Claude/Desktop/Scheduled Task

• Schedule recurring tasks in Claude Code Desktop

  • Overview

    • A Desktop scheduled task is a Local routine: created from Claude/Desktop's Routines sidebar page → New routine → Local. It runs on the user's machine with direct access to local files and tools, starting a new session automatically at a chosen time/frequency.
    • It only fires while Desktop is open and the computer is awake—the opposite tradeoff from a cloud Claude/Routine (Anthropic-managed infrastructure, works even with the machine off, but no local file access).
    • The Desktop Routines page is the shared UI for both kinds: choosing Local creates a scheduled task (this page); choosing Cloud creates a Claude/Routine.

  • Distinguishing from /loop

    • Desktop scheduled task ≠ /loop, even though both run on the local machine. The difference is whether a session must already be open:
      • A scheduled task starts a brand-new session by itself at the scheduled time—no session needs to be open beforehand. It survives app restarts because it's saved to disk.
      • /loop only keeps an already-open session repeating a prompt on an interval; it does not create new sessions and stops the moment that session closes.
    • /loop is not CLI-only. Since Claude/Desktop/Code is "basically Claude/Code but inside the desktop app," /loop works the same way inside a Desktop Code tab session as it does in a terminal—it is a property of the session, not of which surface (CLI vs Desktop) hosts it.
    • Storage differs accordingly: a scheduled task is a durable file at ~/.claude/scheduled-tasks/<task-name>/SKILL.md (YAML frontmatter name/description + prompt body); a /loop (or CronCreate) task is session-local, restored on --resume/--continue only if unexpired, and expires after 7 days.

  • Compare scheduling options[1]

    • 	Claude/Routine (Cloud)	Scheduled task (Desktop, this page)	/loop
      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 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

  • Create a scheduled task[1]

    • Routines (sidebar) → New routine → Local, then fill in:
      • Name: converted to lowercase kebab-case, used as the folder name; must be unique.
      • Description: short summary shown in the task list.
      • Instructions: written like any prompt-box message; includes pickers for permission mode and model, plus the working folder and an isolated worktree toggle.
      • Schedule: see options below.
    • A trusted folder is required before saving; Desktop prompts to trust it if needed.
    • Natural language also works from any session: "set up a daily code review that runs every morning at 9am" (recurring) or "remind me at 3pm tomorrow to check the deploy" (one-time, self-disables after firing).
    • By default a run uses the working directory as-is, including uncommitted changes; enable the worktree toggle to give each run its own isolated git worktree.

  • Schedule options[1]

    • Manual—no schedule, runs only via Run now.
    • Hourly—every hour.
    • Daily—time picker, defaults to 9:00 AM local time.
    • Weekdays—like Daily, skips Saturday/Sunday.
    • Weekly—time picker + day picker.
    • For anything the picker doesn't offer (every 15 minutes, first of the month, a single future timestamp), ask Claude in a Desktop session in plain language.

  • How scheduled tasks run[1]

    • Desktop checks the schedule every minute while open and starts a fresh session when a task is due, independent of any manual sessions already open. Each task gets a small deterministic delay (a few minutes, same offset every time) to stagger API traffic.
    • Firing produces a desktop notification and a new session under a Scheduled section in the sidebar; it behaves like any other session (edit files, run commands, commit, open PRs).
    • If the computer sleeps through the scheduled time, that run is skipped. Keep computer awake (Settings → Desktop app → General) prevents idle sleep, but closing the laptop lid still sleeps it.
    • Missed runs: on app start / wake, Desktop starts exactly one catch-up run for the most recently missed time in the last 7 days and discards anything older—so a daily task asleep for six days runs once, not six times. Write prompts defensively if timing matters (e.g. "only review today's commits; if it's after 5pm, skip and summarize what was missed").

  • Permissions[1]

    • Each task has its own permission mode, set at creation/edit. Allow rules from ~/.claude/settings.json also apply.
    • Ask mode stalls the run until approved in the sidebar session; click Run now after creating a task and select "always allow" on each prompt so future runs auto-approve.
    • Connector tools an org sets to ask, and MCP tools marked requiresUserInteraction, prompt every call with no always-allow option—those runs stall each time.

  • Manage scheduled tasks[1]

    • From a task's detail page: Run now, toggle Active/Paused, Edit (instructions/schedule/folder/etc.), Review history (including why a run was skipped), Review allowed permissions, and Delete (optionally also removing the SKILL.md and data under ~/.claude/scheduled-tasks/).
    • A running task can reschedule or rewrite its own prompt via the update_scheduled_task MCP tool—e.g. moving a review earlier after detecting a release branch.
    • Editing the SKILL.md file directly changes only name/description/prompt; schedule, folder, model, and enabled state live outside the file and must go through the Edit form or a natural-language request.

  • Misconceptions

    • "A scheduled task is the same mechanism as /loop." Both are local, but a scheduled task creates its own new sessions on a timer with no open session required; /loop only extends a session that is already open, and stops when it closes.
    • "/loop only exists in the terminal CLI." Claude/Desktop/Code is Claude Code running inside the desktop app, so /loop behaves identically there.
    • "Scheduled tasks work even if the computer is asleep or Desktop is closed." They don't—that tradeoff belongs to cloud Claude/Routines, not Local scheduled tasks.

  • Footnotes

    • [1] https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop-scheduled-tasks

    • [2] https://code.claude.com/docs/en/scheduled-tasks

    • [3] https://code.claude.com/docs/en/routines