Triggers & Schedules

Triggers determine when and how a workflow runs — manually, on a schedule, or in response to events.

Every workflow needs something to kick it off. That something is a trigger. The simplest trigger is you clicking a button. But as your workflows mature, you will want workflows that run themselves — every Monday morning, every time a deal closes, or every four hours without anyone lifting a finger.

What It Does

• Starts runs — A trigger is the entry point for every workflow execution.
• Controls timing — Schedule triggers let you automate recurring workflows.
• Enables event-driven automation — Hook-based triggers react to things that happen in your workspace.

Trigger Types

Type	How it works	Example
Manual	You click "Run" to start the workflow	Ad-hoc report generation, one-off data pulls
Schedule	Runs automatically on a recurring cron schedule	"Every Monday at 8 AM," "First of every month"
Heartbeat	A preset interval (1m / 5m / 10m / 30m / 1h) — cron sugar for a fixed cadence	Inbox triage, news scans on a fast loop
Automated task	A recurring task built via Add Task → Build an automated task in Pulse, compiled to cron in your timezone	"Every morning, summarize my calendar"

Scheduling is honest about the real world

Pencel catches up missed fires on startup, guards against overlapping runs, and can pause a recurring task after repeated failures. It also detects silent (overdue) scheduled jobs, not just failed ones, so a job that quietly stopped firing still surfaces. Sub-minute intervals are not supported.

Manual Triggers

Manual triggers are the default. You open a workflow and click Run. This is the best choice for:

• Workflows you are still testing
• Tasks that happen irregularly
• Workflows where timing depends on external factors you cannot predict

TIP

Even scheduled workflows can be run manually at any time. The schedule does not prevent ad-hoc runs.

Schedule Triggers

Schedule triggers use cron expressions to define when a workflow runs. You set the schedule, pick a timezone, and Pencel handles the rest.

Trigger Properties

Property	Description
Type	manual or schedule
Enabled	Whether the trigger is active
Schedule	Cron expression (schedule triggers only)
Timezone	Which timezone the schedule uses
Last Run	When this trigger last fired
Next Run	When this trigger will fire next

Common Cron Schedules

Cron expressions can look intimidating, but most schedules use one of these patterns:

Cron Expression	What it means
0 8 * * 1	Every Monday at 8:00 AM
0 9 * * *	Every day at 9:00 AM
0 0 1 * *	First of every month at midnight
0 */4 * * *	Every 4 hours
0 8 * * 1-5	Every weekday at 8:00 AM
30 17 * * 5	Every Friday at 5:30 PM
0 8,12,17 * * *	Three times a day (8 AM, noon, 5 PM)

INFO

Pencel shows a human-readable preview of your cron expression (e.g., "Every Monday at 8:00 AM") so you do not need to memorize the syntax.

Cron Expression Format

A cron expression has five fields:

┌───────────── minute (0 - 59)
│ ┌───────────── hour (0 - 23)
│ │ ┌───────────── day of month (1 - 31)
│ │ │ ┌───────────── month (1 - 12)
│ │ │ │ ┌───────────── day of week (0 - 7, where 0 and 7 are Sunday)
│ │ │ │ │
* * * * *

Symbol	Meaning
*	Every value
*/n	Every n-th value
n	Specific value
n,m	Multiple specific values
n-m	Range of values

Event-Driven Triggers: Hooks

Beyond manual and schedule triggers, Pencel supports hooks — event-driven triggers that fire when something happens in your workspace. Hooks are a more advanced feature, but they unlock powerful automation patterns.

Hook Type	What fires it
Manual	Triggered by an explicit API or UI action
Schedule	Fires on a cron schedule (similar to schedule triggers, but more flexible)
Event	Fires when a specific event occurs in the workspace (e.g., a run completes, an artifact is created)
Chat	Fires when a specific pattern appears in a chat session
Post-execution	Fires after a workflow run finishes (success or failure)

WARNING

Hooks run in the background. If a hook triggers a workflow that has approval steps, the run will pause and wait for you — just like a manual run would. Make sure you have notifications set up so you do not miss pending approvals.

Choosing the Right Trigger

Scenario	Recommended trigger
You are building and testing a new workflow	Manual
Recurring report (daily, weekly, monthly)	Schedule
React to something that happened (deal closed, ticket opened)	Event hook
Post-processing after another workflow finishes	Post-execution hook
Ad-hoc, unpredictable timing	Manual

What's Next

• Workflows — Create the workflow your trigger will start
• Steps — Add structure to your workflow with step types
• Guidelines — Set the rules your agent follows during triggered runs