Automation Skill
This skill provides 3 tools for creating and managing scheduled automations:
check_automations- List all or inspect a specific automationcreate_automation- Create a new scheduled automationmanage_automation- Update, pause, resume, trigger, or delete automations
You should call these tools directly instead of using ExecuteCode tool.
Before Creating an Automation
Always confirm with the user before calling create_automation. Automations run autonomously on a schedule, so getting the details right matters. If the user's request is unclear or underspecified, ask to clarify:
- Schedule — "Every morning" is ambiguous. Confirm the exact time and days (e.g. "Weekdays at 9 AM in your timezone?").
- Thread strategy — If the task involves ongoing analysis or follow-ups, ask whether they want results in a fresh thread each time, a single persistent thread, or the current conversation.
- Instruction — The instruction runs without further user input. If the user gives a vague prompt like "check my portfolio", refine it: what tickers? what metrics? what format?
- Delivery — If the user hasn't mentioned how they want to receive results, ask if they want delivery (e.g. Slack) or just in-app.
Summarize what you're about to create and get a "yes" before calling the tool.
Tool 1: check_automations
List all automations or inspect a specific one with execution history.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
automation_id | str | No | Automation ID to inspect. Omit to list all. |
Examples
python# List all automations check_automations() # Inspect a specific automation (includes last 5 executions) check_automations(automation_id="abc-123")
Tool 2: create_automation
Create a new scheduled automation.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
name | str | Yes | Short name for the automation |
instruction | str | Yes | The prompt the agent will execute on each run |
schedule | str | Yes | Cron expression or ISO datetime (see below) |
description | str | No | Optional description |
thread | str | No | "new" (default), "persistent", or "current" (see Thread Strategy) |
delivery | str | No | Comma-separated delivery methods (e.g. "slack") |
Thread Strategy
| Mode | Behavior |
|---|---|
"new" | Fresh thread each run — no conversation history carried over (default) |
"persistent" | Single dedicated thread — all runs share conversation history |
"current" | Pins to the current conversation thread — automation runs continue here |
Schedule Format
- Recurring (cron): Standard 5-field cron expression
0 9 * * 1-5— weekdays at 9 AM0 */4 * * *— every 4 hours30 8 1 * *— 1st of each month at 8:30 AM
- One-time (ISO datetime):
2026-03-01T10:00:00— single execution at that time
Examples
python# Daily market briefing on weekdays at 9 AM create_automation( name="Morning Market Brief", instruction="Summarize overnight market moves, top gainers/losers, and any news for my watchlist.", schedule="0 9 * * 1-5", ) # One-time earnings reminder create_automation( name="AAPL Earnings Reminder", instruction="Analyze AAPL ahead of earnings: recent price action, analyst expectations, key metrics to watch.", schedule="2026-04-30T08:00:00", description="Pre-earnings analysis for Apple Q2 2026", ) # Daily report delivered to Slack create_automation( name="Morning Market Brief", instruction="Summarize overnight market moves for my watchlist.", schedule="0 9 * * 1-5", delivery="slack", ) # Automation with persistent thread (all runs share history) create_automation( name="Weekly Portfolio Review", instruction="Review my portfolio performance and update the analysis.", schedule="0 9 * * 1", thread="persistent", ) # Automation that continues in the current conversation create_automation( name="Hourly Price Check", instruction="Check AAPL, MSFT, GOOGL prices and alert if any moved >2%.", schedule="0 * * * *", thread="current", )
Price-Triggered Automations
In addition to cron/datetime schedules, automations can trigger when a stock price meets a specific condition. Set trigger_type="price" and provide a trigger_config dict instead of (or alongside) a schedule.
Condition Types
| Condition | Description |
|---|---|
price_above | Fires when price rises above the given value |
price_below | Fires when price drops below the given value |
pct_change_above | Fires when percentage change exceeds the given value |
pct_change_below | Fires when percentage change drops below the given (negative) value |
For percentage conditions, reference sets the baseline price:
| Reference | Description |
|---|---|
previous_close | Prior trading day's closing price (default) |
day_open | Current trading day's opening price |
Retrigger Modes
| Mode | Behavior |
|---|---|
one_shot | Trigger once, then mark completed (default) |
recurring | Re-arm after cooldown. Omit cooldown_seconds for once-per-trading-day default, or set cooldown_seconds (min 14400 = 4 hours) for custom interval. |
Examples
python# Alert when AAPL drops below $150 (one-shot) create_automation( name="AAPL Price Alert", instruction="AAPL has dropped below $150. Summarize recent news and analyst sentiment.", trigger_type="price", trigger_config={ "symbol": "AAPL", "conditions": [{"type": "price_below", "value": 150}], }, ) # Run analysis when TSLA moves up 5% from yesterday's close create_automation( name="TSLA Momentum Alert", instruction="TSLA is up 5% from yesterday's close. Analyze volume, technicals, and any catalysts.", trigger_type="price", trigger_config={ "symbol": "TSLA", "conditions": [ {"type": "pct_change_above", "value": 5, "reference": "previous_close"}, ], }, ) # Recurring alert with 4-hour cooldown create_automation( name="BTC Volatility Watch", instruction="BTC moved more than 3% from today's open. Summarize order flow and sentiment.", trigger_type="price", trigger_config={ "symbol": "BTC-USD", "conditions": [ {"type": "pct_change_above", "value": 3, "reference": "day_open"}, ], "retrigger": {"mode": "recurring", "cooldown_seconds": 14400}, }, )
Agent Guidelines for Price Triggers
- Confirm before creating. Always repeat the symbol, condition, threshold value, and retrigger mode back to the user and get explicit confirmation.
- Default to
one_shotretrigger mode unless the user asks for repeated alerts. For recurring, omit cooldown_seconds to default to once per trading day. - Use flash mode by default for price-triggered automations (lightweight, low-latency execution).
Tool 3: manage_automation
Manage an existing automation.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
automation_id | str | Yes | Automation ID to manage |
action | str | Yes | One of: update, pause, resume, trigger, delete |
name | str | No | New name (update only) |
description | str | No | New description (update only) |
instruction | str | No | New prompt (update only) |
schedule | str | No | New cron or ISO datetime (update only) |
thread | str | No | "new", "persistent", or "current" (update only) |
delivery | str | No | Comma-separated delivery methods (update only) |
remove_delivery | bool | No | Set to true to remove delivery config (update only) |
Action Reference
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
update | Change name, description, instruction, schedule, thread strategy, or delivery |
pause | Temporarily stop the automation from running |
resume | Re-enable a paused automation |
trigger | Run the automation immediately (outside normal schedule) |
delete | Permanently remove the automation |
Examples
python# Pause an automation manage_automation(automation_id="abc-123", action="pause") # Resume it manage_automation(automation_id="abc-123", action="resume") # Trigger an immediate run manage_automation(automation_id="abc-123", action="trigger") # Update the schedule to run every Monday at 8 AM manage_automation( automation_id="abc-123", action="update", schedule="0 8 * * 1", ) # Switch an automation to a persistent thread manage_automation(automation_id="abc-123", action="update", thread="persistent") # Remove delivery from an automation manage_automation(automation_id="abc-123", action="update", remove_delivery=True) # Delete an automation manage_automation(automation_id="abc-123", action="delete")

