# Scheduled tasks: automate a proven run

> Run bounded tasks on a schedule and retain separate evidence of execution, useful output, and delivery.

Canonical: https://hermeswatcher.com/tools/scheduling  
Kind: Capability · Development & operations  
Last reviewed: Oct 19, 2026  
Basis: Explained from the official Hermes Agent docs and repository (Nous Research). Steps follow the linked official sources.

## What it is for

Hermes documents one-shot and recurring tasks, skill attachments, management actions, and output delivery to configured destinations. Scheduled agent sessions can be useful for briefings, monitoring, and maintenance. A schedule should follow a successful manual example with explicit success criteria. For deterministic checks, the docs also describe script-only tasks without model involvement; use an agent when judgment or synthesis is actually needed.

## What you need

- A running scheduling/gateway environment and the credentials needed during unattended execution.
- A clear timezone, source window, output location, delivery destination, and acceptable no-change behavior.

## Setting it up

1. Run the task manually on a small input and inspect the result. Remove steps that depend on an interactive prompt.
2. Create the schedule through the documented management interface, attach only necessary skills, and define bounded retries plus a concrete failure report.

## How to check it works

- Observe a real scheduled attempt and read its saved output. Verify that freshness and required sections match expectations.
- Check the intended destination independently and confirm that duplicate runs do not repeat irreversible actions.

## Limits

- An enabled job does not prove the host was awake, sources were reachable, or delivery succeeded.
- Model selection and credentials can affect later runs. Review effective configuration and preserve the last good output when a task fails.

## Related workflows

- [Wake up to a useful research briefing](https://hermeswatcher.com/workflows/daily-research-briefing.md)
- [Know whether an automation actually worked](https://hermeswatcher.com/workflows/reliable-recurring-automation.md)
- [Collect content ideas without losing the evidence](https://hermeswatcher.com/workflows/content-research-queue.md)

## Sources

- [Official scheduled tasks](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/cron)

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HermesWatcher is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nous Research. The [official Hermes Agent documentation](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs) and [repository](https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent) from Nous Research are the authority; each page here lists the official sources it was written from. If this site and the official docs disagree, trust the official docs. Index for agents: https://hermeswatcher.com/llms.txt