's autoApprove tier"]
RUN --> LOGS["~/.jazz/logs/<name>.log
~/.jazz/logs/<name>.error.log"]
RUN --> HIST["Run history
jazz workflow history"]
classDef sched fill:#4f9d9d,stroke:#2f6d6d,color:#ffffff
classDef out fill:#f9a03f,stroke:#b3541e,color:#1a1a1a
class LD,CR,RUN sched
class POLICY,LOGS,HIST out
```
Two platform details worth knowing up front:
- **launchd doesn't do cron arithmetic.** `StartCalendarInterval` accepts plain integers and wildcards only — no step values (`*/15`), no ranges (`1-5`), no lists (`1,3,5`). Jazz expands what it can into multiple entries and rejects what it can't with an explicit error rather than silently scheduling the wrong thing.
- **Schedulers start with a minimal environment.** launchd jobs don't inherit your shell's `PATH`, so Jazz writes an explicit one into the plist. If a workflow shells out to a tool installed somewhere unusual, use an absolute path.
---
## The unattended shift
Scheduled runs differ from terminal runs in exactly one meaningful way: **nobody is there
to say yes.** The workflow's `autoApprove:` tier decides in advance, and anything above the
tier is declined rather than queued.
| `autoApprove` | Auto-approves | Good for |
| ------------- | --------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `false` | Nothing | Not useful when scheduled — the run will stall out on the first gated tool |
| `read-only` | Reads, search, web, `git status`/`log`/`diff` | Digests, reports, watchdogs |
| `low-risk` | + `manage_todos`, `spawn_subagent` | Digests that track state |
| `high-risk` | + file writes, shell, git commit and push | Anything that writes files, or any skill that shells out |
> ⚠️ **`low-risk` is narrower than it sounds.** In the built-in toolset it adds only
> `manage_todos`, `update_work_state`, and `spawn_subagent`. Email, calendar, and Obsidian are *skills* that shell
> out via `execute_command` (`unknown`), so a `low-risk` run cannot archive an email. Keep
> the tier low and allowlist the binary instead: `{"autoApprovedCommands": ["himalaya"]}` in
> `~/.jazz/config.json`. See [Tools reference](../reference/tools.md#what-is-not-a-built-in-tool).
Pick the lowest tier that lets the job finish. See
[Tools & approval](../internals/tools-and-approval.md) for how tiers are assigned.
---
## Missed runs and catch-up
Neither launchd nor cron fires a job whose slot passed while the machine was asleep. A 6 AM
workflow on a laptop that wakes at 9 simply doesn't run.
Jazz handles this explicitly rather than pretending otherwise:
```bash
jazz workflow catchup # list what missed its slot, pick, run
```
Catch-up is age-bounded — by default a missed run older than 24 hours is not worth running
anymore, and per-workflow `maxCatchUpAge` overrides that. A "good morning" briefing at
4 PM is noise, not recovery.
If the schedule genuinely can't be missed, run Jazz somewhere always-on. Same commands,
different host: see [Airgapped & self-hosted](../start/airgapped.md), and
[Scheduling: behavior & limitations](../concepts/scheduling.md) for the full treatment
including keep-awake options and always-on device setups.
---
## Debugging a scheduled run
```bash
jazz workflow scheduled # is it actually installed?
jazz workflow history # did it run? what did it do?
tail -f ~/.jazz/logs/.log # stdout
tail -f ~/.jazz/logs/.error.log # stderr
jazz workflow run --auto-approve # reproduce it by hand, same policy
```
That last command is the one to reach for first — it runs the identical code path the
scheduler uses, in your terminal, where you can see it.
Most scheduled-run failures are one of three things: the machine was asleep (see above), a
tool was declined by the policy tier, or a binary the workflow shells out to isn't on the
minimal `PATH`.
---
## Related
- [Workflows](../concepts/workflows.md) — the file format and frontmatter
- [Scheduling: behavior & limitations](../concepts/scheduling.md) — sleep, catch-up, always-on hosts
- [Playbooks](../playbooks/index.md) — scheduled recipes with install steps
- [Headless](./headless.md) — for dynamic prompts instead of a fixed workflow file