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# Scheduling

> Configure when automations run, with minute, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly frequencies, start and end dates, and multi-dataset ordering.

Scheduling determines when your automations execute automatically—the timing, frequency, and duration that control your automated workflows. Set it up once and Mammoth handles the execution reliably without manual intervention.

**Can I schedule every hour?** No self-serve plan offers a 1-hour interval. The shortest interval on the Pro plan is every 3 hours. Team runs daily or less often, Starter runs weekly or less often, and Free has no scheduled runs. See [Shortest interval by plan](#shortest-interval-by-plan).

## Scheduling vs triggers

**Scheduling** controls the *timing* of automated execution:

- Every 3 hours
- Weekly on Mondays at 9:00 AM
- Monthly on the 1st

**Triggers** control *what initiates* execution: a schedule, a manual **Run now**, or a file upload. See [Triggers](https://docs.mammoth.io/learn/automations/triggers) for every trigger type and which automation types use each one.

---

## Where to configure scheduling

Scheduling is configured inside the automation creation or edit form:

- **Dataset Refresh**—In the **Set Schedule** step, choose **On schedule** (you can still run it manually at any time) or **Manual only**. Click **More options** to expand the start and end settings.
- **File Collection**—Runs on a schedule or manually, with the same frequency options as Dataset Refresh.
- **Messaging**—In the **Set trigger** step, set the schedule. Messaging always runs on a schedule.

![Dataset Refresh form with two datasets refreshed in parallel, scheduled every 1 week on Friday](https://docs.mammoth.io/api/v1/images/20260422_180738_Datarefresh.jpg)

![Messaging schedule set to repeat weekly on Wednesday, with the Start and End schedule options expanded](https://docs.mammoth.io/api/v1/images/20260422_180827_Scheduling-Messaging1.jpg)

## Frequency options

Set how often the automation runs by choosing a frequency unit (Year, Month, Week, Day, Hour, or Minute), then the number to **Repeat every**.

### Available intervals

| Unit | Available values |
| --- | --- |
| **Minute** | 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 (not available for Messaging) |
| **Hour** | 1 through 23 (3 through 23 on plans whose shortest interval is hourly) |
| **Day** | 1 through 6 |
| **Week** | 1 through 3 |
| **Month** | The day of the month, 1st through 31st |
| **Year** | 1 through 5 |

### Shortest interval by plan

Your plan sets the finest unit available. The scheduler hides finer units. When the finest unit is Hour, the interval must be 3 hours or more.

| Plan | Finest unit | Shortest interval |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free | None | Scheduled runs are not available. Run automations manually. |
| Starter | Week | Every 1 week |
| Team | Day | Every 1 day |
| Pro | Hour | Every 3 hours |

Enterprise and older plans are set by contract, so ask your account team for the finest unit. Minute is available only on a plan whose finest unit is Minute, and only for Dataset Refresh and File Collection, not Messaging. Limits for every plan are on [Limits and quotas](https://docs.mammoth.io/learn/limits-and-quotas#schedules).

### Weekly schedules

When **Week** is selected as the unit, a weekday picker appears. Select one or more days of the week on which the automation should run.

**Example:** Weekly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 9:00 AM.

---

## Schedule options (start and end)

Click **More options** to configure when the schedule begins and ends.

### Start

| Option | Behavior |
| --- | --- |
| **now** | The automation starts immediately after creation, then runs on its configured interval |
| **on a date** | Choose a specific date and time for the first run |

### End

| Option | Behavior |
| --- | --- |
| **never** | The automation runs indefinitely |
| **on a date** | Choose an end date after which no further runs occur |

If left at defaults (**now** / **never**), the automation starts immediately and runs without an end date.

---

## Common scheduling patterns

### Daily operations dashboard

**Need:** Operations team needs production metrics every morning.

**Config:** Dataset Refresh, Daily every 1 day at 6:00 AM. Pipeline runs automatically after data lands.

### Weekly executive reporting

**Need:** Leadership receives portfolio performance every Monday morning.

**Config:** Messaging, Weekly on Monday. Attach the executive summary Dataset View. Delivers to inbox before the Monday meeting.

### Month-end financial close

**Need:** Finance team needs fresh data on the 1st of each month.

**Config:** Dataset Refresh, Monthly on the 1st. Set the start time early enough that data is ready before the finance team begins work.

## Scheduling best practices

**Stagger concurrent automations:**

- Avoid: all refreshes at 6:00 AM (system contention)
- Prefer: stagger at 5:30, 6:00, and 6:30 AM

**Sequence dependent processes:**

If Pipeline B depends on Dataset Refresh A, schedule B at least 15 minutes after A's typical completion time:

```plaintext
5:00 AM — Dataset Refresh
5:15 AM — Pipeline execution
6:00 AM — Messaging delivery
```

**Run non-urgent automations off-hours** to avoid impacting interactive users during business hours.

**Name automations with timing context:**

- Prefer: `Daily Sales Report - 6am` or `Weekly Executive Summary - Mon 8am`
- Avoid: `Dataset Refresh 1`

## Monitoring scheduled executions

The automation's detail panel shows its schedule and recent activity:

- **Next run**—when the next execution is scheduled
- **Last run**—when the most recent execution happened
- **Ends**—end date, or "Never"

The status shows whether the automation is active, suspended, or has an error. The Activity Log records changes made to automations, such as edits.

## Multi-dataset priority

When a Dataset Refresh automation includes multiple datasets, choose how they run: **In parallel** refreshes all datasets at once, and **In a sequence** refreshes them one after another in the numbered order. Drag datasets to reorder them.

**Example—financial reporting sequence:**

1. Transaction data—refreshes first
2. Customer master—depends on transactions
3. Product hierarchy—reference data
4. GL mappings—accounting integration

Running in a sequence keeps dependent datasets in the right order.

## Troubleshooting

### Automation doesn't run at the expected time

**Cause:** The automation is suspended, or the data source's Live Connection is no longer authenticated.

**Fix:**

- Confirm the automation status is **Active** (not Suspended)
- Check the automation's status and its **Last run** time
- Verify the data source's Live Connection is authenticated

### Automation run times vary

**Cause:** Multiple heavy automations are competing for resources.

**Fix:** Stagger their schedules.

### Automation fails after a schedule change

**Cause:** Schedule changes take effect from the next scheduled run, so the next run uses the new configuration.

**Fix:** Use **Run now** to test the new configuration immediately.

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Source: https://docs.mammoth.io/learn/automations/scheduling.md · Updated: 2026-10-03