Automation tasks are "ask Finch this automatically, on a schedule": set a prompt and a schedule, and Finch starts a conversation at the right time on its own — no need for you to be there. Great for recurring things like "check email every morning" or "check some status hourly."

How to set one up

When creating a task, fill in:

Prompt: the message sent automatically when it fires — same as typing to Finch yourself
Schedule: hourly / daily / weekdays / weekly on a given day, down to the minute
Where it runs: a regular conversation, or a specific Space
Model: can be set independently — doesn't have to match your daily-driver model

Things to know

When it fires, Finch starts a new conversation in the background automatically — no window needs to be open, no one needs to be at the computer.
Since no one is present to confirm, tasks run under a more permissive default policy, with common actions auto-approved.
If the previous run hasn't finished, the next one won't stack on top of it; if the computer was off and a scheduled time was missed, it doesn't rush to catch up — it just resumes at the next scheduled time.
Every run is a normal conversation, findable and continuable in the sidebar; deleting the task itself doesn't delete these records.
When a run finishes or needs confirmation, you'll get a system notification if you're not already looking at that conversation.

Keeping the machine awake

If your computer sleeps frequently, scheduling can drift. With the machine plugged in, turn on Settings → Automation → Keep awake to prevent sleep and keep triggers on time.

What it's good for

Best for things with a fixed rhythm and fairly self-contained content each time, like daily summaries or periodic checks. For exploratory work that needs your attention and judgment throughout, a regular conversation is still the better fit.