Scheduled Claude Code tasks: /loop, cloud routines, and automations

Start with the job: does it need your uncommitted files, or should it run while your laptop is closed? A five-minute CI watch and a weekly repository audit need different schedulers. Checked October 6, 2026. Replicas publishes this guide and is one of the options below.

In an existing Claude Code session, enter: /loop 5m check the CI status of PR 123 and report any new failures; do not push changes or merge it.

Use an explicit interval and prompt so the watch has a clear scope. Ask Claude to list scheduled tasks and cancel the job when you finish.

• Local loops need Claude Code running. They do not execute while the computer sleeps.
• Recurring session tasks expire seven days after creation. With claude --resume or claude --continue, tasks created with CronCreate are restored unless expired or a one-shot task’s scheduled time has passed. Self-paced loops must be restarted.
• Busy sessions do not replay every missed interval. Use a CI event trigger when you need to respond to each failure.

Choose this path if you want hosted Claude Code scheduling with your Claude account. Routines are a research preview on Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise. Runs use your account’s plan limits; the minimum recurring interval is one hour. Check the linked documentation for current availability and limits.

Start with one repository and a weekly schedule. Replace the paths and test command to match your repository.

Task prompt

Inspect commits merged to the default branch in the last seven days. Compare changes to public APIs and configuration with docs/ and README.md. Fix only documentation you can prove is stale from the code. Do not modify runtime code, add features, publish, or merge. Before creating a branch, look for an open PR for the same correction and skip duplicates. If no correction is needed, return a short no-change report. Otherwise run the repository documentation checks, open one draft PR, and include the source commit, changed paths, check results, and anything you could not verify.

Environment setup

Provide repository access, the documentation build tools, and the exact check command in the repository instructions. Keep the initial job limited to committed code and docs so it does not depend on another session’s memory.

Acceptance check

Run it manually against a known documentation mismatch. Confirm the diff fixes that mismatch, the checks actually ran, and the output links the source commit. Run it again to check that the existing draft PR prevents another duplicate.

• A successful scheduler fire is not evidence that the documentation check succeeded. Read the run output and checks.
• Review the first few runs before expanding the prompt to more repositories or enabling writes to other systems.

Use Replicas when your team wants the job in its configured agent environments and a workspace it can inspect and steer. Compare the platform plan and agent usage costs before choosing; a hosted schedule alone may already meet your needs.

Separate the trigger, environment, and task outcome. A run can start on time but fail because dependencies, repository access, or a required connector are missing.

Nothing starts

Check that the schedule is enabled and its timezone matches your expectation. For local work, confirm the machine and required app or session are still running.

Run starts but cannot check docs

Read the command output. Confirm setup installed the documentation tools and that credentials and network access cover the repository and any required services.

Repeated PRs or broad changes

Narrow the prompt to one repository and one kind of correction. Require an existing-PR check and a no-change result when there is no proven mismatch.

Usage grows without useful changes

Reduce the frequency, pause the schedule while debugging, and inspect completed runs. Review platform and inference usage separately where they are billed separately.

• Claude Code in the cloud

  Compare hosted and self-managed Claude Code environments.

• Claude Code session scheduling

  Official /loop behavior and limitations.

• Claude Code routines

  Official cloud routine setup, triggers, and usage limits.

• Replicas automations

  Environment, agent, schedule, and workspace controls.

• Replicas pricing

  Check platform costs before choosing a hosted workflow.