# Schedules, Runs and Results > Set when a workflow runs, start it yourself, read each run's result, approve what it wants to send, and fix a run that went wrong. --- # Schedules, Runs and Results This page covers what happens after a [workflow](/docs/workflows) exists: when it runs, where its results go, and what to do when a run needs you. ## When It Runs In the editor, under **When it runs**, choose one: | Choice | What it means | | ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Only when I start it** | It runs when you press **Run now** | | **Once, at a time** | It runs one time, at the date and time you pick | | **On a schedule** | It repeats: **Hourly**, **Daily**, **Weekly**, **Monthly**, or **Custom** | A workflow with a single step that Ditto thinks through has a fourth choice, **In a chat, as a conversation**. That makes it a [guide](/docs/workflows-in-chat#guides). - Times are in the timezone of the device you set the schedule on. The editor shows which ("Times are in America/Denver"). - **Custom** takes a cron expression, for schedules the other choices cannot express. A schedule can run at most every 10 minutes. - If you said when in your description ("every Friday at 4pm"), the schedule is already filled in. You can also change the schedule by asking in chat: "run my weekly report on Mondays instead". Scheduled runs happen on Ditto's servers. Your device does not need to be on. ## Run It Now Press **Run now** on the workflow's row, on its page, or on its card in chat. The run page opens and shows each step as it finishes. From a chat, type **@**, pick the workflow and send: it starts, and its card in the conversation follows the run. See [Workflows in Chat](/docs/workflows-in-chat). If you only ask in words ("run my morning brief"), Ditto shows a card with **Run now** for you to press. ## Read a Run ![A finished run: how long it took, the result at the top, and each step with what it returned](/img/docs/screens/workflows-run.svg) A run's page has, from the top: 1. **How it went.** "Completed in 30s", "Failed after 3s", "Waiting for your approval", "Waiting for your answer", or "Finished, but found nothing", and whether you or the schedule started it. 2. **Result.** What the workflow produced, with any files it saved. Under it Ditto may list **Suggested next steps**: things worth doing about the result, each with **Do it**. 3. **What it did.** The outline, with what each step came back with. 4. **Steps.** Every step and how long it took. Press **Show data** on a step to see exactly what it returned. 5. **Show details.** Cost and a timeline. ## Run History Open a workflow from the list to see its page: its schedule, when it next runs, and every past run with its cost. Press a run to open it. A run that finishes cleanly does not send you a notification. If you want to be told, make the workflow's last step send you an alert or an email. ## Pause, Resume, Delete - **Pause** stops scheduled runs, and cancels a run that is in progress. Nothing is deleted, and **Run now** still works. A workflow that runs only when you start it has nothing to pause. - **Resume** turns the schedule back on. - **Delete** asks you to confirm. Deleting a scheduled workflow from the Workflows page removes its schedule and keeps the workflow, which then runs only when you start it; delete it again to remove it. **Delete** on a workflow's card in chat removes the workflow, its schedule and its past runs in one go. Neither can be undone. Asking in chat ("pause my morning brief") shows a card to confirm; nothing changes until you press it. ## Approvals Ditto does not send, post, change or delete things in the outside world unless you said it may. What counts is listed under [what Ditto will and will not do on its own](/docs/workflows#what-ditto-will-and-will-not-do-on-its-own). **When you save a workflow**, Ditto tells you what it will do without asking: - On the card in chat: a ticked box, **Let it run these without asking each time**, with the list under it. Untick it and every run will wait for you at those steps. - In the editor: a line, **Runs on its own without asking**, naming each thing, and **Creating the workflow allows this**. To make a step ask instead, open **More options** and press **Ask first** on it. If the card says a run **will pause for your OK before it** does something, that action is not covered by the box. **When a run is waiting**: - The Workflows page shows a banner, **A workflow is waiting for your approval**, and the workflow's row says **Needs you**. - You also get a notification, **Workflow needs your approval**, and one reminder a day later if it is still waiting. - Open the run. Under **Waiting for your approval**, press **Apply** to let it happen this once, **Always allow** to let this step do it from now on, or **Reject**. A waiting run does not continue by itself. If nobody answers within 2 days, the approval expires and the run fails. A run can also wait for [your answer to a question](/docs/workflow-questions). That waits 2 days too, then goes on with what you answered last time if there is one. A [try](/docs/editing-workflows#try-it-before-it-runs-for-real) never sends or posts anything. ## When a Run Goes Wrong A failed run says which step stopped, in plain words. **Show error details** has the technical reason. Some failures offer **Run again**. To fix it: - Ask in chat: "my weekly report failed on its last run, fix it". Ditto is given the error from that run and changes the step that broke. The change has an **Undo**. - Or open the workflow, press **Edit**, and [change it](/docs/editing-workflows) yourself. What the Workflows page tells you: | What you see | What it means | What to do | | ------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Finished, but found nothing** | Every step ran, and there was nothing to report | Press **Fix it** on the run, or check the search or the time window is not too narrow | | **First run check** on a run | A workflow saved from a chat produced less than the chat did | Open the run and press **Fix it** | | **Needs you** | A run is waiting for your approval | Open the run and choose **Apply**, **Always allow** or **Reject** | | **Waiting for your answer** | A run stopped to [ask you something](/docs/workflow-questions) | Answer on the run's page, in the chat, or in the notification | | **failing** | Recent runs failed | Open the last run to see why | | **paused · failing** | Ditto paused it after 5 failed runs in a row | Fix the problem, then **Resume** | | **can't run · balance empty** | Your account has no credits, so runs are skipped | [Add credits](/docs/subscription) | | **Ditto can't build this yet** | The job needs an app that is not connected | [Connect the app](/docs/connected-apps), then draft again | ## Limits | | | | --------------------- | ----------------------------------------- | | Workflows per account | 100 | | Steps in one workflow | 20 | | Shortest schedule | Every 10 minutes | | One step | 3 minutes by default before it is stopped | | Waiting for approval | 2 days, then the run fails | | Waiting for an answer | 2 days, then your last answer or a stop | | Automatic pause | After 5 failed runs in a row | A scheduled workflow's page lists its own limits under **More settings**. ## Questions **Where do results go?** Always to the run's page. A workflow can also send you an alert in Ditto, email you, post to an app you connected, or save a file or a memory. That is its last step, and you choose it when you describe the workflow. It cannot text or call a phone. **Does a workflow use my memories?** Yes, when a step searches them. That is how a meal plan knows what you like. **Can a workflow start when something happens, like a new email?** No. It starts when you start it, or on its schedule. A workflow that runs every 10 minutes and checks for new mail is the nearest thing. **Which model does it use?** Auto, unless you pick one for a step in the graph editor. See [AI Models in Ditto](/docs/model-switching). **Can I ask Ditto about my workflows?** Yes. Ask "what workflows do I have?", "did my morning brief run?" or "what does my weekly report do?". **What does a run need?** Credits in your account. Trying a workflow is free. ## Next - [Workflows overview](/docs/workflows) - [Creating a Workflow](/docs/creating-workflows) - [Changing and Trying a Workflow](/docs/editing-workflows) - [Workflows That Ask You](/docs/workflow-questions) - [Workflows in Chat, and Guides](/docs/workflows-in-chat)