# Schedule Trigger

> Run a workflow automatically every few minutes, hours, days, weeks or months, or on a cron expression, in your timezone. Turn it on with one switch.

Source: https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/automate/schedule-trigger

The **Schedule Trigger** node runs a workflow automatically on a schedule, such as every 20 minutes, every day at 9:00 or on weekdays at 18:30. A schedule is a list of rules read in the timezone you choose, and the workflow runs whenever any rule matches. The trigger is free, and it runs only while its switch is on.

- Found in: Automate › Triggers
- Output: data
- API type: `schedule-trigger`

## When to use it
- Publish generated content every day, such as a daily image, a news summary or a quote video.
- Check a source on a schedule, with [Web Scrape](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/automate/web-scrape) or [Telegram Channel Feed](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/automate/telegram-channel-feed).
- Prepare a weekly or monthly report without opening the editor.
- Run the same workflow on a schedule and on demand, together with a [Webhook Trigger](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/automate/webhook-trigger).

## Quick start
### Add the node

Press Tab on the canvas and choose **Automate › Triggers › Schedule Trigger**. A new Schedule Trigger runs every day at 9:00 UTC, and it starts paused.

### Set the schedule

Open the settings panel. Click a preset, such as **Weekdays 9am**, or edit the rule under **Trigger rules**. Choose your **Timezone**. **When it runs** shows the next runs before you save.

### Decide what it runs

To run only one part of the workflow, connect the trigger to the first node of that part. A trigger that is connected to nothing runs the whole workflow.

### Turn it on

Turn on the switch at the top of the settings panel, or click the schedule button in the top bar of the editor. The node shows **Active**, and the schedule runs from the next matching minute.

Workflow: The Schedule Trigger is not connected to anything, so every run at 9:00 on weekdays covers the whole workflow: search, write, publish.

- Web Scrape → Prompt (prompt)
- Prompt → Publish to Social

![The Schedule Trigger settings panel with the schedule paused, the presets, the 24-hour bar of the day's runs, the Add trigger rule button and the time zone.](https://nodaro.ai/docs-media/screens/en/nodes/schedule-trigger/settings.light.webp)

## Turn the schedule on

A schedule runs only while its switch is on. Placing the node and saving the workflow registers the schedule but does not start it. Until you turn it on, the node shows **Paused**.

- **In the settings panel**, use the switch at the top. It reads **Schedule is on** or **Schedule is paused**.
- **In the top bar of the editor**, the schedule button appears when the workflow has a Schedule Trigger. It reads **Schedule on**, **Schedule off**, or for example **1/2 schedules on**. A click turns every schedule of the workflow on, or off when all are on, and saves the workflow.

Turning the switch off pauses the schedule in the same way. An imported workflow or a template always starts with its schedules paused. A schedule written through the API, the SDK or MCP is on only when the node's `active` field is `true`.

To try the branch now without turning the schedule on, click **Run from here** at the bottom of the settings panel. A trigger that is connected to nothing has no branch to run from, so run the whole workflow instead.

## Settings
| Setting | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Presets** | **Every 5 min**, **Hourly**, **Daily 9am** and **Weekdays 9am**. A click writes the matching rule. A preset is highlighted when the schedule is exactly that rule. |
| **Trigger rules** | One or more rules. The workflow runs whenever any rule matches. **Add trigger rule** adds one, and **Remove rule** removes one. The last rule cannot be removed. |
| **Timezone** | The clock the rules are read in. Search the list of every timezone, with yours offered first. When it is not set, the rules use UTC. |
| **Max Executions** | Stops the schedule after this many runs. Leave it empty for unlimited runs. |

## Rules

Each rule has a **Trigger interval** and the fields that go with it.

| Trigger interval | Fields | Runs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Minutes** | Every 1 to 59 minutes | At minute 0, N, 2N and so on of every hour |
| **Hours** | Every 1 to 23 hours, **Trigger at minute** | At hour 0, N, 2N and so on of every day, at that minute |
| **Days** | Every 1 to 31 days, **Trigger at hour**, **Trigger at minute** | Every Nth calendar day at that time |
| **Weeks** | Every 1 to 52 weeks, **Trigger on weekdays**, hour and minute | On those weekdays, every Nth week. Weeks start on Monday. |
| **Months** | Every 1 to 12 months, **Trigger at day of month** from 1 to 31, hour and minute | On that day every Nth month, or on the last day of a shorter month |
| **Custom (cron)** | A 5-field **Cron expression** | Whenever the expression matches |

- **Fixed phase.** "Every Nth day, week or month" counts from a fixed point in the calendar. Saving the workflow again never shifts the days on which it runs.
- **Cron format.** The fields are minute, hour, day of month, month and day of week. Every field must match, including day of month and day of week together, where some cron tools accept either one. Both `0` and `7` mean Sunday.

## When it runs

Before you save, **When it runs** in the settings panel shows what the rules mean:

- The schedule in words, and the number of runs per day.
- Today's runs on a 24-hour bar.
- The next three runs, with how far away they are.

The node shows the same summary, the next run, and whether the schedule is **Active** or **Paused**. The preview uses the same calculation as the server, so it shows what will happen.

## How a scheduled run works

- **Once per minute.** Nodaro checks the schedules every minute and starts a run when a rule matches that minute. The same minute never runs twice, even after a restart or when the clocks go back. A minute that the clocks skip forward is skipped that day.
- **One run at a time.** If the previous run of the workflow is still going, that minute is skipped.
- **Max Executions.** After that many runs the schedule stops. It stays registered, so raise or clear the limit to continue.
- **Output.** The output, **Payload**, carries the time of the run.

## What a scheduled run executes

A trigger that is connected to nodes runs only its branch: the nodes after the trigger, and every node that they need as input. Nodes outside the branch are left alone. A trigger that is connected to nothing runs the whole workflow. This lets one workflow hold several triggers, each starting its own branch.

A node counts as connected through a drawn connection, by being inside a [Group](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/automate/group) that the trigger feeds, or through a field mapping. The settings panel says which case applies: "Connected — a run covers only the branch after this trigger" or "Not connected to anything — a run covers the whole workflow". Triggers limit only the runs that they start. A manual run from the editor, a run from the API and a run of a published app are never limited to a trigger's branch.

## Troubleshooting
- **The node shows Paused.** The switch is off. Turn it on in the settings panel or with the schedule button in the top bar.
- **The node shows Won't run.** A rule cannot run, such as a cron rule with no expression or a weekly rule with no weekday. Or the timezone is not one that the server knows. Fix it and save again.
- **The runs come at the wrong hour.** Check **Timezone**. When it is empty, the rules use UTC.
- **A run was skipped.** The previous run of the workflow was still going at that minute.
- **An older schedule stopped running.** A schedule saved before rules existed opens with its schedule written as rules, and it starts paused. Turn it on. Its runs now follow the clock, so "every 5 minutes" means :00, :05, :10 and so on.

## From the API
`GET /v1/workflows/<id>/triggers` lists the triggers of a workflow. A schedule's configuration uses the same rules as the node, with `kind`, `every`, `hour`, `minute`, `weekdays` (0 is Sunday, 6 is Saturday), `dayOfMonth` and `cron`, plus an optional `timezone` and `maxExecutions`. Use the node's switch to pause a schedule: a pause sent with `PATCH /v1/workflow-triggers/<id>` lasts only until the next save of the workflow. A schedule created directly through the API belongs to no node, and when a workflow has two Schedule Triggers such a schedule runs the whole workflow. See [Webhooks](https://nodaro.ai/docs/developers/api/webhooks).

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I run a Nodaro workflow every day?

Add a Schedule Trigger, click the Daily 9am preset or set your own rule, choose your timezone, and turn the schedule on with the switch at the top of the settings panel. The workflow then runs every day at that time.

### Why doesn't my schedule run?

A schedule runs only while its switch is on. A new or imported Schedule Trigger starts paused, and the node shows Paused. Turn it on in the settings panel or with the schedule button in the top bar of the editor. A node that shows Won't run has a rule or a timezone to fix.

### Which timezone does the Schedule Trigger use?

The timezone you choose in the settings panel, where your own timezone is offered first. When no timezone is set, the rules are read in UTC.

### Does the Schedule Trigger cost credits?

No. The trigger itself is free. Each run pays for the nodes it runs, so check the cost of one run before you choose a short interval.

### Can I test a schedule without waiting for it?

Yes. Click Run from here at the bottom of the settings panel to run the branch after the trigger now. If the trigger is not connected to anything, run the whole workflow instead.

### Can one workflow have several schedules?

Yes. One Schedule Trigger can hold several rules, and the workflow runs whenever any rule matches. A workflow can also have several triggers, each connected to its own branch.