> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tai42.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Schedule a tool

> Run a tool on a schedule.

Run a tool on a schedule through the backend.

The runtime runs a registered tool periodically. A schedule names the tool, its arguments, and a cadence; a worker backend fires it on time. Scheduled runs execute on the backend, so a backend plugin must be configured for schedules to run.

## Configure a backend

A schedule runs on the worker backend, not in the request path. Register a backend plugin under `backend_module` in the manifest and start its worker runtime:

```yaml manifest.yml theme={null}
backend_module: myapp.backend
```

```bash theme={null}
tai backend --manifest-path manifest.yml
```

See [Backends](/concepts/backends) for where tools run, and [Author a backend](/guides/authors/backend) to build an engine.

## Add a schedule

Name the tool to run and its cadence. Pass tool arguments with `--tool-kw key=value` (or `--tool-kwargs` as JSON), and the cadence with `--schedule-kw` (or `--schedule-kwargs`).

```bash theme={null}
tai schedules add report --schedule-kw cron='0 9 * * *'
```

## Inspect and remove

<Steps>
  <Step title="List schedules">
    ```bash theme={null}
    tai schedules list
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check the server clock">
    Cron cadences resolve against the server's clock — read it to reason about when a job fires.

    ```bash theme={null}
    tai schedules server-datetime
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Delete a schedule">
    ```bash theme={null}
    tai schedules delete report
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  A schedule and a webhook binding are the two ways a tool fires without a client call. To fire a tool on an inbound event instead, see [Fire a tool from a webhook](/guides/fire-a-tool-from-a-webhook).
</Note>

## See also

* [Backends](/concepts/backends) — background, scheduled, and distributed execution.
* [Triggers and webhooks](/concepts/triggers-and-webhooks) — the other way a tool fires on its own.
* [CLI reference](/reference/cli) — the full `tai schedules` surface.