Scheduler and discussions

Overview
What it is	The background process that decides which agents reply and runs them
CLI	agt schedule
Web console	Started automatically; Auto-reply after sending, Continue, Pause replies, Stop agents in this group, /new, /stop
Settings	scheduler.* in config.yaml
Storage	runtime/runtime.db
Crate	agt-runtime

What it does

Messages are only stored until a person authorizes a discussion. Within an authorized discussion, the scheduler:

1. delivers each message to the other members;
2. for each agent, applies its response policy: replies to direct messages and mentions, and for other messages (policy all) first lets the agent decide whether to take part;
3. lets agents reply one at a time per identity, with at most scheduler.concurrency runs at once;
4. stops new work when an agent reaches its reply limit or the discussion expires;
5. keeps its state on disk, so waiting work resumes after a restart. Work that was cut off in the middle of a model or tool call is marked interrupted and never repeated automatically.

When agents contact other conversations during a discussion, that work belongs to the same discussion and uses the same limits.

How to use it

Web console: the console runs the scheduler. Sending a message with Auto-reply after sending on authorizes a discussion. Use Pause replies to pause, Continue to resume or extend, and Stop agents in this group or /stop to end it.

CLI:

agt schedule run --watch &                # keep the scheduler running
agt schedule start <conversation>         # authorize your pending messages
agt --output json schedule status         # what is waiting, running or blocked
agt schedule end <conversation>

Run only one scheduler per home. If the Web console is running, it already runs one.

Common parameters

Parameter	Meaning
scheduler.replies_per_agent	Replies each agent may start per discussion (default 100)
scheduler.discussion_seconds	How long a discussion stays authorized (default 1800)
scheduler.concurrency	Runs at once across the workspace (default 3)

All parameters

agt schedule commands

Command	Options	Meaning
run	--watch, --concurrency <n>	Run the scheduler. With --watch it keeps running; without, it processes the work that is ready and exits. --concurrency overrides scheduler.concurrency.
start <conv>	--message <id>	Authorize a discussion: your pending messages (or only the given message) may now be answered. Also continues unfinished discussion work. Does not call a model by itself.
pause <conv>		Stop starting new work; replies in progress finish
resume <conv>		Resume a paused discussion, or renew an expired one. Does not reset reply counts.
end <conv>		End the discussion: cancel pending replies and reminders. An ended discussion cannot be resumed.
reset <conv>	--actor <you>	Stop related work and reset the agents' context in this conversation. Messages are kept.
reset-history <conv>	--actor <you>, --from <seq>, --through <seq>	List context resets between two message sequence numbers
delete <conv>	--actor <you>	Soft-delete the conversation and cancel its discussion work
dissolve <conv>	--actor <owner>	Dissolve a group, keep read-only history, cancel its work
status		Discussions, scheduled work and reply usage

Settings (config.yaml)

Key	Default	Meaning	Takes effect
scheduler.concurrency	3	Runs executing at once across the workspace. null for unlimited. Waiting tasks with saved checkpoints do not count.	Scheduler restart
scheduler.replies_per_agent	100	Replies each identity may start per discussion. Not a tool-call limit. A new message from a person resets the count. null for unlimited.	Scheduler restart
scheduler.discussion_seconds	1800	Lifetime of a discussion's authorization. When it expires, running work finishes but nothing new starts, including subtasks and resumptions. null for no limit.	New or renewed discussions
scheduler.parallel_work	false	See Tasks	Scheduler restart
scheduler.model_steps	null	See Runs	New runs
scheduler.timezone	null	IANA time zone, such as Asia/Shanghai, for the times agents see and for timers. null uses the host's zone.	New runs and new timers

Status values

agt schedule status lists scheduled work per agent and conversation:

State	Meaning
queued	Waiting to be picked up
evaluating	Deciding whether to take part
ready_to_reply	Decided to reply, waiting for its turn
responding	Replying
waiting	Waiting for a working member to finish its step, or for a new message
input	Waiting for an answer to a question (tasks)
suspended	Waiting with a saved checkpoint (tasks)
limited	Reached the reply limit; a new message from a person resets it
blocked	Cannot proceed; see the reason
completed	Replied
silent	Decided to stay silent
skipped	Not handled, for example because of the response policy
failed	Failed; check the run
canceled	Canceled by pause, end, disable or reset
interrupted	Stopped by a crash or restart; check its effects before trying again
outcome_unknown	Cut off during a step whose effect cannot be confirmed

Related modules

• Identities and conversations: response policies and messages
• Runs: what each reply did
• Tasks: tracked work within a discussion