Scheduling Overview¶

Automate workflow execution with time-based triggers.

Scheduling Methods¶

Method	Description	Use Case
Cron node	In-workflow trigger	Workflow-specific schedules
API schedules	External schedule management	Dynamic scheduling
CLI schedules	Command-line scheduling	Development/testing

Cron Node¶

Add a Cron node as the workflow trigger:

{
  "nodes": [
    {
      "id": "trigger",
      "name": "Run Daily",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.cron",
      "position": [250, 300],
      "parameters": {
        "cronExpression": "0 9 * * *"
      }
    }
  ]
}

When the workflow is activated, it runs on schedule.

Schedule Management¶

Create Schedule via API¶

curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/v1/schedules \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "workflowId": "wf-123",
    "cronExpression": "0 9 * * *",
    "enabled": true,
    "timezone": "America/New_York"
  }'

List Schedules¶

curl http://localhost:8080/api/v1/schedules \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>"

Update Schedule¶

curl -X PUT http://localhost:8080/api/v1/schedules/sched-123 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "cronExpression": "0 10 * * *",
    "enabled": true
  }'

Delete Schedule¶

curl -X DELETE http://localhost:8080/api/v1/schedules/sched-123 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>"

Schedule Configuration¶

Field	Type	Required	Description
`workflowId`	string	Yes	Workflow to execute
`cronExpression`	string	Yes	Cron expression
`enabled`	boolean	No	Enable/disable (default: true)
`timezone`	string	No	Timezone (default: UTC)
`inputData`	array	No	Input data for execution

Common Schedules¶

Schedule	Cron Expression	Description
Every minute	`* * * * *`	Run every minute
Hourly	`0 * * * *`	Run at top of hour
Daily at 9 AM	`0 9 * * *`	Run at 9:00 AM
Weekly Monday	`0 9 * * 1`	Monday at 9:00 AM
Monthly 1st	`0 0 1 * *`	1st of month at midnight
Quarterly	`0 0 1 /3 `	Every 3 months

Timezone Support¶

Specify timezone for schedule:

{
  "cronExpression": "0 9 * * *",
  "timezone": "America/New_York"
}

Common timezones:

Timezone	Offset
UTC	+00:00
America/New_York	-05:00
America/Los_Angeles	-08:00
Europe/London	+00:00
Europe/Berlin	+01:00
Asia/Tokyo	+09:00

Execution Behavior¶

Missed Executions¶

If the server is down during a scheduled time:

Default: Skip missed executions
Catch up: Run missed executions on startup

Configure catch-up:

scheduling:
  catchUpMissed: true
  maxCatchUpExecutions: 10

Overlapping Executions¶

If a scheduled run starts while previous is running:

Policy	Behavior
`skip`	Skip new execution (default)
`queue`	Queue for later
`parallel`	Run in parallel

Configure:

scheduling:
  overlapPolicy: skip

Monitoring Schedules¶

View Schedule Status¶

curl http://localhost:8080/api/v1/schedules/sched-123 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>"

Response:

{
  "id": "sched-123",
  "workflowId": "wf-456",
  "cronExpression": "0 9 * * *",
  "enabled": true,
  "timezone": "UTC",
  "lastRun": "2024-01-15T09:00:00Z",
  "nextRun": "2024-01-16T09:00:00Z",
  "lastStatus": "success"
}

View Schedule History¶

curl http://localhost:8080/api/v1/schedules/sched-123/history \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>"

Best Practices¶

1. Use Descriptive Names¶

{
  "name": "Daily Report - 9 AM EST"
}

2. Set Appropriate Intervals¶

Don't schedule more frequently than needed
Consider rate limits of external APIs
Allow time for execution to complete

3. Handle Failures¶

Set up alerting for failed scheduled runs
Implement retry logic in workflows
Log execution details for debugging

4. Test Schedules¶

# Test that cron expression is valid
m9m schedule validate "0 9 * * *"

# Preview next 5 runs
m9m schedule preview "0 9 * * *" --count 5

5. Monitor Resource Usage¶

Stagger schedules to avoid load spikes
Monitor execution times
Set up alerts for long-running jobs

Troubleshooting¶

Schedule Not Running¶

Check if workflow is activated
Verify cron expression is valid
Check schedule is enabled
Review server logs

Incorrect Timing¶

Verify timezone setting
Check system clock
Confirm cron expression syntax

Too Many Executions¶

Review overlap policy
Check cron expression (e.g., * vs 0)
Look for duplicate schedules

Next Steps¶

Cron Expressions - Detailed cron syntax
Workflows - Creating workflows
API Reference - Schedule API