Claude Code Scheduled Tasks

Anthropic just added scheduled tasks to Claude Code. This is a game-changer for anyone who wants to automate repetitive work without building complex pipelines.

You write a prompt once, pick how often you want it to run, and Claude does it for you automatically — every day, every week, or every hour.

And the best part? It's included in the $20 Pro plan. No extra cost.

What You'll Need

• Claude Pro subscription — $20/month, includes scheduled tasks
• Claude Code — The CLI for Claude (terminal-based)
• 5 minutes — That's all it takes to set up your first automation

Already using Claude Code? You're ready to go. If not, check out our guide to running Claude Code from your phone.

How It Works

Setting up a scheduled task is simple:

1Type /schedule

Inside any Claude Code task, type the schedule command:

/schedule

2Tell Claude what to do

Describe the task in plain English. For example:

Summarize my unread emails and send me a brief every morning at 8am

3Pick your cadence

Choose how often the task should run:

• Every hour — For time-sensitive monitoring
• Every day — For morning briefs and daily digests
• Every week — For weekly reports and summaries

And done. Claude handles the rest.

What It Connects To

Scheduled tasks aren't just about running prompts — they integrate with your actual tools:

This means your morning briefs, weekly reports, and research updates can all happen without you lifting a finger.

The Self-Improving Part

Here's what makes this different from basic automation:

This means:

• First run might be rough — Claude is figuring out your setup
• Second run is faster — It knows where things are
• Third run and beyond — Optimized for your specific workflow

You don't need to tweak prompts manually. Claude handles the optimization.

Real Use Cases

Here are practical ways to use scheduled tasks:

Pricing

Let's talk about what this costs:

You're not paying per execution or per automation. It's all bundled into your existing subscription.

Getting Started

Ready to set up your first scheduled task? Here's the quick version:

# In Claude Code, run:
/schedule

# Then describe your task:
"Every morning at 8am, summarize my unread Gmail messages"

# Pick cadence: daily

# Done. Claude handles the rest.

Start with one simple task. See how it works. Then add more as you get comfortable.

Key Takeaways

• Scheduled tasks let you write a prompt once and have Claude run it automatically
• Supports hourly, daily, and weekly cadences
• Integrates with Gmail, Slack, Google Drive, and GitHub
• Claude rewrites its own instructions and improves over time
• Included in the $20 Pro plan — no extra cost