Routines

Routines — Cloud Scheduled Agents

Routines are saved Claude Code configurations that run on Anthropic-managed cloud infrastructure — a prompt + repo(s) + connectors, fired on a schedule, HTTP POST, or GitHub event. They keep working when Nick's laptop is closed.

Docs: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/routines Fire API: https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/api/claude-code/routines-fire Web UI: https://claude.ai/code/scheduled

When to use routines vs other scheduling

Hard constraint: routines run in Anthropic cloud. They have no access to:

• Chrome DevTools MCP (Nick's logged-in X/Skool/etc. sessions)
• Local files outside the cloned repo
• Local .env variables
• The gmail CLI, Instantly SQLite DB, or anything on ~/Business/ not in the GitHub repo

If the task needs any of those, either adapt it to use WebFetch/WebSearch + API calls (with secrets added to the cloud env), or use a local scheduler instead.

Canonical creation body (tested, works)

Load RemoteTrigger first, then call {action: "create", body: ...} with this exact shape:

{
  "name": "DESCRIPTIVE_NAME",
  "cron_expression": "MM HH * * *",
  "enabled": true,
  "job_config": {
    "ccr": {
      "environment_id": "env_01Mxbg5dUFJhMLamQxdZc6Nb",
      "session_context": {
        "model": "claude-sonnet-4-6",
        "sources": [
          {"git_repository": {"url": "https://github.com/nickjwells/business"}}
        ],
        "allowed_tools": ["Bash", "Read", "Write", "Edit", "Glob", "Grep", "WebFetch", "WebSearch"]
      },
      "events": [
        {
          "data": {
            "uuid": "GENERATE_FRESH_LOWERCASE_V4_UUID",
            "session_id": "",
            "type": "user",
            "parent_tool_use_id": null,
            "message": {
              "role": "user",
              "content": "THE_PROMPT_HERE"
            }
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Hardcoded values for Nick's account

• environment_id: env_01Mxbg5dUFJhMLamQxdZc6Nb (Default, anthropic_cloud kind)
• Default repo: https://github.com/nickjwells/business — ask if a different repo (e.g., nickjwells/email-optimizer) is needed
• Default model: claude-sonnet-4-6 (routines are research/automation, not heavy reasoning)
• Creator UUID: e90448dc-83c5-4398-b3a2-8402733adf0e (for reference; not needed in the body)

Cron conventions

• Cron is UTC. Nick's timezone is America/Edmonton (MDT = UTC−6, MST = UTC−7). Convert and confirm with him.
• Minimum interval: 1 hour. */30 * * * * is rejected.
• Avoid minute 0 and 30 — every routine on the platform lands on those. Pick an off-minute (:07, :17, :43, :51).
• Stagger multiple daily routines by 15+ min so they don't compete for resources.

Examples (Calgary local → UTC):

• Daily at 8 AM MDT → 17 14 * * *
• Daily at 7 AM MDT → 43 13 * * *
• Sunday 8 PM MDT → 7 2 * * 1 (note: Monday UTC because of rollover)
• Every 2 hours → 13 */2 * * *

Allowed tools

Pick the smallest set the routine actually needs. Common combos:

Do not add MCP tools — routines have no MCP connectors unless explicitly attached via mcp_connections (and Nick currently has none configured).

UUID generation

Events require a fresh lowercase v4 UUID. Generate one per routine:

python3 -c "import uuid; print(uuid.uuid4())"
# or
uuidgen | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]'

Never reuse a UUID across routines.

Output conventions

Routines should write results to the cloned repo on a claude/* branch (the default allowed prefix). Standard pattern:

1. Write markdown report to active/{routine-name}/YYYY-MM-DD-HHmm-report.md
2. Commit to claude/{routine-name}-YYYY-MM-DD branch
3. Also print the report to stdout so it shows in the session transcript at claude.ai/code/scheduled/{trigger_id}

Nick can open the session URL to see output, or pull the branch if he wants the file.

Secrets and environment variables

The Default cloud env has no custom env vars. To give a routine API access (Instantly, Fireflies, ClickUp, Resend, etc.):

1. Go to https://claude.ai/code/environments
2. Edit Default (or create a new env) and add KEY=VALUE pairs
3. Reference them in the prompt as $KEY — the routine's Bash sessions will see them

Always check for secret presence in the prompt and exit gracefully if missing:

REQUIRED ENV VAR: INSTANTLY_API_KEY must be set. If missing, print
"Missing INSTANTLY_API_KEY — add at claude.ai/code/environments" and exit.

Never hardcode secrets in prompts — they're logged.

Firing a routine

Manually (right now, for testing):

RemoteTrigger({action: "run", trigger_id: "trig_01..."})

Returns the trigger config (not the session URL — fire is async; the session appears at claude.ai/code/scheduled/{trigger_id}).

Via HTTP (for webhooks):

POST https://api.anthropic.com/v1/claude_code/routines/{trigger_id}/fire
Authorization: Bearer {per-routine-token}
anthropic-version: 2023-06-01
anthropic-beta: experimental-cc-routine-2026-04-01
Content-Type: application/json

{"text": "freeform context appended to the saved prompt"}

The text field is a single string appended as a user turn. Max 65,536 chars. If sending a JSON webhook payload, stringify it — the routine can parse the string in its prompt.

Generating the per-routine token: Web UI only. Open the routine at https://claude.ai/code/scheduled, click pencil → Add another trigger → API → Generate token. Shown once, can't be retrieved.

Trigger types and how to add them

A single routine can have multiple triggers.

Common webhook patterns

Pattern 1: Fireflies meeting → recap email

Fireflies webhook (meeting.completed)
  → POSTs {"text": "<stringified webhook JSON>"} to /fire endpoint
  → Routine parses text to get meetingId
  → curl Fireflies GraphQL API with FIREFLIES_API_KEY for full transcript
  → Claude drafts personalized recap email
  → curl Resend API with RESEND_API_KEY to send

Secrets needed: FIREFLIES_API_KEY, RESEND_API_KEY.

Pattern 2: ClickUp task closed → kickoff email

ClickUp webhook (taskStatusUpdated, filtered to status="Closed")
  → POSTs to /fire endpoint
  → Routine calls ClickUp API with CLICKUP_API_TOKEN to get full task (client email, notes)
  → Claude drafts kickoff email with Cal.com booking link
  → Sends via Resend

Secrets: CLICKUP_API_TOKEN, RESEND_API_KEY, Cal.com booking link in the prompt.

Webhook payload → /fire translation

Most third-party webhooks (Fireflies, ClickUp, Stripe, GitHub) send their own JSON shape, but /fire only accepts {"text": "..."}. Two options:

• Configure the sender to custom body template: set body to {"text": "{{stringified_event}}"}. Works for Zapier, Make, Fireflies custom webhooks.
• Middleware: Cloudflare Worker / Vercel function that receives the webhook, reformats, POSTs to /fire. Use if you want signature verification or branching logic.

Managing routines

# List all
RemoteTrigger({action: "list"})

# Get one
RemoteTrigger({action: "get", trigger_id: "trig_01..."})

# Update (partial)
RemoteTrigger({action: "update", trigger_id: "trig_01...", body: {"cron_expression": "..."}})

# Fire now
RemoteTrigger({action: "run", trigger_id: "trig_01..."})

Cannot delete via API. Direct Nick to https://claude.ai/code/scheduled to delete.

Pausing: set "enabled": false via update. Re-enable by setting back to true.

Common errors and fixes

Full working example (tested 2026-04-14)

Creates a daily 6:51 AM MDT routine that scans for mentions of Nick and commits a report:

# Pseudocode for the RemoteTrigger call
RemoteTrigger(action="create", body={
    "name": "Daily Mention Scan",
    "cron_expression": "51 12 * * *",  # 6:51 AM MDT = 12:51 UTC
    "enabled": True,
    "job_config": {
        "ccr": {
            "environment_id": "env_01Mxbg5dUFJhMLamQxdZc6Nb",
            "session_context": {
                "model": "claude-sonnet-4-6",
                "sources": [{"git_repository": {"url": "https://github.com/nickjwells/business"}}],
                "allowed_tools": ["Bash", "Read", "Write", "Edit", "Glob", "Grep", "WebFetch", "WebSearch"]
            },
            "events": [{
                "data": {
                    "uuid": "d8e4a2b6-5c9f-47d1-b3a7-2e8f4c6d9b17",
                    "session_id": "",
                    "type": "user",
                    "parent_tool_use_id": None,
                    "message": {
                        "role": "user",
                        "content": "Run WebSearch queries for 'Nick Saraev' with after:{today-2} date filter across reddit, x, HN, linkedin, youtube, podcasts. Filter hard for newsworthy signal (notable mentions, press, complaints, big student wins). Commit findings to claude/nick-scan-YYYY-MM-DD branch if anything interesting, else print 'No notable mentions.' and exit."
                    }
                }
            }]
        }
    }
})

Response includes trigger.id (prefix trig_). Store for future fire/update calls.

Workflow checklist

When Nick asks for a new routine:

1. Clarify the task — what runs, when, what output, what secrets needed
2. Check constraints — does it need Chrome DevTools / local files / local env? If yes, redirect to local scheduler
3. Pick schedule — UTC, off-:00 minute, stagger against existing routines (check RemoteTrigger list)
4. Pick tools — minimum viable set (avoid adding WebFetch if not needed)
5. Draft prompt — self-contained, specific steps, explicit output format + save path, graceful handling of missing secrets
6. Generate fresh UUID
7. Create — RemoteTrigger create
8. Test — RemoteTrigger run immediately
9. Report back — trigger ID, schedule in local time, session URL, any secrets Nick still needs to add
10. Add to active/todo.md if secrets are pending

Reference: active routines (update as they change)

Check RemoteTrigger({action: "list"}) for the current set. Past history is on claude.ai/code/scheduled.