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Scheduled deployments run an agent automatically on a recurring schedule. Use them for recurring work such as daily summaries, SLA checks, periodic account reviews, or scheduled follow-ups. Unlike channel deployments, a scheduled deployment does not wait for an event from Zendesk, Slack, Intercom, or another integration. Duckie starts a run when the schedule fires.

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Create a Scheduled Deployment

1

Create a deployment

Go to Deploy, click Create Deployment, and choose the agent that should run on a schedule.
2

Choose Scheduler

In the trigger selector, choose Scheduler.
3

Set the schedule

Choose a preset schedule or select Custom….Presets include hourly, daily at 9 AM, weekdays at 9 AM, and weekly on Monday at 9 AM.
4

Configure a custom schedule

For a custom schedule, describe the schedule in plain language and click Convert, or enter a five-field cron expression directly.
5

Choose a timezone

Select the timezone Duckie should use when evaluating the schedule.
6

Select mode and save

Choose Live or Testing, save the deployment, and keep it Active when you want the schedule to run.

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Schedule Options

OptionUse it when
PresetYou want a common schedule such as hourly, daily, weekdays, or weekly.
Describe your scheduleYou want Duckie to convert text such as every weekday at 9am EST into a cron expression.
Cron expressionYou already know the exact five-field cron schedule you want.
Custom cron expressions use the standard five-field format: 
minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week
For example: 
0 9 * * 1-5
This runs at 9:00 AM on weekdays in the selected timezone.
Scheduled deployments must run at least five minutes apart. Duckie rejects schedules that fire more frequently.

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Timezones

The selected timezone controls when the schedule runs. Duckie shows a preview of the next scheduled run times after you choose a schedule and timezone. Use the timezone where the work should happen, not necessarily the timezone where you are configuring the deployment. For example, choose America/New_York for a weekday 9 AM East Coast check-in.

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Deployment Mode

Scheduled deployments use the same deployment modes as other deployments:
ModeBehavior
TestingRuns with testing safeguards before you rely on the schedule.
LiveRuns the selected agent on each scheduled fire.
Start new scheduled deployments in Testing mode, then switch to Live after you review the run output.

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Monitoring Scheduled Runs

Active scheduled deployments show the next run time on the deployment card. When you open an active scheduled deployment, Duckie also shows schedule timing details for that deployment. Scheduled runs appear in Analyze > Runs with the source Scheduler. Use this view to confirm that the schedule fired, inspect the agent’s output, and compare scheduled runs with other deployment traffic.

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Best Practices

  • Give the agent clear instructions for what recurring work it should perform.
  • Choose an interval that gives the agent enough time to finish the expected work.
  • Use Testing mode before relying on a scheduled deployment.
  • Keep schedules narrow and intentional; create separate scheduled deployments for unrelated recurring jobs.

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Next Steps

Create Deployment

Set up a deployment

Deployment Modes

Test before live scheduled runs

Runs

Review scheduled run history