manage-automations

name	manage-automations
description	Create, list, pause, resume, and delete scheduled automations that run tool sequences on a cron schedule. Use when the user wants recurring tasks, background monitoring, or scheduled reports.
metadata	{"author":"Troy Taylor","version":"1.0","pattern":"create-and-update"}

Manage Automations

When to Activate

• "Every [schedule], do [task]"
• "Check [URL] daily and tell me if it changes"
• "Run this report every Monday"
• "List my automations", "pause [automation]", "delete [automation]"
• "What did my automations find?"

Workflow

Create

1. Parse schedule into cron: "every Monday at 9am" → 0 9 * * 1
2. Define action sequence (which tools to call and with what args)
3. create_automation(name, schedule, actions: [{tool, args}])
4. Confirm: "Created automation '[name]' running [schedule]. Next run: [time]."

List

1. list_automations(user_id)
2. Present as table with name, schedule, enabled status, last run

Review Results

1. get_automation_history(automation_id)
2. Present last run results and any pending items

Pause/Resume/Delete

1. pause_automation(automation_id) / resume_automation(automation_id) / delete_automation(automation_id)

Common Cron Patterns

Schedule	Cron
Every Monday 9am	0 9 * * 1
Every weekday 8am	0 8 * * 1-5
Every hour	0 * * * *
Daily at midnight	0 0 * * *
Every 15 minutes	*/15 * * * *

Automation Results + M365

When an automation produces results and the user wants to act on them:

1. Show the results from get_automation_history
2. Ask "Want me to email this?" or "Save to OneDrive?"
3. Use cross-m365-workflow pattern (requires Work IQ)

Missing Tools

Automations that only use browser/code/memory work without any Work IQ. For automations that need M365 actions, use the deferred execution pattern:

• Automation runs browser/code portion on schedule
• Results saved to memory
• Next time user opens Cowork: "Your automation '[name]' found results. Want me to act on them?"