/automate

Manage scheduled automations for recurring tasks like changelog generation, dependency audits, and tech debt scans. Automations run during user sessions without requiring a daemon.

Quick Start

Copy/agileflow:automate ACTION=list
# Show all configured automations
 
/agileflow:automate ACTION=presets
# See available automation templates
 
/agileflow:automate ACTION=add ID=weekly-changelog PRESET=true
# Add a preset automation
 
/agileflow:automate ACTION=run ID=weekly-changelog
# Run an automation immediately

Overview

AgileFlow's automation system enables recurring tasks without requiring a daemon process. Automations run during user sessions, triggered by the SessionStart hook.

Key Features:

• No daemon required - Runs when you start a session
• Simple scheduling - Daily, weekly, monthly, or custom intervals
• Loop detection - Prevents runaway automation chains
• Timeout protection - Kills stuck processes
• Retry logic - Automatic retries with exponential backoff

Usage

List Automations

Copy/agileflow:automate ACTION=list

Shows all configured automations with their schedules, enabled status, and when they last ran.

View Presets

Copy/agileflow:automate ACTION=presets

Shows available preset automations that can be installed quickly.

Add Automation

Copy/agileflow:automate ACTION=add ID=my-backup

Creates a new automation using an interactive wizard. You'll be asked for:

• Name and description
• Command or script to run
• Schedule type (daily, weekly, monthly, interval, on_session)
• Timeout duration
• Retry count

Install Preset

Copy/agileflow:automate ACTION=add ID=weekly-changelog PRESET=true

Install a predefined automation template.

Edit Automation

Copy/agileflow:automate ACTION=edit ID=weekly-changelog

Modify an existing automation's settings.

Remove Automation

Copy/agileflow:automate ACTION=remove ID=weekly-changelog

Delete an automation.

Run Automation Manually

Copy/agileflow:automate ACTION=run ID=weekly-changelog

Run an automation immediately without waiting for its schedule.

Run All Due

Copy/agileflow:automate ACTION=run-due

Run all automations that are due based on their schedules.

Schedule Types

Preset Automations

Available presets that can be installed:

Install a Preset

Copy/agileflow:automate ACTION=add ID=weekly-changelog PRESET=true
# Creates automation configured to generate changelog every Sunday

Examples

Install and run the weekly changelog preset

Copy# Install the preset
/agileflow:automate ACTION=add ID=weekly-changelog PRESET=true
 
# Run it immediately to test
/agileflow:automate ACTION=run ID=weekly-changelog
 
# Check your CHANGELOG.md was updated

Create a custom daily backup automation

Copy/agileflow:automate ACTION=add ID=daily-backup
 
# Interactive wizard asks:
# → Name: "Daily Database Backup"
# → Command: "./scripts/backup-db.sh"
# → Schedule: "daily"
# → Timeout: "10" (minutes)
# → Retry count: "2"
 
# Automation is now configured to run every day

Run all due automations

Copy/agileflow:automate ACTION=run-due
 
# Runs weekly-changelog (due Sunday)
# Runs daily-ci-summary (due today)
# Shows results for each

Edit automation settings

Copy/agileflow:automate ACTION=edit ID=weekly-changelog
 
# Interactive editor shows current settings
# Select which to modify
# Update and save

Configuration File

Automations are stored in docs/09-agents/automation-schedule.json:

Copy{
  "schema_version": "1.0.0",
  "automations": {
    "weekly-changelog": {
      "name": "Weekly Changelog Generation",
      "description": "Generate changelog from commits every Sunday",
      "command": "/agileflow:changelog ACTION=generate",
      "schedule": {
        "type": "weekly",
        "day": "sunday"
      },
      "timeout": 300000,
      "enabled": true
    }
  },
  "run_history": [
    {
      "automation_id": "weekly-changelog",
      "at": "2026-01-26T10:00:00Z",
      "success": true,
      "duration_ms": 6200,
      "output": "CHANGELOG.md updated with 15 commits"
    }
  ]
}

Safety Features

Loop Detection

Prevents runaway automation chains by detecting if an automation runs more than 3 times in 5 minutes. When detected, a warning is logged and the automation is paused.

Timeout Protection

Each automation has a configurable timeout (default: 5 minutes). If the process exceeds the timeout, it receives SIGTERM, then SIGKILL after 5 seconds.

Retry Logic

Failed automations are retried automatically with exponential backoff:

• 1st retry: 5 seconds
• 2nd retry: 10 seconds
• 3rd retry: 20 seconds

All attempts are recorded in run history.

Parameters

Troubleshooting

Automation isn't running

1. Check if it's enabled: /agileflow:automate ACTION=list
2. Check if schedule is due: Look at "Next run" time
3. Make sure you're starting Claude Code sessions (automations run at SessionStart)

Automation keeps timing out

Increase the timeout:

Copy/agileflow:automate ACTION=edit ID=slow-task
# Set timeout to 10 minutes instead of 5

Want to see what happened

Check the run history in docs/09-agents/automation-schedule.json under run_history.

Need to stop an automation temporarily

Disable it without removing:

Copy/agileflow:automate ACTION=edit ID=weekly-changelog
# Set enabled: false

When to Use

Good For

• Recurring tasks that should happen automatically (weekly changelogs, daily reports)
• Maintenance jobs that don't need human review (dependency audits)
• Building up state over time (changelog entries, metrics)

Not For

• One-time manual work (use /babysit instead)
• Tasks requiring human decision-making
• Anything that mutates user code (use commands instead)

Advanced: Custom Automation Commands

You can create automations that run any AgileFlow command:

Copy/agileflow:automate ACTION=add ID=weekly-review
 
# Command: /agileflow:review ACTION=weekly
# Schedule: Weekly (Sunday)
# Timeout: 10 minutes

The command runs in a shell with full access to your AgileFlow scripts.

Related Commands

• /changelog - Generate changelogs
• /debt - Tech debt scanning
• /ci - CI/CD operations
• /configure - Configure hooks and features
• /session - Manage agent sessions