Anthropic enables one-time autonomous background tasks in Claude Code

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Anthropic introduced a Once trigger for Claude Code Routines, allowing users to schedule one-time autonomous tasks from the CLI or web interface. This shifts the tool from a recurring automation engine to a deferred execution assistant that can handle set and forget maintenance like feature flag cleanups or post-launch reports.

Anthropic added a "Once" trigger to Claude Code Routines for one-time autonomous tasks on cloud infrastructure. Users can use the /schedule command to set a future timestamp for execution. This follows the introduction of permission bypass settings that allow agents to execute commands without manual human-in-the-loop prompts.

This update fills the gap between immediate sessions and permanent recurring schedules. By supporting deferred execution, Claude Code moves closer to being an autonomous teammate. It extends the company's push for persistent agent learning by allowing background tasks to complete long after a user has disconnected.

You can now schedule tasks like /schedule cleanup this feature flag in 1 week directly from your terminal. These one-off runs use standard account rate limits and are available to Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise users. This builds on distributed session management to ensure tasks execute reliably on managed cloud infrastructure.

View the full update on code.claude.com
Noah Zweben
Noah Zweben
@noahzweben
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You can now /schedule one-time tasks from the CLI or the Routines UI via the Schedule -> Once Trigger. Use it to: * /schedule cleanup this feature flag in 1 week */schedule give me a launch report for my feature in 2 days https://t.co/tiC288hMc7

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Still wondering? A few quick answers below.

Routines are saved Claude Code configurations that run autonomously on Anthropic-managed cloud infrastructure. They package a prompt, specific repositories, and connectors into a session that executes without requiring your local machine to be active. This allows for background automation like backlog maintenance, alert triage, or scheduled code reviews even when your laptop is closed.

You can schedule a one-time task using the /schedule command in the Claude Code command line interface or through the Routines UI on the web. For example, typing /schedule cleanup this feature flag in one week tells the agent to execute that specific task at the designated future timestamp on Anthropic's managed cloud servers.

Routines and the new one-time trigger are available to users on Claude Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans. You must have Claude Code on the web enabled to use these cloud-based features. These tasks draw from your standard subscription usage limits and are subject to a daily cap on total runs per account.

No, Routines execute on Anthropic-managed cloud infrastructure. Unlike local scheduled tasks that require your laptop to be open and active, Routines continue to work even when your computer is closed. Each run starts a new cloud session that clones your selected repositories and uses your connected tools and environment variables to complete the task.

A Routine runs autonomously in the cloud and can be triggered by schedules, GitHub events, or API calls. Local scheduled tasks, created via the Desktop app or /loop command, run on your own machine and have access to local files. Routines are designed for unattended, repeatable work that needs to happen regardless of your machine's status.

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