2.1 Scheduled Tasks in Depth

Info
⏱ Duration: ~35 min · 🎯 Goal: schedule a weekly Elektra KPI report and run it once on-demand, understanding what runs remotely and what runs locally.

Your division produces the same KPI report every Monday. Instead of building it by hand, today you delegate it to Cowork on a cadence: describe it once and it runs on its own. Scheduled tasks let you delegate recurring or on-demand work, and each runs as its own Cowork session with access to your connectors, skills, and plugins.

Step 1 — Open the task creator

Two equivalent entry points:

  • Type /schedule inside any Cowork task, or
  • Click “Scheduled” in the left sidebar → Scheduled tasks page → “New task” button (upper right).

Step 2 — Choose how to create it

Create with Claude (recommended to start): opens a task with a prompt asking Claude to create the scheduled task. Claude asks multiple-choice questions, shows you the name, frequency, and what it does, and you confirm with the “Schedule” button.

Set up manually: fill the “Create scheduled task” modal with these fields:

  1. Task name
  2. Prompt describing what it does
  3. Approval mode (Manual / Auto / Skip — see page 2.2)
  4. Frequency: hourly, daily, weekly, on weekdays, or manually (on-demand)
  5. Model (optional)
  6. Folder to work in (optional)
  7. Click “Save”

Step 3 — Understand remote vs. local

Tip
Scheduled tasks run remotely: they execute on cadence “even when your computer is asleep or the Claude Desktop app is closed.” They use your connectors and files saved to your Claude account.
Warning
Local-file exception: a task that requires files or apps on your computer only runs locally —it needs the Desktop awake and the app open. If you pick a local folder, the task stops running remotely.

Step 4 — Schedule your KPI report

Create the task (Create with Claude or manual) with this prompt:

Every Monday review datos/kpis-elektra.csv and generate a one-page report:
KPIs vs target, top 3 risks (red cells), and one recommendation per risk.
Save the result as reporte-kpis-semana.docx.
Frequency: weekly. Approval mode: Manual.
Warning
Heads-up —this is the “local-file exception” above in action: because this report reads a local CSV, the task will only run with your Desktop awake and the app open; it won’t fire remotely on Monday if your computer is asleep. To run it 100% remotely, upload the CSV to your Claude account or a connector.

Step 5 — Run on-demand and manage

From Scheduled (sidebar) you can: view past and upcoming runs, open the task to edit instructions or cadence, pause, resume, delete, and run on demand. Run it once on-demand now to see the first report without waiting for Monday.

Tip
Creating a scheduled task is a sensitive action: Auto mode will not auto-approve it (you’ll see this in 2.2). Cowork will ask you to confirm it explicitly.

✅ Checkpoint

There is a weekly scheduled task “Elektra KPI report” on your Scheduled page, with at least one on-demand run completed that produced reporte-kpis-semana.docx. You know how to edit, pause, and delete it.

Got it? — 2 questions

1. What happens to a scheduled task if your computer is off? If it’s remote, it keeps running on cadence even when the computer sleeps or the app is closed. The exception is a task tied to local files/apps: that one only runs locally, with the Desktop awake.

2. What frequencies are available? Hourly, daily, weekly, on weekdays, and manually (on-demand).

Workshop Claude Avanzado · Grupo Salinas · v1.0 · 2026