Workflows - Jazz

Workflows are scheduled automation—tasks your agents run periodically without your direct involvement. Think email cleanup every hour, daily tech digests, weekly code audits, or morning weather briefings. You describe what should happen, when it should run, and how much autonomy the agent gets.

What is a workflow?

A workflow is a Markdown file containing:

Metadata (YAML frontmatter) - Name, schedule, agent, auto-approve settings
Prompt - What the agent should do

Example:

---
name: email-cleanup
description: Archive newsletters and organize inbox
schedule: "0 * * * *"  # Every hour
agent: my-assistant
autoApprove: low-risk
---

Check my unread emails. Archive any newsletters or promotional emails.
Flag anything that looks urgent or requires my attention.
Summarize what you found and what actions you took.

Source: README.md:149-166, workflow.ts:30-27

Creating workflows

Create a workflow file

Workflows can be global or project-local:

# Global (available everywhere)
~/.jazz/workflows/my-workflow/WORKFLOW.md

# Project-local (current directory only)
./workflows/my-workflow/WORKFLOW.md

Add frontmatter metadata

Define the workflow configuration:

---
name: daily-standup-prep
description: Prepare standup notes from git activity
schedule: "0 9 * * 1-5"  # 9 AM, Monday-Friday
agent: my-dev-agent
autoApprove: read-only
catchUpOnStartup: true
maxCatchUpAge: 86400  # 24 hours in seconds
---

Write the prompt

Describe what the agent should do:

Check my git activity from yesterday across all repos in ~/projects/.
Summarize what I worked on, what PRs I opened or reviewed,
and any blockers I mentioned in commit messages.
Format it as bullet points I can paste into Slack.

Test the workflow

Run manually before scheduling:

jazz workflow run daily-standup-prep

Verify the output meets your expectations.

Schedule the workflow

Enable periodic execution:

jazz workflow schedule daily-standup-prep

Jazz uses launchd on macOS and cron on Linux.

Workflow metadata

Required fields

Field	Type	Description
`name`	string	Unique identifier (lowercase, hyphens)
`schedule`	string	Cron expression for when to run

Optional fields

Field	Type	Default	Description
`description`	string	-	Human-readable description
`agent`	string	`"default"`	Which agent to use
`autoApprove`	string/boolean	`false`	Auto-approval policy
`maxIterations`	number	-	Max agent iterations
`catchUpOnStartup`	boolean	`false`	Run missed executions on startup
`maxCatchUpAge`	number	-	Max age (seconds) for catch-up
`skills`	string[]	-	Skills to load

Source: workflow.ts:26

Cron schedule format

Workflows use standard cron syntax:

┌───────────── minute (0-59)
│ ┌───────────── hour (0-23)
│ │ ┌───────────── day of month (1-31)
│ │ │ ┌───────────── month (1-12)
│ │ │ │ ┌───────────── day of week (0-6, Sunday=0)
│ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │
* * * * *

Common schedules

0 * * * *
Every hour at :00

Auto-approve policies

Control how much autonomy each workflow gets:

Policy	What it auto-approves
`false`	Nothing - always asks for confirmation
`"read-only"`	Reading files, searching, web requests
`"low-risk"`	+ archiving email, creating calendar events
`"high-risk"`	+ file changes, shell commands, git push
`true`	Everything (use with extreme caution)

Source: README.md:176-186, workflow.ts:311-314

Choosing the right policy

read-only for information gathering - research, monitoring, reporting

low-risk for organization tasks - email management, calendar updates

high-risk only for trusted workflows - deployment, git operations, file modifications

true (unrestricted) is dangerous - only use for fully tested, non-destructive workflows

Built-in workflows

Jazz ships with production-ready workflows:

Email cleanup

---
name: email-cleanup
schedule: "0 * * * *"  # Hourly
autoApprove: low-risk
---

Archive newsletters, organize promotions, flag important messages

Tech digest

---
name: tech-digest
schedule: "0 9 * * *"  # Daily at 9 AM
autoApprove: read-only
---

Scan AI/tech news sources and compile a personalized digest

Weather briefing

---
name: weather-briefing
schedule: "0 7 * * *"  # Daily at 7 AM
autoApprove: read-only
---

Weather forecast + outfit recommendations for your location

Market analysis

---
name: market-analysis
schedule: "0 9 * * 1-5"  # Weekdays at 9 AM
autoApprove: read-only
---

Stock/crypto analysis with buy/sell signals

Source: README.md:138-145

Managing workflows

List all workflows

jazz workflow list

Shows local, global, and built-in workflows with their status:

Local workflows:
  daily-standup-prep (0 9 * * 1-5) ● running
  email-cleanup (0 * * * *) ○ scheduled

Global workflows (~/.jazz/workflows):
  tech-digest (0 9 * * *) — not scheduled

Built-in workflows:
  weather-briefing (0 7 * * *) — not scheduled

Total: 4 workflow(s)

Source: workflow.ts:36-119

View workflow details

jazz workflow show email-cleanup

Displays full configuration and prompt:

📋 Workflow: email-cleanup

Description: Archive newsletters and organize inbox
Path: ~/.jazz/workflows/email-cleanup/WORKFLOW.md
Agent: my-assistant
Schedule: Every hour (0 * * * *)
Auto-approve: low-risk

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Prompt:
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Check my unread emails. Archive any newsletters...

Source: workflow.ts:125-178

Run a workflow manually

jazz workflow run email-cleanup

Executes immediately, useful for testing. Source: workflow.ts:190-366

Schedule a workflow

jazz workflow schedule email-cleanup

Enables periodic execution:

Verifies workflow exists and has a schedule
Checks if agent exists (prompts to select if not)
On macOS, asks about running on login/wake (catch-up for missed runs)
Registers with system scheduler (launchd/cron)

Source: workflow.ts:371-500

Unschedule a workflow

jazz workflow unschedule email-cleanup

Removes from scheduler. The workflow file remains. Source: workflow.ts:505-531

View scheduled workflows

jazz workflow scheduled

Lists all active schedules:

⏰ Scheduled Workflows

Scheduler: launchd

  email-cleanup (every hour) agent: my-assistant ✓ enabled
  daily-standup-prep (weekdays at 9 AM) agent: dev-agent ✓ enabled

Total: 2 scheduled workflow(s)

Source: workflow.ts:606-642

View workflow history

jazz workflow history

# Or for a specific workflow
jazz workflow history email-cleanup

Shows recent executions:

📜 Recent Workflow Runs

  ✓ email-cleanup (scheduled) - completed (15s)
    Started: 2024-01-15T10:00:00Z

  ✓ daily-standup-prep (manual) - completed (8s)
    Started: 2024-01-15T09:00:00Z

  ✗ tech-digest (scheduled) - failed (stale)
    Started: 2024-01-14T09:00:00Z
    Error: Timeout after 4 hours

Showing 3 most recent run(s)

Source: workflow.ts:647-707

Catch-up mechanism

When your machine is asleep or off, scheduled runs are missed. Jazz can catch up automatically.

Enable catch-up

Set in workflow frontmatter:

---
name: my-workflow
schedule: "0 9 * * *"
catchUpOnStartup: true
maxCatchUpAge: 86400  # 24 hours
---

How it works

When Jazz starts, it checks scheduled workflows
For workflows with catchUpOnStartup: true, it calculates missed runs
If last run was within maxCatchUpAge, it runs the workflow
Marks the run as “catch-up” in history

Source: workflow.ts:191-239

Manual catch-up

jazz workflow catchup

Interactively select workflows to run now:

🔄 Workflow catch-up

Workflows that missed a scheduled run:

  • email-cleanup (every hour) — missed at 2024-01-15T10:00:00Z
  • tech-digest (daily at 9 AM) — missed at 2024-01-15T09:00:00Z

Select workflows to run now (Space to toggle, Enter to confirm):
❯ ◯ email-cleanup (2024-01-15T10:00:00Z)
  ◯ tech-digest (2024-01-15T09:00:00Z)

Source: workflow.ts:536-601

Workflow examples

Daily standup prep

---
name: daily-standup-prep
schedule: "0 9 * * 1-5"  # Weekdays at 9 AM
agent: dev-agent
autoApprove: read-only
---

Check my git activity from yesterday across all repos in ~/projects/.
Summarize what I worked on, what PRs I opened or reviewed,
and any blockers I mentioned in commit messages.
Format it as bullet points I can paste into Slack.

Weekly dependency audit

---
name: dependency-audit
schedule: "0 10 * * 1"  # Monday at 10 AM
agent: security-agent
autoApprove: read-only
---

Scan all package.json files in ~/projects/ for:
1. Outdated dependencies
2. Known security vulnerabilities
3. Deprecated packages

Generate a report with recommended updates and security patches.

Monthly cost optimization

---
name: cost-optimizer
schedule: "0 9 1 * *"  # 1st of month at 9 AM
agent: cloud-agent
autoApprove: read-only
---

Analyze AWS/GCP cloud costs for the previous month.
Identify unused resources, oversized instances, and optimization opportunities.
Estimate potential savings and provide actionable recommendations.

Workflows with skills

Combine workflows with skills for specialized behavior:

---
name: competitive-analysis
schedule: "0 9 * * 1"  # Weekly on Monday
agent: research-agent
autoApprove: read-only
skills:
  - deep-research
  - documentation
---

Use deep-research to investigate our top 3 competitors:
1. Product updates in the last week
2. Pricing changes
3. Customer sentiment on social media

Use documentation skill to format findings in a structured report.
Save to ~/reports/competitive-analysis-[date].md

Source: workflow.ts:161-163

CI/CD integration

Workflows run in CI/CD pipelines with --output raw and --auto-approve:

# .github/workflows/code-review.yml
name: AI Code Review
on: pull_request

jobs:
  review:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0

      - run: npm install -g jazz-ai

      - name: Run review workflow
        run: jazz --output raw workflow run code-review --auto-approve
        env:
          OPENAI_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.OPENAI_API_KEY }}

Source: README.md:223-243

Best practices

Start with read-only - Test workflows with restricted permissions before enabling auto-approve.

Use specific agents - Create dedicated agents for workflow tasks with minimal required tools.

Monitor history - Regularly check jazz workflow history to verify workflows run as expected.

Enable catch-up - Set catchUpOnStartup: true for workflows that should run even if delayed.

Avoid high-risk auto-approve - Only use for fully tested, non-destructive workflows you trust completely.

Limit catch-up window - Set reasonable maxCatchUpAge to avoid running stale workflows.

Troubleshooting

Workflow not running

Check if it’s scheduled:

jazz workflow scheduled

Verify the cron schedule is correct:

jazz workflow show my-workflow

Workflow fails with “agent not found”

Ensure the agent exists:

jazz agent list

Update workflow to use an existing agent:

---
agent: existing-agent-name
---

Workflow stuck in “running” status

If a workflow process crashes without updating status, it shows as “running” forever. After 4 hours, it’s marked “failed (stale)”. Force cleanup by running manually:

jazz workflow run my-workflow

Source: workflow.ts:61-82, 669-691

Next steps

MCP integration - Connect workflows to external services
Configuration - Customize workflow behavior and logging
LLM providers - Choose the best models for workflow tasks

Get Started

Core Concepts

Guides

Use Cases

Documentation Index

​What is a workflow?

​Creating workflows

​Workflow metadata

​Required fields

​Optional fields

​Cron schedule format

​Common schedules

​Auto-approve policies

​Choosing the right policy

​Built-in workflows

​Email cleanup

​Tech digest

​Weather briefing

​Market analysis

​Managing workflows

​List all workflows

​View workflow details

​Run a workflow manually

​Schedule a workflow

​Unschedule a workflow

​View scheduled workflows

​View workflow history

​Catch-up mechanism

​Enable catch-up

​How it works

​Manual catch-up

​Workflow examples

​Daily standup prep

​Weekly dependency audit

​Monthly cost optimization

​Workflows with skills

​CI/CD integration

​Best practices

​Troubleshooting

​Workflow not running

​Workflow fails with “agent not found”

​Workflow stuck in “running” status

​Next steps

What is a workflow?

Creating workflows

Workflow metadata

Required fields

Optional fields

Cron schedule format

Common schedules

Auto-approve policies

Choosing the right policy

Built-in workflows

Email cleanup

Tech digest

Weather briefing

Market analysis

Managing workflows

List all workflows

View workflow details

Run a workflow manually

Schedule a workflow

Unschedule a workflow

View scheduled workflows

View workflow history

Catch-up mechanism

Enable catch-up

How it works

Manual catch-up

Workflow examples

Daily standup prep

Weekly dependency audit

Monthly cost optimization

Workflows with skills

CI/CD integration

Best practices

Troubleshooting

Workflow not running

Workflow fails with “agent not found”

Workflow stuck in “running” status

Next steps