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Scheduled Workflow

A Scheduled Workflow is executed based on a specific schedule defined by a cron expression. A cron expression represents a set of times when the workflow will run.

Cron is a time-based job scheduler that automates tasks such as backing up data, cleaning temporary files, or running scheduled jobs. It is commonly used for system maintenance and recurring automation.

Learn how to create an Amazon EventBridge rule for schedules

Creating a Scheduled Workflow​

Follow these steps to set up a scheduled workflow:

Step 1: Navigate to Runtime Environment​

  • Click Create New Workflow and navigate to the Runtime Environment section.

Step 2: Configure Execution Schedules​

In the Execution Schedules section, configure the following:

  • Cron Description: Briefly describe the cron job's purpose. Examples include:

    • "Daily backup of databases"
    • "Weekly server maintenance"
    • "Nightly data synchronization"

  • Cron Value: Define the schedule using a cron expression. The expression consists of six fields: Minute, Hour, Day of Month, Month, Day of Week, Year.

    Examples of Cron Expressions:

  - Every weekday at 5:30 PM: 30 17 ? * 1-5 *
  - Every Sunday at 12:00 PM: 0 12 ? * 1 *
  - Every 15 minutes: */15 * * * * *
  - First day of every month at 6:00 AM: 0 6 1 * ? *
  - Every Monday at 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM: 0 9,15 * * 2 *
tip

For more information on generating a Cron expression for your execution schedule, refer to this documentation:
Creating Cron Expressions for Scheduled Events

  1. Enable/Disable: Toggle to run a specific scheduled workflow.

  2. Terraform Action: A Terraform action to be taken when running the workflow. Choose "create" to create new resources or "destroy" to remove existing resources.

  3. IAC Variables: Enter required input variables for your configuration. For example, if you are creating an AWS EC2 instance, you may need to specify the instance type, subnet ID, and security group ID as variables.


Fig: A Scheduled workflow for creating an AWS virtual machine everyday at midnight


note

Additionally, Workflow Policies can be used to enforce UserSchedules. For example, StackGuardian provides Workflow Policies to ensure that only authorized users can modify or delete a UserSchedule. This helps prevent unauthorized access to critical workflows and ensures compliance with security policies. For the no-code and code-based schedule policy examples, please refer the screenshots below.

Fig: A Schedule enforcement with NoCode