Scheduled Workflow Node

Scheduled Workflows let you trigger HTTP calls on a cron schedule. Instead of waiting for an external event, the system initiates outbound requests at defined intervals — perfect for polling APIs, running periodic health checks, or triggering time-based workflows.

Overview

A Scheduled Workflow node fires HTTP requests on a cron-based schedule. Each execution creates an event that flows through the pipeline exactly like an inbound webhook — meaning it can trigger Routers, Transforms, and Chains. The scheduler runs in a dedicated BullMQ queue (scheduled-workflows) and supports timezone-aware cron expressions.

On the canvas, Scheduled Workflow nodes appear as amber rectangles. Edges from a Scheduled Workflow to a Webhook use swEdge: true in edge data for visual differentiation.

Configuration

Create a Scheduled Workflow

curl -X POST /api/scheduled-workflows \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "workspaceId": "<your-workspace-id>",
    "name": "Daily Health Check",
    "cronExpression": "0 9 * * *",
    "url": "https://api.myapp.com/health",
    "method": "GET",
    "headers": {
      "X-Monitor-Source": "hostwebhook"
    },
    "isActive": true,
    "timezone": "America/New_York"
  }'

Response

{
  "_id": "6654b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1",
  "name": "Daily Health Check",
  "cronExpression": "0 9 * * *",
  "url": "https://api.myapp.com/health",
  "method": "GET",
  "headers": {
    "X-Monitor-Source": "hostwebhook"
  },
  "body": null,
  "isActive": true,
  "timezone": "America/New_York",
  "nextRunAt": "2025-05-02T13:00:00.000Z",
  "lastRunAt": null,
  "ownerId": "org_abc123",
  "createdAt": "2025-05-01T12:00:00.000Z",
  "updatedAt": "2025-05-01T12:00:00.000Z"
}

Update a Scheduled Workflow

curl -X PATCH /api/scheduled-workflows/6654b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "cronExpression": "*/30 * * * *",
    "body": {
      "check": "deep",
      "includeMetrics": true
    },
    "method": "POST"
  }'

Canvas Integration

On the visual canvas, the Scheduled Workflow node uses the node type scheduled-workflow and is rendered with an amber color scheme. It connects to Webhook nodes via edges marked with swEdge: true.

When a Scheduled Workflow is connected to a Webhook on the canvas, each scheduled execution creates an event on that webhook. The SW processor creates events directly through the EventPipelineService rather than making HTTP POST requests, avoiding unnecessary network overhead.

{
  "id": "swf-6654b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1",
  "type": "scheduled-workflow",
  "position": { "x": 50, "y": 100 },
  "data": {
    "label": "Daily Health Check",
    "swId": "6654b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1",
    "cronExpression": "0 9 * * *",
    "isActive": true
  }
}

{
  "id": "swf-6654b2c3-to-wh-6654a1b2",
  "source": "swf-6654b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1",
  "target": "webhook-6654a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0",
  "data": { "swEdge": true }
}

Payload Examples

Scheduled execution payload

The body you configure is sent as the request payload. If no body is set, the request is sent with an empty body (or no body for GET requests).

{
  "check": "deep",
  "includeMetrics": true,
  "triggeredAt": "2025-05-02T13:00:00.000Z",
  "source": "hostwebhook-scheduler"
}

Templates in the payload

Text values can carry templates, and they are resolved every time the schedule fires — and when you press Run now, so the output you see is the one that will go out:

{
  "message": "Good morning, it is {{$time}}",
  "day": "{{$date}}",
  "runId": "{{$uuid}}"
}

A schedule has no incoming data, so {{payload.x}} has nothing to read here; the clock variables, {{$uuid}} and functions are what you use.

Event created by SW execution

When connected to a webhook, the SW creates an event with metadata:

{
  "_id": "evt_7765c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2",
  "webhookId": "6654a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0",
  "payload": {
    "check": "deep",
    "includeMetrics": true
  },
  "source": "scheduled-workflow",
  "scheduledWorkflowId": "6654b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1",
  "status": "pending",
  "createdAt": "2025-05-02T13:00:00.000Z"
}

Use Cases

• Health monitoring — Ping your API every 5 minutes and use Alert nodes to notify you of failures.
• Data synchronization — Poll a third-party API hourly and forward results through your pipeline.
• Report generation — Trigger a nightly report at 2 AM in your local timezone.
• Cache warming — Pre-fetch data every 15 minutes to keep caches fresh.
• Scheduled notifications — Send daily digest emails by triggering your notification service on a cron schedule.

API Reference