Automation & Scheduling

Schedule Tasks

Automate repetitive tasks with cron-based scheduling. Generate reports, scrape websites, and run AI prompts on your schedule—even when the browser is closed.

Scheduled Tasks

12+

Cron Presets

24/7

Background Service

Multi

Notification Channels

System Design

Architecture Overview

The background service runs independently of the browser, ensuring tasks execute even when you're not actively using the application.

Background Service (comet-ai-service)

Runs as system process • ~30-50MB RAM • System tray only

Task Scheduler

Cron expressions

Task Queue

Priority + retries

Notifications

Desktop + Mobile

Model Selector

Ollama / Cloud AI

Storage Manager

~/Documents/Comet-AI/

Background Service

Runs as a system service (LaunchDaemon on macOS, Windows Service) independent of the browser

  • Operates even when browser is closed
  • Runs under SYSTEM user context on Windows
  • Minimal resource footprint (~30-50MB RAM)
  • System tray icon only, no visible window

Task Scheduler

Manages task timing using cron expressions with catch-up logic for missed tasks

  • Supports cron, one-time, and interval triggers
  • Automatically catches up on missed tasks after sleep/wake
  • Timezone-aware scheduling
  • Stagger option to prevent simultaneous execution

Task Queue

Priority-based queue with retry logic and concurrent execution limits

  • High/Normal/Low priority levels
  • Automatic retry with exponential backoff
  • Max 2 concurrent tasks by default
  • Persistent queue survives restarts

Model Selector

Choose which AI model handles scheduled tasks independently of chat

  • Per-task model selection
  • Ollama for local processing
  • Cloud models for heavy workloads
  • Model picker popup before scheduling

Notification System

Multi-channel notifications for task completion and failures

  • Desktop system notifications
  • Mobile push notifications via WiFi Sync
  • Email notifications (SMTP config required)
  • Configurable per-task notification preferences

Storage Manager

Handles file output, task state persistence, and sync for mobile access

  • Default location: ~/Documents/Comet-AI/
  • User can customize output directory
  • PDFs synced to mobile for viewing
  • Task history and logs preserved

PDF Generation

Generate reports, summaries, and documents automatically

Example Use Cases

  • Daily sales report at 8 AM
  • Weekly team digest every Monday
  • Monthly financial statements on the 1st

Workflow

1AI receives scheduled prompt
2Fetches latest data or content
3Formats into PDF template
4Saves to designated folder
5Sends notification with file

Web Scraping

Extract data from websites on a schedule

Example Use Cases

  • Stock price updates every 15 minutes
  • News aggregation every hour
  • Price monitoring for products

Workflow

1Scheduler triggers the task
2Browser navigates to target URLs
3AI extracts relevant content via OCR
4Data is processed and stored
5Alert sent if threshold exceeded

AI Prompt Execution

Run AI prompts on a schedule without user input

Example Use Cases

  • Morning briefing every day at 7 AM
  • System health check every hour
  • Weekly summary generation

Workflow

1Cron triggers prompt execution
2AI loads context and memory
3Prompt is processed
4Results stored or shared
5Optional notification sent

Multi-Step Workflow

Chain multiple actions together

Example Use Cases

  • Research → Summarize → PDF → Email
  • Scrape → Analyze → Alert → Log
  • Backup → Verify → Notify

Workflow

1Workflow triggered by schedule
2First step executes
3Output feeds into next step
4Error handling at each stage
5Final output delivered

Reliability

Sleep/Wake Recovery

When System Sleeps

The background service detects when your computer enters sleep mode and preserves the state of all scheduled tasks.

  • Current task states are saved to disk
  • Last check time is recorded
  • All cron jobs are paused
  • Pending queue is persisted

When System Wakes

After wake, the service automatically catches up on any tasks that were missed during the sleep period.

  • Waits 2 seconds for system stability
  • Checks all tasks for missed executions
  • Runs catch-up for tasks due during sleep
  • Reschedules all active cron jobs

Mobile Companion

Sync to Mobile

Mobile App Features

View and manage tasks from your phone

Task List

View all scheduled tasks with status

Run Now

Trigger any task immediately

Pause/Resume

Toggle tasks without deleting

Notifications

Receive push alerts on completion

View PDFs

Open generated PDFs in-app

Share Files

Send outputs via share sheet

PDF Sync

Generated files available on mobile

When the background service generates a PDF, it's automatically synced to your mobile device via the WiFi Sync connection. Open PDFs directly in the app or share them to other apps.

PDFs stored in ~/Documents/Comet-AI/
Synced over local WiFi connection
Available offline after first sync
Built-in PDF viewer with zoom/scroll

Ready to Automate?

Start scheduling tasks by telling the AI what you want to automate. It handles the cron expressions and setup automatically.

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