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Tasks vs heartbeat

Fased gives you two scheduling patterns:
  • heartbeat for periodic awareness inside the main session
  • Tasks for exact schedules, reminders, and isolated runs
They overlap a little, but they are not the same tool. Both patterns run under an Agent. Scheduled Tasks choose a main or isolated session lane. A channel can receive the result, but the channel is only delivery. For no-model, skill-only, cheap-model, escalation, memory, and budget policy, see Task Operating Layer. For the Tasks v1 completion boundary, see Tasks v1 Freeze.

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Quick decision guide

Use caseBest fitWhy
Check inbox every 30 minutesHeartbeatbatch it with other periodic checks
Send a report at 9:00 AM sharpTask (isolated)exact timing matters
Watch the calendar for near-term eventsHeartbeatcontext-aware and cheap to batch
Run a weekly deep analysisTask (isolated)independent task, can use its own model
Remind me in 20 minutesTask (main, --at)one-shot precision
Background project health checkHeartbeatbetter as part of ongoing awareness

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Heartbeat

Heartbeat runs in the main session on an interval, usually every 30 minutes. It is best when the agent should periodically look around, decide what matters, and stay context-aware.

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Use heartbeat when

  • several periodic checks can be combined into one pass
  • the task benefits from main-session memory and recent context
  • you want natural suppression when nothing matters
  • exact wall-clock timing is not important

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Heartbeat advantages

  • batches inbox, calendar, notifications, and lightweight ops checks together
  • reduces isolated agent turns and token churn
  • has full main-session context
  • can reply HEARTBEAT_OK and stay quiet when there is nothing to say

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Example HEARTBEAT.md

# Heartbeat checklist

- Check email for anything urgent
- Review calendar events in the next two hours
- Surface any finished background work
- Send a check-in if the system has been quiet for a long time

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Example config

{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      heartbeat: {
        every: "30m",
        target: "last",
        activeHours: { start: "08:00", end: "22:00" },
      },
    },
  },
}
See Heartbeat for the full config surface.

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Tasks

Tasks run inside the gateway scheduler and store records under ~/.fased/cron/ internally. They are the right choice when timing must be explicit or when the work should run away from the main session. In the UI, Chat Schedule this, Agent session task rows, and Agent > Tasks all operate on the same scheduled Task records. The /cron route is still routable for compatibility, but normal setup should start from the selected Agent.

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Use tasks when

  • the task must run at an exact time
  • the run should be isolated from main-session history
  • you want a different model or thinking level
  • you need a one-shot reminder
  • the task is frequent or noisy enough to avoid the main lane

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Task advantages

  • exact at, every, and cron schedules
  • timezone support
  • isolated runs in cron:<jobId>
  • per-task model and thinking overrides
  • direct delivery via announce or webhook modes
  • one-shot reminders with --at

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Example: daily briefing

fased task add \
  --name "Morning briefing" \
  --cron "0 7 * * *" \
  --tz "America/New_York" \
  --session isolated \
  --message "Generate today's briefing: weather, calendar, top emails, news summary." \
  --model openai/gpt-5.5 \
  --announce \
  --channel whatsapp \
  --to "+15551234567"

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Example: one-shot reminder

fased task add \
  --name "Meeting reminder" \
  --at "20m" \
  --session main \
  --system-event "Reminder: standup meeting starts in 10 minutes." \
  --wake now \
  --delete-after-run
See Scheduled Tasks for the full reference.

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Fast rule of thumb

Use heartbeat when the question is:
  • “should the agent periodically notice this?”
Use tasks when the question is:
  • “must this happen at this time or as its own run?”

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Using both together

A good Fased setup usually combines them. Heartbeat handles:
  • inbox scans
  • calendar awareness
  • quiet-time check-ins
  • lightweight background awareness
Tasks handle:
  • daily briefings
  • weekly reports
  • one-shot reminders
  • isolated heavy analysis
Example split: HEARTBEAT.md 
# Heartbeat checklist

- Scan inbox for urgent mail
- Check calendar events in the next two hours
- Review any pending tasks
- Send a light check-in if the system has been quiet for a while
Tasks 
fased task add --name "Morning brief" --cron "0 7 * * *" --session isolated --message "..." --announce
fased task add --name "Weekly review" --cron "0 9 * * 1" --session isolated --message "..." --model openai/gpt-5.5
fased task add --name "Call back" --at "2h" --session main --system-event "Call back the client" --wake now

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Main session vs isolated tasks

HeartbeatTask (main)Task (isolated)
Runtime sessionmainmain via system eventcron:<jobId> run lane
Task ownerAgent main sessionAgent/session on the taskAgent/session on the task
Contextfullfullclean run context
Historysharedsharedseparate run transcript, linked back by sessionKey
ModelAgent/session modelAgent/session modeloverrideable
Deliveryheartbeat resultmain-session eventannounce/webhook/none

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Use main-session tasks when

  • the reminder should land inside existing context
  • the next heartbeat should handle it as part of the main lane

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Use isolated tasks when

  • you want a clean run
  • you want different model/thinking settings
  • you want direct delivery without adding chat clutter to the main lane

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Cost considerations

MechanismCost profile
Heartbeatone turn every interval; cost scales with HEARTBEAT.md and attached checks
Task (main)small scheduled event; model cost only when it wakes or continues the lane
Task (isolated)full agent turn per run; best for explicit scheduled work
Practical tips:
  • keep HEARTBEAT.md compact
  • batch related checks into heartbeat instead of many tiny scheduled tasks
  • use isolated tasks for work that deserves its own model or its own delivery path