Trigger Chain Scheduling

Trigger Chain Scheduling lets you run your trigger chains automatically at set intervals — every few minutes, every few hours, once a day, or once a week. Instead of manually clicking “Run” every time you want your pipeline to execute, you set up a schedule once and RTILA X handles the rest.

This is the same scheduling system used for project runs (see Task Scheduler), but applied specifically to trigger chains. You can schedule a trigger chain to run independently of any project, on its own timeline.

New in v8.3.2: Trigger Chain Scheduling is a brand-new feature. Previous versions of RTILA X only allowed scheduling project runs. Now you can schedule entire post-processing pipelines to run on their own schedule.

When to Use Trigger Chain Scheduling

Use Case	Example
Hourly data sync	Run a trigger chain every hour to sync scraped data to a database
Daily report generation	Run a chain every morning at 9 AM to generate and email a report
Weekly data processing	Run a chain every Monday to process the week’s accumulated data
Periodic API polling	Run a chain every 15 minutes to check an external API
Scheduled file uploads	Run a chain every 6 hours to upload accumulated files to cloud storage

How Scheduling Works

Here’s the complete lifecycle of a scheduled trigger chain run:

1. You create a schedule. You define when the chain should run (e.g., every 30 minutes, daily at 9 AM).
2. The cron job checks every minute. RTILA X’s internal scheduler checks every minute whether any schedules are due to run.
3. Due schedules are detected. If a schedule’s next_run_at time has passed and the schedule is enabled, it’s flagged as due.
4. The chain status is verified. RTILA X checks that the trigger chain has status “active.” Inactive or paused chains are skipped.
5. Duplicate runs are prevented. RTILA X checks whether the chain already has a pending or running job. If so, the scheduled run is skipped to prevent duplicates.
6. A run record is created. A new trigger chain run record is created with triggered_by: "scheduler".
7. The job is queued. A queue record is created and the relay engine picks it up for execution.
8. The schedule is updated. The schedule’s last_run_at is updated to the current time, and next_run_at is recalculated based on the schedule type.
9. A notification is sent (if enabled). If the schedule has notifications enabled, you receive a notification when the run starts.

Schedule Types

RTILA X supports four schedule types:

Schedule Type	Description	Configuration Required
Every X Minutes	Runs the chain every N minutes	Enter the interval (e.g., 5 for every 5 minutes)
Every X Hours	Runs the chain every N hours	Enter the interval (e.g., 6 for every 6 hours)
Daily	Runs the chain once per day at a specific time	Set the time (e.g., 09:00 for 9 AM)
Weekly	Runs the chain once per week on a specific day at a specific time	Set the day of week and time

Schedule Type Details

Every X Minutes

Setting	Description	Example
Interval	Number of minutes between runs	5 = every 5 minutes

Example: If you set the interval to 15, the chain runs every 15 minutes: 9:00, 9:15, 9:30, 9:45, and so on.

Every X Hours

Setting	Description	Example
Interval	Number of hours between runs	6 = every 6 hours

Example: If you set the interval to 6, the chain runs every 6 hours: 12:00 AM, 6:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 6:00 PM.

Daily

Setting	Description	Example
Time	The time of day to run (24-hour format)	09:00 = 9:00 AM

Example: If you set the time to 09:00, the chain runs every day at 9:00 AM.

Weekly

Setting	Description	Example
Day of Week	Which day to run (Sunday = 0, Monday = 1, …, Saturday = 6)	1 = Monday
Time	The time of day to run (24-hour format)	09:00 = 9:00 AM

Example: If you set day of week to 1 (Monday) and time to 09:00, the chain runs every Monday at 9:00 AM.

Schedule Fields Reference

Every trigger chain schedule has the following fields:

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
trigger_chain	Relation	✅ Yes	—	The trigger chain this schedule belongs to. Automatically set when you create the schedule from a chain.
schedule_type	Select	✅ Yes	—	The type of schedule: minutes, hours, daily, or weekly.
interval	Number	If minutes/hours	—	The number of minutes or hours between runs. Only used for minutes and hours schedule types.
time	Text	If daily/weekly	—	The time of day to run, in 24-hour format (e.g., 09:00). Only used for daily and weekly schedule types.
day_of_week	Number	If weekly	—	The day of the week to run (0 = Sunday, 1 = Monday, …, 6 = Saturday). Only used for weekly schedule type.
last_run_at	Date	No	—	The date and time of the last scheduled run. Automatically updated by the system.
next_run_at	Date	No	—	The date and time of the next scheduled run. Automatically calculated by the system.
notifications	Boolean	No	true	Whether to send notifications when the scheduled run starts and completes.
enabled	Boolean	No	true	Whether the schedule is active. If disabled, the chain won’t run on schedule.
created	Date	Auto	—	When the schedule was created. Automatically set by the system.

Viewing Trigger Chain Schedules

Opening the Scheduler Page

1. Go to Task Scheduler in the sidebar (the calendar icon).
2. You’ll see two tabs at the top:
   • Project Schedules — Schedules for project runs
   • Trigger Chain Schedules — Schedules for trigger chains
3. Click the Trigger Chain Schedules tab.

The Trigger Chain Schedules Table

The table shows all your trigger chain schedules with the following columns:

Column	Description
Chain Name	The name of the trigger chain this schedule belongs to
Frequency	A human-readable description of the schedule (e.g., “Every 5 minutes”, “Daily at 09:00”)
Total Runs	The total number of times this chain has been run
Last Run Status	The status of the most recent run (completed, failed, etc.)
Active	Whether the schedule is currently enabled or disabled
Next Scheduled Run	The date and time of the next scheduled run
Actions	Buttons for editing, deleting, and toggling the schedule

Frequency Display Examples

Schedule Configuration	Displayed As
Every 5 minutes	“Every 5 minute(s)”
Every 2 hours	“Every 2 hour(s)”
Daily at 09:00	“Daily at 09:00”
Weekly on Monday at 09:00	“Weekly on Monday at 09:00”
Weekly on Friday at 17:30	“Weekly on Friday at 17:30”

Creating a Trigger Chain Schedule

Method 1: From the Trigger Chains Page

1. Go to Trigger Chains in the sidebar.
2. Select the trigger chain you want to schedule.
3. Click Schedule in the ribbon toolbar.
4. The Trigger Chain Schedule dialog opens.
5. Configure the schedule settings.
6. Click Save.

Method 2: From the Scheduler Page

1. Go to Task Scheduler in the sidebar.
2. Click the Trigger Chain Schedules tab.
3. Click New Trigger Chain Schedule.
4. Select the trigger chain from the dropdown.
5. Configure the schedule settings.
6. Click Save.

Schedule Configuration Dialog

When you create or edit a schedule, you’ll see the following fields:

Setting	When to Configure	Description
Trigger Chain	Always	Select which trigger chain to schedule
Schedule Type	Always	Choose: Every X Minutes, Every X Hours, Daily, or Weekly
Interval	If Minutes or Hours	Enter the number of minutes or hours
Time	If Daily or Weekly	Enter the time in 24-hour format (e.g., 09:00)
Day of Week	If Weekly	Select the day of the week
Send notifications	Always	Toggle notifications on or off
Enabled	Always	Toggle the schedule on or off

Schedule Type: Every X Minutes

1. Select Every X Minutes as the schedule type.
2. Enter the interval in minutes (e.g., 5 for every 5 minutes).
3. The chain will run every N minutes starting from when the schedule is created.

Schedule Type: Every X Hours

1. Select Every X Hours as the schedule type.
2. Enter the interval in hours (e.g., 6 for every 6 hours).
3. The chain will run every N hours starting from when the schedule is created.

Schedule Type: Daily

1. Select Daily as the schedule type.
2. Enter the time of day to run (e.g., 09:00 for 9:00 AM).
3. The chain will run every day at that time.

Schedule Type: Weekly

1. Select Weekly as the schedule type.
2. Select the day of the week from the dropdown.
3. Enter the time of day to run (e.g., 09:00).
4. The chain will run every week on that day at that time.

Toggling Schedules

You can enable or disable a schedule without deleting it. This is useful when you want to temporarily pause a schedule without losing its configuration.

Steps

1. Go to Task Scheduler → Trigger Chain Schedules tab.
2. Find the schedule you want to toggle.
3. Click the toggle switch in the Active column.
4. The schedule is immediately enabled or disabled.

What Happens When You Disable a Schedule

Aspect	Behavior
Schedule configuration	Preserved — all settings are kept
Next run	Skipped — the chain won’t run on schedule
Last run data	Preserved — you can still see when it last ran
Manual runs	Still possible — you can still run the chain manually
Re-enabling	Click the toggle again to re-enable

What Happens When You Enable a Schedule

Aspect	Behavior
Next run time	Recalculated based on the schedule type
Next run	Will run at the next scheduled time
Missed runs	Skipped — runs that were missed while disabled are NOT retroactively executed

Editing a Schedule

Steps

1. Go to Task Scheduler → Trigger Chain Schedules tab.
2. Find the schedule you want to edit.
3. Click the edit icon (pencil) in the Actions column.
4. The Schedule Configuration dialog opens with the current settings.
5. Modify the settings.
6. Click Save.

What You Can Edit

Setting	Editable?	Notes
Trigger Chain	❌ No	The chain assignment is fixed. Create a new schedule for a different chain.
Schedule Type	✅ Yes	You can change from minutes to daily, etc.
Interval	✅ Yes	Change the number of minutes or hours
Time	✅ Yes	Change the time of day
Day of Week	✅ Yes	Change the day of the week
Notifications	✅ Yes	Toggle notifications
Enabled	✅ Yes	Toggle the schedule

What Happens After Editing

When you edit a schedule:

• The next_run_at time is recalculated based on the new settings.
• The change takes effect immediately.
• The next run will happen at the newly calculated time.

Deleting a Schedule

Steps

1. Go to Task Scheduler → Trigger Chain Schedules tab.
2. Find the schedule you want to delete.
3. Click the delete icon (trash) in the Actions column.
4. A confirmation dialog appears.
5. Click Delete to confirm.

What Happens When You Delete a Schedule

Aspect	Behavior
Schedule record	Permanently deleted from the database
Chain configuration	NOT affected — the trigger chain itself is not deleted
Past run history	NOT affected — past runs are preserved
Future runs	No more scheduled runs will occur
Manual runs	Still possible — you can still run the chain manually

Warning: Deleting a schedule is permanent. If you just want to temporarily pause a schedule, disable it instead of deleting it.

The Cron Job: How Schedules Are Processed

Behind the scenes, RTILA X runs an internal cron job called runDueTriggerChainSchedules that processes due schedules every minute.

How the Cron Job Works

1. Runs every minute. The cron job executes once per minute (* * * * *).
2. Finds due schedules. It queries the database for all trigger chain schedules where:
   • next_run_at is less than or equal to the current time
   • enabled is true
3. For each due schedule, it: a. Verifies the trigger chain exists and has status active. b. Checks if the chain already has a pending or running job (to prevent duplicates). c. Creates a new trigger chain run record with triggered_by: "scheduler". d. Creates a queue record with type trigger_chain_run. e. Updates the schedule’s last_run_at to the current time. f. Recalculates next_run_at based on the schedule type. g. Sends a notification if notifications are enabled.

Next Run Time Calculation

When the cron job recalculates next_run_at, it uses the following logic:

Schedule Type	Calculation
Every X Minutes	Current time + X minutes
Every X Hours	Current time + X hours
Daily	Next occurrence of the specified time. If today’s time has passed, schedules for tomorrow.
Weekly	Next occurrence of the specified day and time. If this week’s time has passed, schedules for next week.

Duplicate Prevention

The cron job prevents duplicate runs by checking for existing pending or running jobs:

1. Before creating a new run, it queries the queue for any pending or running jobs for the same trigger chain.
2. If a pending or running job exists, the scheduled run is skipped.
3. A log message is recorded: “Trigger chain [ID] already has a pending/running job. Skipping schedule.”

This prevents the same chain from being queued multiple times if the cron job runs while a previous run is still in progress.

Notification Behavior

When a scheduled run starts and notifications are enabled:

Notification	Title	Message	Type
Run started	“Trigger Chain Schedule Started”	“Trigger chain ‘[Chain Name]’ has started.”	info

When the run completes:

Run Status	Notification Title	Message	Type
completed	“Trigger Chain”	“Trigger chain ‘[Chain Name]’ completed successfully.”	success
failed	“Trigger Chain”	“Trigger chain ‘[Chain Name]’ failed.”	error

Important Notes

Note	Description
Computer must be on	Scheduled runs only execute when your computer is running RTILA X. If your computer is off or sleeping, the scheduled run is missed.
Missed runs are skipped	If a scheduled run is missed (computer was off), it is NOT retroactively executed when the computer turns back on.
Chain must be active	Only trigger chains with status “active” will be scheduled. Draft or paused chains are skipped.
One schedule per chain	Each trigger chain can have only one schedule. Creating a new schedule for a chain replaces the existing one.
Timezone	Schedule times use your computer’s local timezone.
Interval minimum	The minimum interval is 1 minute. You cannot schedule runs more frequently than once per minute.

Tips and Best Practices

Tip	Why It Matters
Start with a longer interval	Test with a longer interval (e.g., every 30 minutes) before shortening it.
Use daily schedules for reports	Daily schedules are ideal for generating and sending daily reports.
Use weekly schedules for batch processing	Weekly schedules work well for processing accumulated data.
Enable notifications	Notifications let you know when scheduled runs start and complete without checking manually.
Disable instead of deleting	If you need to temporarily stop a schedule, disable it instead of deleting.
Monitor the Last Run Status	Check the Last Run Status column regularly to catch failures early.
Use descriptive chain names	Name your chains clearly so you can identify them in the scheduler table.
Test manually first	Run the chain manually before scheduling it to verify it works correctly.
Avoid very short intervals	Very short intervals (every 1–2 minutes) can put load on your system. Use them only when necessary.
Check your computer’s sleep settings	If your computer goes to sleep, scheduled runs will be missed. Adjust your power settings if needed.