Rule schedule — when rules run

Last updated: May 19, 2026

Rule schedule — when rules run

Rules support two schedule types: interval (every N minutes, min 15) and daily_at_time (extensions — once per day at HH:MM in workspace timezone, with day-parting). Underneath, a cron in apps/backend/src/server.ts fires every 15 minutes (with 2-minute offset) and selects rules where last_evaluated_at < 15 min ago. Sub-15-min cadence is not supported by design.

Who is this for

Anyone choosing how often a rule should evaluate. Reference for the builder's schedule picker.

The two schedule types

interval

Rule evaluates every N minutes. Field: interval_minutes.

  • Minimum: 15 (aligned to cron cadence)

  • Maximum: 1440 (24 hours)

Most common choice. Good for continuous monitoring rules (kill losers, scale winners, protect spend).

daily_at_time

Rule evaluates once per day at a specific time, plus day-parting filters. Requires DayPartingConfig:

  • days_of_week: array of 0-6 (Sun-Sat)

  • hours_of_day: array of 0-23

  • timezone: IANA timezone string

  • type: "day_parting"

Available as part of the Rules Engine extensions. Use case: end-of-day kill, start-of-week scale, time-of-day budget shifts.

Preset day-parting templates available:

  • work — Mon-Fri, 9-18

  • night — all days, 22-5

  • clear — disabled

The underlying cron

Independent of schedule type, a single cron handles all rules:

  1. Fires every 15 minutes with a 2-minute offset (i.e. at HH:02, HH:17, HH:32, HH:47)

  2. Queries automation_rule table for rules where:

    • status = active

    • last_evaluated_at is null OR more than 15 minutes ago (interval rules)

    • For daily_at_time rules: current time matches the schedule

  3. Updates last_evaluated_at = now() for each selected rule before enqueueing (prevents cascade duplicates if cron tick overlaps SQS processing)

  4. Enqueues to SYNC SQS queue (50 max in-flight, 15-min visibility timeout, 20 max attempts, 30s base backoff)

Why 15 min and not faster: protects against runaway rule loops + respects platform API rate limits + post-conversion data settles every 5-15 min.

interval_minutes = 15 vs 30 vs 60

A rule with interval_minutes: 15 evaluates at the next cron tick after 15 min from last_evaluated_at. Cron runs every 15 min, so cadence is exactly 15 min in steady state.

A rule with interval_minutes: 30 evaluates every 30 min (cron skips it on alternate ticks).

A rule with interval_minutes: 60: every hour.

Pick based on:

  • Fast metrics (spend, CTR, frequency) — 15 or 30 min

  • Slow metrics (postback ROAS / CPA) — 60+ min; data doesn't move faster anyway

  • Daily decisions — use daily_at_time instead

Workspace timezone

daily_at_time schedules + day-parting use the workspace timezone (see team-106 Workspace Defaults). Verify timezone is correct before saving — wrong timezone = rule fires at unexpected local time.

What you'll see

In the rule list /rules:

  • Column Next fire — when the rule will next evaluate (computed from last_evaluated_at + interval_minutes)

  • Column Last fired — last_evaluated_at value

In rule detail /rules/:id:

  • Schedule summary at top: "Every 30 minutes" or "Daily at 09:00 (Europe/Rome)"

  • Execution timeline showing actual fire times

Schedule + cooldown interaction

Schedule and cooldown are separate concerns:

  • Schedule = when the rule evaluates

  • Cooldown = how long after acting on an entity before re-acting on the same entity

A rule with interval_minutes: 15 and cooldown_minutes: 360 evaluates every 15 min, but won't re-pause the same adset within 6 hours of pausing it. Other entities can still be acted on at next 15-min evaluation.

See rul-108 protections.

Common mistakes

  • Setting interval_minutes: 5: rejected — min is 15

  • Wrong timezone on daily_at_time: rule fires at wrong wall-clock time. Verify workspace timezone first.

  • Expecting real-time reaction: cron is every 15 min minimum. For real-time alerts on critical issues, use Sentry / monitoring outside Wevion.

  • interval_minutes: 1440 with cooldown 720: rule evaluates once per day but cooldown allows multiple actions within the day — possibly confusing. Match cadence to intent.

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