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SDK Background Tasks and Scheduling

Build proactive agents that act without being asked - run workflows on a schedule and process long-running jobs in the background, so work gets done even when no user is online.

Most AI agents are reactive - they sit idle until a user types something. ChatBotKit's task system lets you schedule agent work, run long operations in the background, and build workflows that act on their own. Define tasks programmatically, set a schedule, assign a bot, and the platform handles execution. No polling loops, no cron servers, no custom infrastructure.

Whether you are building a daily standup summarizer, a self-learning agent, or a batch processor that works through documents while your team sleeps, background tasks turn your agents from passive responders into active participants.

Key Features

  • Schedule recurring agent tasks - Heartbeat-style execution on hourly, daily, weekly, or custom intervals.
  • Run long-running operations asynchronously - Kick off work that takes minutes or hours without blocking conversations.
  • Pause and resume tasks - Disable a task temporarily without losing its configuration.
  • Monitor task progress - Track execution history, check results, and debug failures through the SDK.
  • Build proactive agents - Agents that send messages, reports, or alerts on a schedule rather than waiting for input.
  • Process batch operations - Work through large datasets, document collections, or queue backlogs automatically.

Getting Started

Install the SDK and create a scheduled task:

npm install @chatbotkit/sdk

import { ChatBotKit } from '@chatbotkit/sdk'

const client = new ChatBotKit({
  secret: process.env.CHATBOTKIT_API_SECRET,
})

// Create a task that runs daily at 9am UTC
const task = await client.task.create({
  name: 'Daily Team Briefing',
  description: 'Summarize overnight activity and post to Slack',
  botId: '<bot-id>',
  schedule: '0 9 * * *',
  maxIterations: 50,
})

console.log(`Task created: ${task.id}`)

// Trigger a task manually (outside its schedule)
await client.task.trigger(task.id)

// List all running tasks
const tasks = await client.task.list({ status: 'running' })

Background tasks pair well with skillsets, MCP integration, and datasets to build fully autonomous agent workflows.

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