How Automation Works

Some things happen while you sleep. Here’s how the system runs tasks automatically, without you lifting a finger.

The Big Picture

Analogy: Think of a night security team at an office building. While everyone is home, the team does their rounds — checking doors, reviewing camera footage, preparing the morning report. When you arrive in the morning, everything is already handled. Your agent system works the same way.

  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │  You're Awake (Manual)                               │
  │                                                      │
  │  You type a command ──▶ System responds immediately  │
  │                                                      │
  └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │  You're Asleep (Automated)                           │
  │                                                      │
  │  Scheduled    Data is     Reports are   Context is   │
  │  tasks run ──▶ collected ──▶ generated ──▶ refreshed │
  │                                                      │
  └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                             │
                             ▼
  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │  Next Morning                                        │
  │                                                      │
  │  Results waiting for you                             │
  │                                                      │
  └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Three Ways Things Get Triggered

Most workflows start as manual (you type a command). Once you’ve refined them and trust the output, you can schedule them to run automatically.

The Nightly Pipeline

The most important automated process is the nightly pipeline — a sequence of tasks that runs every night (typically around 3 AM) while you’re asleep.

  ┌──────────────────────────────────┐
  │  Stage 1                         │
  │  Organize new files              │
  └──────────────────────────────────┘
                  │
                  ▼
  ┌──────────────────────────────────┐
  │  Stage 2                         │
  │  Process today's conversations   │
  └──────────────────────────────────┘
                  │
                  ▼
  ┌──────────────────────────────────┐
  │  Stage 3                         │
  │  Collect messages & emails       │
  └──────────────────────────────────┘
                  │
                  ▼
  ┌──────────────────────────────────┐
  │  Stage 4                         │
  │  Check calendar for tomorrow     │
  └──────────────────────────────────┘
                  │
                  ▼
  ┌──────────────────────────────────┐
  │  Stage 5                         │
  │  Update your profile             │
  └──────────────────────────────────┘
                  │
                  ▼
  ┌──────────────────────────────────┐
  │  Stage 6                         │
  │  Generate morning brief          │
  └──────────────────────────────────┘
                  │
                  ▼
  ┌──────────────────────────────────┐
  │  Stage 7                         │
  │  Save everything & sync          │
  └──────────────────────────────────┘

What Happens Each Night

What You Get in the Morning

When you sit down at your desk, the nightly pipeline has already:

• Organized any files you downloaded yesterday
• Processed your conversations for insights
• Collected overnight messages and emails
• Identified tomorrow’s calendar conflicts
• Updated your profile with new information
• Generated a morning brief summarizing everything

All you need to do is review the brief and make decisions.

Setting Up Automation

Level 1: Manual Commands (Start Here)

Just use commands when you want to. No scheduling needed. This is where everyone starts.

claude

Give me my morning brief.

Level 2: Saved Commands

Save your favorite workflows as reusable commands:

Save this as /morning-brief so I can run it with one command.

Now you just type /morning-brief each morning.

Level 3: Scheduled Automation

For workflows you want to run automatically, the system uses scheduled tasks. These run at set times without any input from you.

How it works: Your Mac has a built-in scheduling system. You tell it “run this task at 6:30 AM every day” and it just does it. The technical details are handled during setup.

To set up a scheduled workflow, ask Claude:

I want my morning brief to be generated automatically at 6:30 AM every morning. Set up the automation for me.

Claude will create the necessary configuration and verify it works.

Level 4: Event-Triggered Automation

For advanced setups, workflows can trigger based on events:

• New email with specific keywords arrives -> classify and notify
• Calendar conflict detected -> suggest resolution
• Deadline approaching -> send reminder

These require additional tools and configuration. See the Developer Guide: Scheduling for technical details.

What Gets Automated vs. What Stays Manual

Important principle: Automation should handle the routine so you can focus on the strategic. The system drafts, collects, and prepares. You decide, approve, and direct.

How to Know It’s Working

Signs your automation is running correctly:

• Your morning brief is fresh and waiting when you start your day
• New files get organized automatically
• Your profile reflects recent changes
• Calendar conflicts are flagged before they cause problems
• You’re spending less time on routine tasks each week

Signs something might need attention:

• Morning brief is missing or stale (pipeline didn’t run)
• The system references outdated information (context not refreshing)
• You’re doing things manually that should be automated (time to add automation)

Learn More

• Daily Operations — How automation fits into your daily workflow
• Weekly Reviews — Automated weekly metrics and reports
• Scheduling (Technical) — How to configure automation under the hood