Working with Tasks

Tasks are the heart of 0ct. Each task is an AI job that runs automatically on your schedule, delivering results straight to your inbox.

Creating a Task

From the Dashboard

1. Click Tasks in the sidebar
2. Click + New Task
3. Fill in the details:
   • Name: Something descriptive (e.g., “Weekly Team Report”)
   • Prompt: What you want the AI to do
   • Model: Which AI to use (GPT-4o is a good default)
   • Schedule: When to run
   • Delivery: Where to send results

Writing Effective Prompts

Your prompt tells the AI exactly what you want. The more specific you are, the better your results.

Example: Weekly Metrics

Create a weekly summary of our team's productivity.

Include:
- Total issues completed
- Average time to completion
- Top contributor this week
- Any blockers that appeared

Format as a brief email suitable for our Monday standup.

Example: Competitor Watch

Search for news about [Competitor A] and [Competitor B]
from the past 24 hours.

For each article found:
1. One-sentence summary
2. Potential impact on our business
3. Recommended action (if any)

Example: Daily Digest

Compile a morning briefing with:
- Weather for San Francisco
- Today's calendar highlights
- Top 3 emails that need attention
- Any urgent Slack messages

Scheduling Options

Hourly

Run every 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, or 12 hours. Good for:

• Monitoring alerts
• Real-time tracking
• Frequent updates

Daily

Run once per day at a specific time. Good for:

• Morning briefings
• End-of-day summaries
• Daily reports

Weekly

Run on specific days at a set time. Good for:

• Weekly reports
• Team updates
• Planning reviews

One-Time

Run once at a specific date and time. Good for:

• One-off research
• Event preparation
• Testing new prompts

Adding Sources to Tasks

Sources give your task access to real data. Without sources, your task can only use the AI’s general knowledge.

How to Add Sources

1. Open your task
2. Scroll to the Sources section
3. Click Add Source
4. Select from your connected sources

What Sources Enable

With GitHub connected:

“List all open PRs in our main repo and summarize their changes.”

With Linear connected:

“Show me issues assigned to me that are due this week.”

With Slack connected:

“Summarize the key discussions from #engineering today.”

Adding Skills to Tasks

Skills are reusable instructions that shape how your task runs.

Example Skills

Writing Style Skill:

“Write in a professional but friendly tone. Use bullet points for lists. Keep sentences under 20 words.”

Report Format Skill:

“Always include an executive summary at the top. End with next steps. Use headers to organize sections.”

How to Add Skills

1. Open your task
2. Scroll to the Skills section
3. Click Add Skill
4. Select from your saved skills

Skills are applied before your prompt, giving the AI consistent context.

Setting Up Delivery

Currently, 0ct delivers results via email.

Email Delivery

1. In your task, find the Delivery section
2. Enter one or more email addresses
3. Customize the subject line (optional)

Results are sent immediately when the task completes.

Coming Soon

• SMS notifications
• Slack/Discord delivery
• Webhook integrations

Managing Your Tasks

Pausing a Task

Don’t want it to run for a while?

1. Open the task
2. Toggle the Active switch off
3. The task won’t run until you turn it back on

Running Immediately

Want results now instead of waiting for the schedule?

1. Open the task
2. Click Run Now
3. Check the Runs page for output

Editing a Task

1. Click the task to open it
2. Make your changes
3. Click Save

Changes apply to the next scheduled run.

Deleting a Task

1. Open the task
2. Click Delete Task
3. Confirm deletion

This also deletes all run history for that task.

Viewing Run History

Every time a task runs, it creates a record.

To View Runs

1. Click Runs in the sidebar, or
2. Open a task and scroll to Run History

Run Details

Each run shows:

• Status: Completed, Failed, or Running
• Output: What the AI produced
• Time: When it started and finished
• Usage: Tokens used and cost

Troubleshooting Failed Runs

If a task fails:

1. Check the error message in the run details
2. Common issues:
   • Source disconnected → Reconnect in Sources
   • Prompt too long → Shorten your instructions
   • Rate limited → Try again later

Best Practices

Start Small

Begin with one simple task. Once it’s working well, add complexity.

Use Descriptive Names

“Q1 Sales Analysis” is better than “Task 1”

Check Results Regularly

Review your first few runs to ensure quality, then adjust as needed.

Combine with Skills

Create skills for common formatting or tone requirements, then reuse them across tasks.

Monitor Usage

Keep an eye on the Billing page to understand your task costs.

Next Steps

• Connect Sources to give tasks access to your data
• Create Skills for consistent AI behavior
• Set Up Delivery to get results where you need them