sencho/docs/features/scheduled-operations.mdx

---
title: Scheduled Operations
description: Automate recurring Docker operations like stack restarts, fleet snapshots, and system prunes on a cron schedule.
---

<Note>
  Scheduled Operations requires a Sencho **Admiral** license.
  Skipper and Community Edition do not include this feature.
</Note>

## Overview

Scheduled Operations lets you automate recurring maintenance tasks across your infrastructure. Define a cron schedule, choose an action, and Sencho handles the rest - including a full execution history log so you always know what ran and when.

<Frame>
  <img src="/images/scheduled-operations/overview.png" alt="Scheduled operations list view showing tasks with status, schedule, and actions" />
</Frame>

## Supported Actions

| Action | Target | Description |
|--------|--------|-------------|
| **Restart Stack** | A specific stack (or specific services within it) on a specific node | Restarts all or selected containers in the stack via the Docker Engine API |
| **Fleet Snapshot** | All nodes | Creates a fleet-wide backup of all compose files and `.env` files |
| **System Prune** | A specific node (or the default node) | Prunes selected resources, optionally filtered by Docker label |

## Creating a Scheduled Task

1. Navigate to the **Schedules** tab in the top navigation bar (visible to Admiral admins).
2. Click **New Schedule**.
3. Fill in the form:
   - **Name** - a descriptive label (e.g. "Nightly staging restart").
   - **Action** - choose Restart Stack, Fleet Snapshot, or System Prune.
   - **Stack / Node** - if you chose Restart Stack, select the target stack and the node it runs on.
   - **Services** - optionally select specific services within the stack to restart. Leave empty to restart all services.
   - **Prune Targets** - if you chose System Prune, select which resources to prune (containers, images, networks, volumes). All are selected by default.
   - **Label Filter** - optionally filter prune operations to resources matching a specific Docker label (e.g. `com.docker.compose.project=mystack`).
   - **Cron Expression** - standard 5-field cron format. A human-readable preview appears below the input.
   - **Enabled** - toggle the task on or off.
4. Click **Create**.

<Frame>
  <img src="/images/scheduled-operations/create-dialog.png" alt="Create scheduled task dialog with action, cron expression, and prune target options" />
</Frame>

## Granular Targeting

### Per-Service Restart

When creating a Restart Stack schedule, you can target individual services instead of restarting the entire stack. After selecting a stack, Sencho reads the compose file and displays checkboxes for each defined service. Select the services you want to restart, or leave all unchecked to restart every service in the stack.

<Frame>
  <img src="/images/scheduled-operations/per-service-restart.png" alt="Service checkboxes displayed when creating a per-service restart schedule" />
</Frame>

### Prune Label Filter

When creating a System Prune schedule, you can scope the prune to resources matching a specific Docker label. This lets you target resources from a particular stack or project without affecting unrelated containers, images, or volumes.

Enter a label in `key=value` format (e.g. `com.docker.compose.project=mystack`). Leave the field empty to prune all unused resources of the selected types.

<Frame>
  <img src="/images/scheduled-operations/prune-label-filter.png" alt="Label filter input for scoping prune operations to specific Docker labels" />
</Frame>

## Cron Expression Reference

Sencho uses standard 5-field cron expressions:

```
┌───────────── minute (0–59)
│ ┌─────────── hour (0–23)
│ │ ┌───────── day of month (1–31)
│ │ │ ┌─────── month (1–12)
│ │ │ │ ┌───── day of week (0–7, 0 and 7 = Sunday)
│ │ │ │ │
* * * * *
```

### Common Examples

| Expression | Description |
|-----------|-------------|
| `0 3 * * *` | Every day at 3:00 AM |
| `0 */6 * * *` | Every 6 hours |
| `0 3 * * 0` | Every Sunday at 3:00 AM |
| `30 2 1 * *` | 1st of every month at 2:30 AM |
| `0 0 * * 1-5` | Midnight on weekdays |

## Managing Tasks

- **Enable/Disable** - Use the toggle switch in the task list to pause or resume a schedule without deleting it.
- **Run Now** - Click the play icon to immediately execute a task. This works even on disabled tasks, allowing you to test a schedule before enabling it. Manual runs are labeled "Manual" in the execution history.
- **Edit** - Click the pencil icon to update the task name, schedule, or target.
- **Delete** - Click the trash icon to permanently remove the task and all its execution history.

## Failure Notifications

When a scheduled task fails, Sencho automatically dispatches an **error-level alert** through your configured notification channels (Discord, Slack, or custom webhooks). The alert includes the task name, action type, and error message so you can diagnose the issue immediately.

When a previously failing task succeeds again, Sencho sends an **info-level recovery notification** to confirm the issue is resolved. This recovery-only approach avoids notification noise from tasks that succeed on every run.

To configure notification channels, go to **Settings > Notifications**.

<Frame>
  <img src="/images/scheduled-operations/failure-notification.png" alt="Failure notification alert shown in the notification bell popover" />
</Frame>

## Execution History

Click the history icon on any task to view its execution log. Each entry shows:

- **Timestamp** - when the task ran.
- **Source** - whether the run was triggered by the scheduler or manually via Run Now.
- **Status** - success or failure.
- **Duration** - how long the execution took.
- **Details** - output message or error description.

Execution history is retained for 30 days.

### Exporting History

Click the download icon in the top-right corner of the execution history panel to export the full history as a CSV file. The export includes all runs within the 30-day retention window — not just the current page.

<Frame>
  <img src="/images/scheduled-operations/run-history.png" alt="Execution history showing run source, status, duration, and details with export button" />
</Frame>

## How It Works

The Scheduler Service runs in the background and checks for due tasks every 60 seconds. When a task's next run time has passed:

1. The scheduler verifies your Admiral license is active.
2. It executes the configured action using the same internal services that power the UI buttons (restart, snapshot, prune).
3. Results are logged to the execution history.
4. On failure, an alert is dispatched via your configured notification channels.
5. The next run time is recalculated from the cron expression.

If a task is still running from a previous execution, the scheduler skips it to prevent overlap.