Workflow + Schedule Integration Guide

Architecture Overview

Two MCPs working together for intelligent task automation:

┌─────────────────┐         ┌──────────────────┐
│  Schedule MCP   │ ─────>  │  Workflow MCP    │
│                 │         │                  │
│ • WHEN to run   │         │ • WHAT to run    │
│ • Cron timing   │         │ • Claude brain   │
│ • Task queue    │         │ • Tool calling   │
│ • Persistence   │         │ • Intelligence   │
└─────────────────┘         └──────────────────┘
        │                            │
        │                            ▼
        │                   ┌──────────────────┐
        │                   │  Other SimpleMCPs│
        │                   │                  │
        └──────────────────>│ • GitHub         │
                            │ • Slack/Email    │
                            │ • Database       │
                            │ • Cloud Storage  │
                            │ • AI             │
                            └──────────────────┘

Quick Start

1. Test Workflow First

Always test manually before scheduling:

bash

# Test the intelligent task
ncp run workflow:execute-task \
  task="Check GitHub issues and summarize them"

# Or test a predefined workflow
ncp run workflow:execute \
  workflowName="daily-standup" \
  context='{"slackWebhook":"https://...","repo":"owner/repo"}'

2. Schedule It

Once it works, add to schedule:

bash

ncp run schedule:add \
  name="morning-standup" \
  command="ncp run workflow:execute workflowName=daily-standup context='{\"slackWebhook\":\"...\",\"repo\":\"...\"}'" \
  schedule="0 9 * * 1-5" \
  description="Daily standup summary"

3. Verify & Monitor

bash

# List all scheduled tasks
ncp run schedule:list

# Check specific task
ncp run schedule:get name="morning-standup"

# View logs (if schedule MCP supports it)
ncp run schedule:logs name="morning-standup"

Real-World Examples

Example 1: Automated Daily Standup

Goal: Every weekday at 9am, check GitHub issues and post summary to Slack

Step 1 - Test manually:

bash

ncp run workflow:execute \
  workflowName="daily-standup" \
  context='{
    "slackWebhook": "https://hooks.slack.com/services/T00/B00/XXX",
    "repo": "company/project"
  }'

Step 2 - Schedule it:

bash

ncp run schedule:add \
  name="team-standup" \
  command="ncp run workflow:execute workflowName=daily-standup context='{\"slackWebhook\":\"https://hooks.slack.com/services/T00/B00/XXX\",\"repo\":\"company/project\"}'" \
  schedule="0 9 * * 1-5" \
  description="Automated daily standup summary"

Result: Every weekday at 9am:

Workflow MCP fetches GitHub issues
Claude summarizes them intelligently
Posts to your Slack channel

Example 2: Content Monitoring

Goal: Every hour, check website for changes and alert team

Step 1 - Define custom workflow:

json

{
  "name": "content-monitor",
  "description": "Monitor website for changes",
  "steps": [
    {
      "name": "Scrape Content",
      "tool": "scraper:extract",
      "parameters": {"url": "https://example.com/news"}
    },
    {
      "name": "Check Changes",
      "tool": "ai:complete",
      "parameters": {
        "prompt": "Compare with previous content and identify significant changes",
        "provider": "anthropic"
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Alert Team",
      "tool": "notify:slack",
      "parameters": {
        "webhookUrl": "${context.slackWebhook}",
        "text": "Content changed: ${previousResults[1].output}"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Step 2 - Test it:

bash

ncp run workflow:execute-custom \
  workflow='<paste-json-above>' \
  context='{"slackWebhook":"https://..."}'

Step 3 - Schedule it:

bash

ncp run schedule:add \
  name="content-monitor" \
  command="ncp run workflow:execute-custom workflow='<escaped-json>' context='{\"slackWebhook\":\"...\"}'" \
  schedule="0 * * * *" \
  description="Hourly content monitoring"

Example 3: Intelligent Task Execution

Goal: Let Claude decide what to do based on context

Use Case: "Check our key metrics and alert if anything looks unusual"

Schedule intelligent task:

bash

ncp run schedule:add \
  name="metrics-check" \
  command="ncp run workflow:execute-task task='Query database for key metrics from last hour, analyze for anomalies, and alert via Slack if anything unusual' context='{\"dbPath\":\"./metrics.db\",\"slackWebhook\":\"...\"}'" \
  schedule="0 * * * *" \
  description="Intelligent metrics monitoring"

What happens:

Schedule MCP calls Workflow MCP every hour
Workflow MCP uses Claude to figure out:
- What database queries to run
- What constitutes "unusual"
- Whether to send an alert
Claude orchestrates the necessary SimpleMCPs to accomplish the task

Example 4: Data Pipeline

Goal: Daily ETL job with AI enrichment

bash

# 1. Create custom workflow
cat > data-pipeline.json << 'EOF'
{
  "name": "daily-etl",
  "description": "Extract, enrich with AI, load to database",
  "steps": [
    {
      "name": "Extract from API",
      "tool": "scraper:extract",
      "parameters": {"url": "https://api.example.com/data"}
    },
    {
      "name": "Enrich with AI",
      "tool": "ai:complete",
      "parameters": {
        "prompt": "Categorize and tag this data: ${previousResults[0].output}",
        "provider": "anthropic"
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Load to Database",
      "tool": "database:insert",
      "parameters": {
        "dbPath": "./analytics.db",
        "tableName": "enriched_data"
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Upload Backup to S3",
      "tool": "cloud:s3-upload",
      "parameters": {
        "bucket": "backups",
        "key": "daily-${timestamp}.json"
      }
    }
  ]
}
EOF

# 2. Test it
ncp run workflow:execute-custom workflow="$(cat data-pipeline.json)"

# 3. Schedule it for 2am daily
ncp run schedule:add \
  name="daily-etl" \
  command="ncp run workflow:execute-custom workflow='$(cat data-pipeline.json | jq -c)'" \
  schedule="0 2 * * *" \
  description="Daily ETL with AI enrichment"

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Test → Schedule → Monitor

bash

# Always follow this pattern:

# 1. TEST
ncp run workflow:execute workflowName="..." context='...'

# 2. SCHEDULE (only if test succeeded)
ncp run schedule:add name="..." command="ncp run workflow:..." schedule="..."

# 3. MONITOR
ncp run schedule:list

Pattern 2: Multiple Workflows at Different Times

bash

# Morning: GitHub summary
ncp run schedule:add name="morning-github" command="..." schedule="0 9 * * 1-5"

# Hourly: Content monitoring
ncp run schedule:add name="content-check" command="..." schedule="0 * * * *"

# Evening: Daily report
ncp run schedule:add name="evening-report" command="..." schedule="0 17 * * 1-5"

# Night: Backups
ncp run schedule:add name="nightly-backup" command="..." schedule="0 2 * * *"

Pattern 3: Conditional Execution

Workflow handles the logic, schedule just invokes it:

bash

# Schedule runs every hour, but workflow only alerts if needed
ncp run schedule:add \
  name="smart-alert" \
  command="ncp run workflow:execute-task task='Check metrics, only alert if anomalies detected'" \
  schedule="0 * * * *"

Best Practices

1. Always Test Before Scheduling

bash

# ❌ DON'T: Schedule without testing
ncp run schedule:add name="untested" command="ncp run workflow:execute ..." schedule="..."

# ✅ DO: Test first
ncp run workflow:execute workflowName="..." context='...'
# Verify it works, THEN schedule
ncp run schedule:add name="tested" command="..." schedule="..."

2. Use Descriptive Names

bash

# ❌ BAD: Vague names
ncp run schedule:add name="task1" command="..." schedule="..."

# ✅ GOOD: Descriptive names
ncp run schedule:add name="daily-standup-engineering-team" command="..." schedule="..."

3. Add Descriptions

bash

ncp run schedule:add \
  name="content-monitor" \
  command="..." \
  schedule="0 * * * *" \
  description="Monitors company blog for changes, alerts #marketing channel"

4. Start with Longer Intervals

bash

# ❌ DON'T: Start with frequent execution
schedule="*/5 * * * *"  # Every 5 minutes - may hit rate limits

# ✅ DO: Start conservative, increase frequency later
schedule="0 */6 * * *"  # Every 6 hours initially
# After monitoring, adjust to:
schedule="0 * * * *"    # Every hour

5. Handle Errors Gracefully

Use workflow's built-in error handling:

json

{
  "steps": [
    {"name": "Try main task", "tool": "..."},
    {
      "name": "Fallback notification",
      "tool": "notify:email",
      "parameters": {"to": "admin@company.com", "subject": "Workflow failed"},
      "condition": "previousResults[0].success === false"
    }
  ]
}

Troubleshooting

Problem: Workflow not executing on schedule

Check:

bash

# 1. Is it scheduled?
ncp run schedule:list | grep "your-workflow"

# 2. Is schedule MCP running?
ps aux | grep ncp

# 3. Check schedule MCP logs
ncp run schedule:logs name="your-workflow"

# 4. Test workflow manually
ncp run workflow:execute workflowName="..." context='...'

Problem: Workflow executes but fails

Debug:

bash

# Run workflow manually to see detailed error
ncp run workflow:execute workflowName="..." context='...'

# Check each step individually
ncp run github:list-issues repo="owner/repo"
ncp run ai:complete prompt="test" provider="anthropic"

Problem: Wrong schedule time

bash

# Remove and re-add with correct schedule
ncp run schedule:remove name="your-workflow"
ncp run schedule:add name="your-workflow" command="..." schedule="correct-cron"

Summary

Schedule MCP handles WHEN (timing, persistence, execution) Workflow MCP handles WHAT (intelligence, orchestration, tools)

Together they enable:

✅ Automated intelligent task execution
✅ Claude-powered decision making
✅ Multi-step workflows with conditional logic
✅ Integration with all SimpleMCPs
✅ Reliable scheduling and error handling

Workflow pattern:

Define intelligent task (workflow or free-form)
Test manually to verify it works
Schedule with Schedule MCP
Monitor execution and refine

This combination gives you cron + intelligence - scheduled tasks that can think and adapt!

Workflow + Schedule Integration Guide ​

Architecture Overview ​

Quick Start ​

1. Test Workflow First ​

2. Schedule It ​

3. Verify & Monitor ​

Real-World Examples ​

Example 1: Automated Daily Standup ​

Example 2: Content Monitoring ​

Example 3: Intelligent Task Execution ​

Example 4: Data Pipeline ​

Common Patterns ​

Pattern 1: Test → Schedule → Monitor ​

Pattern 2: Multiple Workflows at Different Times ​

Pattern 3: Conditional Execution ​

Best Practices ​

1. Always Test Before Scheduling ​

2. Use Descriptive Names ​

3. Add Descriptions ​

4. Start with Longer Intervals ​

5. Handle Errors Gracefully ​

Troubleshooting ​

Problem: Workflow not executing on schedule ​

Problem: Workflow executes but fails ​

Problem: Wrong schedule time ​

Summary ​

Workflow + Schedule Integration Guide

Architecture Overview

Quick Start

1. Test Workflow First

2. Schedule It

3. Verify & Monitor

Real-World Examples

Example 1: Automated Daily Standup

Example 2: Content Monitoring

Example 3: Intelligent Task Execution

Example 4: Data Pipeline

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Test → Schedule → Monitor

Pattern 2: Multiple Workflows at Different Times

Pattern 3: Conditional Execution

Best Practices

1. Always Test Before Scheduling

2. Use Descriptive Names

3. Add Descriptions

4. Start with Longer Intervals

5. Handle Errors Gracefully

Troubleshooting

Problem: Workflow not executing on schedule

Problem: Workflow executes but fails

Problem: Wrong schedule time

Summary