---
title: Working with Tasks | 0ct
description: Create, schedule, and manage your AI-powered 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](/user-guides/sources/index.md) to give tasks access to your data
- [Create Skills](/user-guides/skills/index.md) for consistent AI behavior
- [Set Up Delivery](/user-guides/delivery/index.md) to get results where you need them