Automations

Automations let you schedule prompts to run automatically at recurring times. Each run creates a chat and executes through the normal chat completion pipeline, so model defaults, tools, filters, and other pipeline behavior still apply.

Automations can be enabled or disabled globally by an administrator via the ENABLE_AUTOMATIONS environment variable or the Admin Panel > Settings > General toggle. When disabled, the automation worker stops processing, API endpoints return 403, and the sidebar entry is hidden.

What You Can Automate

• Run a prompt on a schedule (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, custom RRULE)
• Trigger a run manually with Run Now
• Pause/resume automations without deleting them
• Review execution history for each automation
• Optionally attach a terminal server and working directory for runs that need terminal context

Access Control

Automations are permission-gated for non-admin users.

• Admins: always have access to Automations
• Users: require the Features > Automations permission

See RBAC Permissions for the permission category.

To grant user access:

1. Open Admin Panel > Users > Groups
2. Edit Default permissions or a specific group
3. Enable Features > Automations

You can also set this default via USER_PERMISSIONS_FEATURES_AUTOMATIONS.

Quick Access

Hold Shift in the User Menu to reveal pin/unpin buttons. Pinning Automations adds a shortcut icon to the sidebar rail for one-click access.

Admin Limits

Administrators can set global limits on automation usage for non-admin users. These are configured via environment variables. Admins bypass all limits.

Setting	Effect	Env Variable
Max Automation Count	Caps the number of automations a user can create	AUTOMATION_MAX_COUNT
Min Recurrence Interval	Rejects schedules that run more frequently than the configured interval (in seconds)	AUTOMATION_MIN_INTERVAL

• Max count is checked only on creation. Existing automations are not deleted if the limit is lowered.
• Min interval is checked on both creation and update. One-time automations (COUNT=1) are exempt.
• Both default to empty (no limit). Set to a positive integer to enforce.

Create an Automation

1. Open User Menu > Automations
2. Click New Automation
3. Set:
   • Title
   • Instructions (prompt)
   • Model
   • Schedule
4. (Optional) Select a Terminal server and Working Directory
5. Click Create

After creation, Open WebUI opens the dedicated automation editor page at /automations/{id}.

Edit and Manage

From the Automations list, click an automation to open its dedicated editor page.

On the editor page, you can:

• Update title, instructions, model, schedule, and terminal settings
• Save changes
• Run immediately with Run now
• Pause/resume automation state
• Delete the automation
• Review execution logs and open run chats

Execution logs are paginated with infinite scroll in the editor, so large run histories load incrementally.

Scheduling

Supported schedule modes:

• Once
• Hourly
• Daily
• Weekly
• Monthly
• Custom (RRULE)

Custom schedules accept standard RRULE syntax. Invalid or exhausted rules are rejected.

Notes

• Automations run in the background worker loop on a polling interval.
• Every run records a status (success or error) and optional error details.
• Deleting an automation also removes its run history.

Managing Automations from Chat

When using Native Function Calling Mode with a capable model, automations can also be created and managed directly from within a chat conversation using builtin tools. This allows you to say things like "Schedule a daily summary report at 9am" and the model will create the automation for you.

Available tools

Tool	What it does
create_automation	Create a new scheduled automation with a name, prompt, and RRULE schedule. Uses the current chat model.
update_automation	Update an existing automation's name, prompt, schedule, or model
list_automations	List your scheduled automations with status, schedule, and next runs
toggle_automation	Pause or resume a scheduled automation
delete_automation	Delete a scheduled automation and all its run history

Requirements

For chat-based automation tools to be available:

1. Native Function Calling must be enabled for the model
2. Builtin Tools capability must be enabled for the model
3. Automations category must be enabled in the model's Builtin Tools settings (enabled by default)
4. ENABLE_AUTOMATIONS must be enabled globally (enabled by default)
5. The user must have the Features > Automations permission (admins always pass)

See the Builtin Tools reference for full details on all builtin tools.