URL: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/scheduled-tasks.md
> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://code.claude.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Run prompts on a schedule
> Use /loop and the cron scheduling tools to run prompts repeatedly, poll for status, or set one-time reminders within a Claude Code session.
Scheduled tasks let Claude re-run a prompt automatically on an interval. Use them to poll a deployment, babysit a PR, check back on a long-running build, or remind yourself to do something later in the session. To react to events as they happen instead of polling, see [Channels](/en/channels): your CI can push the failure into the session directly. To keep the session working turn after turn until a condition is met rather than on an interval, see [`/goal`](/en/goal).
Tasks are session-scoped: they live in the current conversation and stop when you start a new one. Resuming with `--resume` or `--continue` brings back any task that hasn't [expired](#seven-day-expiry): a recurring task created within the last 7 days, or a one-shot whose scheduled time hasn't passed yet. For scheduling that survives independently of any session, use [Routines](/en/routines) to create a routine on Anthropic-managed infrastructure, set up a [Desktop scheduled task](/en/desktop-scheduled-tasks), or use [GitHub Actions](/en/github-actions).
## Compare scheduling options
Claude Code offers three ways to schedule recurring or one-off work:
| | [Cloud](/en/routines) | [Desktop](/en/desktop-scheduled-tasks) | [`/loop`](/en/scheduled-tasks) |
| :------------------------- | :----------------------------- | :------------------------------------- | :---------------------------------- |
| Runs on | Anthropic cloud | Your machine | Your machine |
| Requires machine on | No | Yes | Yes |
| Requires open session | No | No | Yes |
| Persistent across restarts | Yes | Yes | Restored on `--resume` if unexpired |
| Access to local files | No (fresh clone) | Yes | Yes |
| MCP servers | Connectors configured per task | [Config files](/en/mcp) and connectors | Inherits from session |
| Permission prompts | No (runs autonomously) | Configurable per task | Inherits from session |
| Customizable schedule | Via `/schedule` in the CLI | Yes | Yes |
| Minimum interval | 1 hour | 1 minute | 1 minute |
## Run a prompt repeatedly with /loop
The `/loop` [bundled skill](/en/commands) is the quickest way to run a prompt on repeat while the session stays open. Both the interval and the prompt are optional, and what you provide determines how the loop behaves.
| What you provide | Example | What happens |
| :------------------------ | :-------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Interval and prompt | `/loop 5m check the deploy` | Your prompt runs on a [fixed schedule](#run-on-a-fixed-interval) |
| Prompt only | `/loop check the deploy` | Your prompt runs at an [interval Claude chooses](#let-claude-choose-the-interval) each iteration |
| Interval only, or nothing | `/loop` | The [built-in maintenance prompt](#run-the-built-in-maintenance-prompt) runs, or your `loop.md` if one exists |
You can also pass another command as the prompt, for example `/loop 20m /review-pr 1234`, to re-run a saved skill or command each iteration.
### Run on a fixed interval
When you supply an interval, Claude converts it to a cron expression, schedules the job, and confirms the cadence and job ID.
```text theme={null}
/loop 5m check if the deployment finished and tell me what happened
```
The interval can lead the prompt as a bare token like `30m`, or trail it as a clause like `every 2 hours`. Supported units are `s` for seconds, `m` for minutes, `h` for hours, and `d` for days.
Seconds are rounded up to the nearest minute since cron has one-minute granularity. Intervals that don't map to a clean cron step, such as `7m` or `90m`, are rounded to the nearest interval that does and Claude tells you what it picked.
### Let Claude choose the interval
When you omit the interval, Claude chooses one dynamically instead of running on a fixed cron schedule. After each iteration it picks a delay between one minute and one hour based on what it observed: short waits while a build is finishing or a PR is active, longer waits when nothing is pending. The chosen delay and the reason for it are printed at the end of each iteration.
The example below checks CI and review comments, with Claude waiting longer between iterations once the PR goes quiet:
```text theme={null}
/loop check whether CI passed and address any review comments
```
When you ask for a dynamic `/loop` schedule, Claude may use the [Monitor tool](/en/tools-reference#monitor-tool) directly. Monitor runs a background script and streams each output line back, which avoids polling altogether and is often more token-efficient and responsive than re-running a prompt on an interval.
A dynamically scheduled loop appears in your [scheduled task list](#manage-scheduled-tasks) like any other task, so you can list or cancel it the same way. The [jitter rules](#jitter) don't apply to it, but the [seven-day expiry](#seven-day-expiry) does: the loop ends automatically seven days after you start it.
### Run the built-in maintenance prompt
When you omit the prompt, Claude uses a built-in maintenance prompt instead of one you supply. On each iteration it works through the following, in order:
* continue any unfinished work from the conversation
* tend to the current branch's pull request: review comments, failed CI runs, merge conflicts
* run cleanup passes such as bug hunts or simplification when nothing else is pending
Claude does not start new initiatives outside that scope, and irreversible actions such as pushing or deleting only proceed when they continue something the transcript already authorized.
```text theme={null}
/loop
```
A bare `/loop` runs this prompt at a [dynamically chosen interval](#let-claude-choose-the-interval). Add an interval, for example `/loop 15m`, to run it on a fixed schedule instead. To replace the built-in prompt with your own default, see [Customize the default prompt with loop.md](#customize-the-default-prompt-with-loop-md).
### Customize the default prompt with loop.md
A `loop.md` file replaces the built-in maintenance prompt with your own instructions. It defines a single default prompt for bare `/loop`, not a list of separate scheduled tasks, and is ignored whenever you supply a prompt on the command line. To schedule additional prompts alongside it, use `/loop
