Cron is what allows you to automatically trigger your workflow steps at specific intervals or scheduled times. When Tines 3B adds a cron field to your config.toml file, it ensures your processes run consistently without manual intervention.
Understanding cron syntax
Cron expressions follow a standard five-field format, which defines exactly when your workflow should run:
minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week
You can use the following syntax options to customize your schedule:
Any value: Use
*to represent every possible value for that field.Specific numbers: Enter a digit (e.g.,
9) to target a specific time.Intervals: Use
*/nto run every n units (e.g.,*/15runs every 15 minutes).Ranges: Use
a-bto define a range (e.g.,9-17runs between 9 AM and 5 PM).Lists: Use
a,b,cto specify exact times (e.g.,0,30runs at the top and bottom of the hour).
Common scheduling examples
Expression | Description |
| Every hour |
| Every 15 minutes |
| Weekdays at 9:00 AM |
| On the 1st of every month at midnight |
| Daily at noon |
| Weekends at 2:30 PM |
Important rules for scheduling
Please keep the following behaviors in mind when configuring your workflows:
Published version only: Automated scheduling only triggers on the published (main) branch of your workflow.
Draft branches: Draft branches will not execute automatically. To test a cron-scheduled workflow on a draft branch, you must trigger it manually.
Workflow status: Schedules only fire if the workflow is active and is not paused or deleted.
Identifying scheduled workflows
In the user interface, you can easily identify workflows with active schedules by looking for the clock icon.
Hovering your mouse over this icon will display a human-readable description of the schedule (e.g., "Every hour"). If a workflow has multiple schedules, they will be listed together in the tooltip