AI Scheduler

The AI Scheduler lets you define recurring content-generation jobs that run automatically on a cron schedule. Each job sends a prompt to an AI provider and places the output in Content Review for approval before publishing.

How it works

Cron trigger
    │
    ▼
plg_task_joomlaai (Joomla) / wpai_run_due_jobs (WP-Cron)
    │
    ▼
SchedulerService::runDueJobs()
    │  Locks job row (UPDATE WHERE is_running = 0)
    ▼
AIService::generateForJob($job)
    │  Calls provider API
    ▼
Output saved → ContentReview table (status: pending)
    │
    ▼
Email notification (if configured)

Row-level locking prevents the same job from running twice if two cron triggers fire simultaneously.

Job list

Navigate to JoomlaAI → AI Scheduler.

Column	Description
Title	Human-readable name
Prompt snippet	First 80 characters of the prompt
Schedule	Cron expression (human-readable label)
Provider	AI provider used
Last run	Timestamp of the most recent execution
Status	`active` / `paused` / `error`
Actions	Edit · Pause/Resume · Run now · Delete

Run now button triggers the job immediately regardless of its schedule. Useful for testing.

Creating a job

Click New in the toolbar.

General tab

Field	Required	Description
Title	Yes	Descriptive name shown in the job list
Prompt	Yes	The text sent to the AI. Use `{placeholders}` for dynamic content.
Schedule	Yes	How often the job runs (see schedules below)
Provider	No	Override the global default provider
Model	No	Override the global default model
Status	Yes	`Active` or `Paused`

Content tab

Field	Description
Output title template	Template for the generated article title (e.g., `{date} — Weekly Update`)
Target category	Joomla category / WP category to assign on publish
Tags	Comma-separated tags to apply on publish
Post-publish action	`draft`, `published`, or `pending` (WP) / `0` or `1` (Joomla state)

Options tab

Field	Default	Description
Max tokens	1024	Output length cap
Temperature	0.7	Creativity level (0 = deterministic, 2 = very creative)
Retry on failure	2	How many times to retry if the provider returns an error
Notify on success	OFF	Send email when output is ready for review
Notify on failure	ON	Send email if all retries fail

Schedule options

Label	Cron expression	Runs
Every 5 minutes	`/5 * * *`	288× / day
Hourly	`0 * * * *`	24× / day
Daily (midnight)	`0 0 * * *`	1× / day
Daily (8 AM)	`0 8 * * *`	1× / day
Weekly (Monday 8 AM)	`0 8 * * 1`	1× / week
Monthly (1st, 8 AM)	`0 8 1 * *`	1× / month
Custom	—	Enter any valid cron expression

Prompt placeholders

Use curly-brace placeholders in your prompt text. The scheduler substitutes them at runtime:

Placeholder	Value
`{date}`	Current date (YYYY-MM-DD)
`{day}`	Day name (Monday, Tuesday…)
`{month}`	Month name (January…)
`{year}`	Four-digit year
`{site_name}`	Your site's name
`{site_url}`	Your site's URL

Custom placeholders from Template Library are also supported.

Built-in scheduled tasks

Three tasks are pre-installed and run automatically:

Task	Default schedule	Description
JoomlaAI: run due jobs	Every 5 minutes	Executes all active scheduler jobs whose next-run time has passed
JoomlaAI: provider health check	Hourly	Pings each configured provider and updates the Dashboard status
JoomlaAI: cleanup old data	Daily (03:00)	Purges chat history older than the retention period, expired sessions, old audit records

Permissions

Capability	Access
`joomlaai.scheduler` / `wpai_manage_scheduler`	Create, edit, delete, run jobs
`core.manage` / `wpai_dashboard`	View the Scheduler (read-only)

_Last updated: 2026-05-19 · v2.5.3_