scheduling-tasks

---
name: scheduling-tasks
description: Advanced scheduling through the letta cron CLI for other conversations, computers, run history, and schedule replacement. Use Wake for ordinary create/list/cancel operations in the current conversation.
---

# Scheduling Tasks

This skill lets you create, list, and manage scheduled tasks using the `letta cron` CLI. Scheduled tasks send a prompt to the agent on a timer — useful for reminders, periodic check-ins, and deferred follow-ups.

For ordinary one-shot or recurring work in the current conversation, use Wake instead. Wake is self-bound and covers create, list, and cancel without routing choices.

## When to Use This Skill

- The task should run in a fresh, default, or different conversation
- The task needs a specific connected computer
- You need run history, replacement, or broader schedule inspection
- Wake cannot see or manage the schedule you need

## Where Schedules Run

Execution determines schedule ownership; there is no runner selection flag:

- In a managed Cloud sandbox, schedules are durable Cloud schedules and run in the agent's Cloud sandbox.
- On a user-managed computer or self-hosted runtime, schedules are local and fire only while a Letta session is running there.

From a managed Cloud sandbox, `--computer <deviceId>` can run the scheduled work on a specific connected computer. Get the device ID from `letta computers list`. If that computer is offline at fire time, execution falls back to the Cloud sandbox. Local execution cannot target another computer.

Creation and execution follow those rules, while management commands still show and cancel both local and Cloud inventory. This keeps schedules created by older CLI versions visible without changing where new schedules run.

## CLI Usage

All commands go through `letta cron` via the Bash tool. Output is JSON.

### Creating a Task

```bash
letta cron add --name <short-name> --description <text> --prompt <text> <schedule>
```

**Required flags:**

| Flag | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `--name <text>` | Short identifier for the task (e.g. "dog-walk-reminder") |
| `--description <text>` | Human-readable description of what the task does |
| `--prompt <text>` | The message that will be sent to the agent when the task fires |

**Schedule (pick one):**

| Flag | Type | Example |
|------|------|---------|
| `--every <interval>` | Recurring (cron shorthand) | `5m`, `2h`, `1d` |
| `--at <time>` | One-shot | `"in 45m"`, `"2026-09-24T09:00:00-07:00"` |
| `--cron <expr>` | Raw cron (recurring) | `"0 9 * * 1-5"` |

**Optional flags:**

| Flag | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `--agent <id>` | Agent ID (defaults to `LETTA_AGENT_ID` from the current shell/session) |
| `--conversation <id>` | Conversation target: omit or pass `new` for a fresh conversation per fire; pass `self` for the current conversation; pass `default` for the agent default; or pass a concrete ID |
| `--computer <id>` | From managed Cloud, execute on a specific connected computer |
| `--once` | Mark `--at` as one-shot (already the default for `--at`) |

### Listing Tasks

```bash
letta cron list
```

Optional filters: `--agent <id>`, `--conversation <id>`

### Getting a Single Task

`get` accepts an ID or name:

```bash
letta cron get <id-or-name> [--agent <id>]
```

### Reading Run History

```bash
letta cron runs --id <task-id> [--limit <n>] [--agent <id>]
```

For local run history, `--run-id <id>` selects one run. Cloud history ignores that flag.

### Binding a Task to the Right Conversation

If exact routing matters, pass both `--agent` and `--conversation` explicitly.

`letta cron add` falls back to `LETTA_AGENT_ID` for the agent. An omitted `--conversation` means `"new"`, so every fire gets a fresh conversation. Pass `--conversation self` to capture the current `LETTA_CONVERSATION_ID`, `--conversation default` for the agent default, or a concrete conversation ID.

Safest pattern:

```bash
letta cron add \
  --name "email-check" \
  --description "Daily email summary in this conversation" \
  --prompt "Check the user's email and post a summary here." \
  --cron "0 10 * * *" \
  --agent "$LETTA_AGENT_ID" \
  --conversation self
```

Then verify the binding explicitly:

```bash
letta cron list --agent "$LETTA_AGENT_ID" --conversation self
```

### Deleting or Replacing Tasks

`delete` accepts an ID or name; `remove` is an alias.

```bash
# Delete a specific task
letta cron delete <id-or-name> [--agent <id>]

# Delete all tasks for one agent
letta cron delete --all --agent "$AGENT_ID"
```

In-place editing is not available. To change a schedule, create and verify the replacement before deleting the old one.

## Timezones

Cloud-schedule recurring expressions (both `--cron` and the expression `--every` compiles to) are interpreted in **UTC**. Users say times in their local timezone, so convert before writing the expression: a user in PDT asking for "9am daily" needs `--cron "0 16 * * *"` (9am PDT = 16:00 UTC; 17:00 during PST). State the conversion in your reply so the user can catch a wrong assumption. Local-runner recurring tasks use the computer's local timezone.

For a one-shot calendar request such as "tomorrow at 9am," resolve the date in the user's timezone and pass `--at` an RFC 3339 timestamp with an explicit offset. Infer a reasonable timezone from available context instead of asking a redundant follow-up. State the timezone you used in the confirmation (for example, "Scheduled for 9:00 AM PT") so the user can correct the assumption. A bare clock such as `--at "9:00am"` uses the current process timezone, which may be UTC in Cloud; use it only when that is the intended timezone. Relative values such as `--at "in 45m"` do not need a timezone.

## Examples

### "Remind me every morning at 9am to walk the dog" (user in UTC−7)

```bash
letta cron add \
  --name "dog-walk-reminder" \
  --description "Daily 9am (America/Los_Angeles) reminder to walk the dog" \
  --prompt "Hey! It's 9am — time to walk the dog." \
  --cron "0 16 * * *"
```

Note: `--every 1d` fires daily at midnight (UTC on a Cloud schedule), so use `--cron` for a specific time of day, converting the user's local time to UTC first.

### "Check on the deploy in 30 minutes"

```bash
letta cron add \
  --name "deploy-check" \
  --description "One-time check on deployment status" \
  --prompt "Check the deployment status and report the result here." \
  --at "in 30m" \
  --agent "$LETTA_AGENT_ID" \
  --conversation self
```

### "Every weekday at 5pm, remind me to submit my timesheet" (user in UTC−7)

```bash
letta cron add \
  --name "timesheet-reminder" \
  --description "Weekday 5pm (America/Los_Angeles) timesheet reminder" \
  --prompt "Friendly reminder: don't forget to submit your timesheet before EOD!" \
  --cron "0 0 * * 2-6"
```

Note the day shift: 5pm UTC−7 is midnight UTC the *next* day, so weekdays Mon–Fri become `2-6`. Always re-derive both the hour and the day fields after converting.

### "What reminders do I have?"

```bash
letta cron list
```

If you need to confirm the exact conversation a task is bound to, list with explicit filters instead:

```bash
letta cron list --agent "$AGENT_ID" --conversation "$CONVERSATION_ID"
```

### "Cancel the dog walk reminder"

```bash
letta cron delete dog-walk-reminder
```

## Writing Good Prompts

The `--prompt` value is what gets sent to you (the agent) when the task fires. Write it as a message that will make sense when you receive it later, with enough context to act on:

- **Good**: "The user asked to be reminded to review the PR for the auth refactor. Check if it's still open and nudge them."
- **Bad**: "reminder"

Include context about what the user originally asked for, so you can give a helpful response when the prompt arrives.

## Important Notes

- **Minimum granularity**: 1 minute. Intervals under 60 seconds are rounded up.
- **Recurring tasks**: No longer auto-expire. They remain active until explicitly cancelled.
- **One-shot cleanup (local runner)**: One-shot local tasks are garbage-collected 24 hours after firing.
- **Default binding**: `letta cron add` uses `--agent` first, then `LETTA_AGENT_ID`. Omit `--conversation` for a fresh conversation per fire; use `--conversation self` to capture `LETTA_CONVERSATION_ID` explicitly.
- **Local scheduler requirement**: Local schedules only fire while a Letta session is running on their computer; fires while no session runs are marked as missed. Cloud schedules fire from the cloud regardless.
- **`--at` for specific times**: prefer RFC 3339 with an explicit offset. A bare `--at "3:00pm"` uses the process timezone and schedules tomorrow if that time has already passed there.
- **Cloud schedule creation failures are loud**: if creating a Cloud schedule fails in a managed Cloud sandbox, no schedule is created; it never falls back to a local schedule.

## Cron Expression Reference

For `--cron`, use numeric 5-field cron syntax (named days/months, seconds, `?`, `L`, and `#` are not supported):

```
┌───────────── minute (0-59)
│ ┌───────────── hour (0-23)
│ │ ┌───────────── day of month (1-31)
│ │ │ ┌───────────── month (1-12)
│ │ │ │ ┌───────────── day of week (0-6, Sun=0)
│ │ │ │ │
* * * * *
```

Common patterns (UTC on Cloud schedules):
- `*/5 * * * *` — every 5 minutes
- `0 */2 * * *` — every 2 hours
- `0 9 * * *` — daily at 9:00 UTC
- `0 9 * * 1-5` — weekdays at 9:00 UTC
- `30 8 1 * *` — 8:30 UTC on the 1st of each month

From letta-ai/letta-code at c1033d9, shown as plain text under its license: Apache-2.0 (permissive). The license text is in LICENSE.

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