> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.unify.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How tasks run

> Your assistant wakes on its own, works quietly, and reports back

Once a task exists, you can forget about it. Everything from waking up to
reporting back is your assistant's job.

## It wakes up by itself

You don't need to be online, in the Console, or even awake. When a scheduled
task comes due — or a trigger event arrives — the platform wakes your
assistant automatically and the work begins. If your assistant happens to be
mid-conversation with you already, the task simply runs alongside without
interrupting.

## It works quietly

Tasks run **silently by default**. Your assistant doesn't announce "starting
your task now" or narrate its progress — it just does the work, and gets in
touch when there's something worth saying:

* the **result**, delivered on the channel the task specifies (email, text,
  WhatsApp, chat — your call), or
* a **question**, if it genuinely can't proceed without you.

If you're curious while a task is running, the **Actions** tab shows the
work live, step by step — and the Tasks tab shows a **Working** indicator
whenever a run is in progress.

## It gets sharper with repetition

For recurring work, your assistant doesn't start from a blank page each
time. Once a routine has run successfully a few times, the platform can lock
in the proven approach so future runs follow the same reliable steps — your
Friday recap looks and behaves consistently, week after week. This is part
of the broader [learning system](/learning/overview).

## Timing details worth knowing

* **Timezone** — recurring times like "every morning at 8" follow your
  assistant's timezone unless the task says otherwise.
* **Recurring tasks reschedule themselves** — when a run finishes, the next
  occurrence is queued automatically.
* **Stale tasks don't misfire** — if you cancel or edit a task before it
  fires, the old schedule is quietly dropped; you won't get a ghost run.

## When a run fails

If something goes wrong mid-run, the run is marked **Failed** in the task's
history with the error recorded — failures are visible, not swallowed. Ask
your assistant what happened and it can tell you, fix the problem, or rerun
the work.

## What tasks cost

A task run consumes credits exactly like the same work would in a live
conversation — there's no separate task fee, and setting up tasks is free.
Two consequences:

* **Spending caps apply.** A 3am run counts against the same monthly caps as
  daytime chat. If a cap is hit, the run is blocked rather than billed past
  the limit.
* **No credits, no run.** If your balance is empty, tasks pause until you top
  up — your assistant will tell you if that happens rather than failing
  silently.