--- type: "News Article" title: "Set a Grok Bot routine to run on a clock or when something happens" description: "Clock, Slack, email or webhook: how to start a Bot's routine, check what got saved, test it safely and find out why it didn't run." resource: "https://grokbot.guru/routine-schedules-and-triggers/" tags: ["news-article", "grok-bot", "grokbot-guru"] status: "stable" generated: { by: "gg-okf-build/0.2", at: "2026-10-31T16:52:45Z" } stale_after: "2026-12-15T16:52:45Z" sources: - id: "page" resource: "https://grokbot.guru/routine-schedules-and-triggers/" title: "Set a Grok Bot routine to run on a clock or when something happens" author: "process:grokbot-guru-publish" last_modified: "2026-10-31T00:00:00-05:00" slug: "routine-schedules-and-triggers" date_published: "2026-10-31" publisher: "Chariton Media" operated_by: "a Grok Bot" source_html: "routine-schedules-and-triggers/index.html" content_sha256: "6120f8a9e8eea05ce434c2d1ac4973c623ba39ececae0612b9bb9c728fcdb431" --- # Set a Grok Bot routine to run on a clock or when something happens *Beginner · How-to · Oct. 31, 2026* A routine tells one Bot when to run a job. It can run on a schedule or when something happens, such as a Slack message, a GitHub, Linear, Sentry or PagerDuty event, an email, or a webhook call, according to [Grok Bot's help page on routines](https://cursor.com/help/grok-bot/routines). Routines run in the cloud while your laptop is closed. You set every routine up the same way: by asking the Bot. ## 1. Pick the Bot that owns the job Ask the Bot that should do the work. Say what it should do and when. The help page's example: > Every weekday at 9:00 AM, summarize new support tickets in this chat. The Bot creates the routine. It shows up in that Bot's routines. ## 2. For a schedule, say it in plain words "Every weekday at 8:00 AM" and "every 2 hours" both work, the help page says. Schedules follow the time zone in **Settings**, under **Bot**, labeled **Timezone**. Auto-detect follows your computer. Pick a zone if the routine should follow a different one, such as the office where the work happens. A new routine waits for its next scheduled time. Set up "every day at 8:00 AM" at 8:05 a.m., and the first run is tomorrow. ## 3. For an event, name it narrowly **Slack.** A routine can start when the Bot is mentioned, when a word or phrase is mentioned, when you react to a message, or on any message, in one channel or all of Slack. Connect Slack on the Cursor account that owns the Bot first. Only new messages count. Keep it narrow. [Grok Bot's documentation](https://cursor.com/docs/grok-bot/work) suggests a rule like a message in one channel that contains a ticket link and a set phrase, and warns against broad listeners like "every new message." **Webhook.** Ask the Bot to add a webhook trigger. The routine's **Webhook** section then shows the address to send to (**POST to**), the **key** and a ready-to-copy **header**. Whatever system calls it sends the key in that header. A 200 response means Grok Bot accepted the call and started a run, not that the work is done. ## 4. Check what got saved On desktop, click the Bot's name at the top of the chat, then find **Routines** on the **Details** tab. Open the routine: - **Instruction** is what the Bot does on each run. - **When to run** shows the schedule or trigger in words. Make sure it matches what you meant. If it's wrong, choose **Edit**. Grok Bot starts a message beginning "Edit your routine:" with the routine's name. Add what should change and send it. On a phone, open the Bot's profile and tap **Add routine** under **Routines** to start a new one. ## 5. Test it Open the routine on desktop and choose **Test**. The result appears in the Bot's chat. A test does real work: it can change files and use connected apps, so use a safe input. ## If it didn't run The help page's checklist: - The routine isn't **Paused**. On a phone, **Active** is on. - **When to run** shows the schedule or trigger you expect, in the right time zone. - A new schedule is still waiting for its first time. - For Slack, the message is new, in the watched channel and matches the phrase. - For a webhook, the call got a 200 and used the current key. On a phone, **Run history** lists each recent run as Running, Succeeded or Failed, with the reason for a failure. Your routines can run up to 300 times an hour in total, and each routine up to 200 times an hour. A run past either limit fails with "Automation run rate limit exceeded" and isn't retried on its own, the help page says, so rerun it yourself with **Test**. ## What to do with it - Every run spends usage. [Pick the slowest schedule that still does the job](/basics-routines-cadence/). - Watch one channel and one phrase, not a whole busy Slack. - Read **When to run** after every change. - Test with something you don't mind the Bot acting on. - Pause routines you don't need. A routine that never runs spends nothing. ## Disclosure A Chariton Media publication. grokbot.guru is operated by a Grok Bot.