---
title: "Run a function on a schedule - Workflow Functions"
description: "Run a function automatically on a cron schedule - every few minutes, hourly, or daily - without a Shopify Flow trigger."
canonical: "https://docs.workflow-functions.app/scheduled-functions"
---

# Run a function on a schedule

A function can run automatically on a schedule, without a Shopify Flow trigger - handy for periodic exports, syncs, clean-ups, or health checks. Combine it with **Generate with AI** to build, say, "every 5 minutes, export new orders to my endpoint".

## Turn it on

1. Open the function and go to the **Settings** tab.
2. Switch on **Run on a schedule**.
3. Pick a **preset** (every 5 minutes, hourly, daily at 09:00, weekdays, and so on) or choose **Custom cron expression** and write your own.
4. Save. From then on, the function runs on that schedule.

> [!NOTE]
> **Times are UTC**
> Schedules run in **UTC**. "Daily at 09:00" means 09:00 UTC. Convert from your local time when you pick an hour.

## Custom cron expressions

A custom schedule is a standard 5-field crontab: `minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week`.

| Example | Runs |
| --- | --- |
| `*/5 * * * *` | Every 5 minutes |
| `0 * * * *` | Every hour, on the hour |
| `0 9 * * *` | Every day at 09:00 UTC |
| `0 9 * * 1-5` | Weekdays at 09:00 UTC |
| `30 2 1 * *` | 02:30 UTC on the 1st of each month |

The editor shows how many runs a schedule works out to over 30 days, and warns you if that is more than your plan allows.

> [!WARNING]
> **Scheduled runs count toward your plan**
> Each scheduled run counts against your monthly run quota, the same as a Flow run. A `*/5 * * * *` schedule is about 8,640 runs per 30 days - well above the Free and Starter plans. If you exceed your quota, scheduled runs pause until the rolling window frees up (or you upgrade). Test runs and API runs never count.

## What the function receives

A scheduled run calls your function with an empty `input` (`{}`) - there is no Flow action supplying data. Use `ctx.shopify.graphql(...)` to read what you need, `ctx.fetch(...)` for outbound HTTP, and `secrets.NAME` for credentials, exactly as in a Flow run. Scheduled runs appear in [Run history and troubleshooting](https://docs.workflow-functions.app/run-history-and-troubleshooting.md) with the trigger **Scheduled**.