Scheduling Intervals

Last updated: February 13, 2026

Available scheduling intervals for Data Machine flow automation using WordPress Action Scheduler.

Overview

Data Machine uses WordPress Action Scheduler for recurring flow execution. Scheduling is handled through the Flows API with the scheduling_config parameter, supporting standard WordPress intervals plus custom intervals for workflow automation.

Standard Intervals

These intervals are available by default in the Data Machine core plugin.

Every 5 Minutes

php

'interval' => 'every_5_minutes'

Frequency: Every 5 minutes
Seconds: 300
Use Case: Real-time monitoring, high-frequency data ingestion.

Hourly

php

'interval' => 'hourly'

Frequency: Every hour
Seconds: 3600
Use Case: High-frequency content processing, social media updates.

Every 2 Hours

php

'interval' => 'every_2_hours'

Frequency: Every 2 hours
Seconds: 7200
Use Case: Frequent processing without hourly overhead.

Every 4 Hours

php

'interval' => 'every_4_hours'

Frequency: Every 4 hours
Seconds: 14400
Use Case: Periodic updates, moderate frequency.

Every 6 Hours (Quarter Daily)

php

'interval' => 'qtrdaily'

Frequency: Every 6 hours
Seconds: 21600
Use Case: Business-hour processing, multi-day cycles.

Twice Daily

php

'interval' => 'twicedaily'

Frequency: Every 12 hours
Seconds: 43200
Use Case: Semi-daily processing, moderate frequency updates.

Daily

php

'interval' => 'daily'

Frequency: Every 24 hours
Seconds: 86400
Use Case: Daily content aggregation, blog post scheduling.

Weekly

php

'interval' => 'weekly'

Frequency: Every 7 days
Seconds: 604800
Use Case: Weekly reports, content roundups, maintenance tasks.

Special Scheduling Modes

Manual

json

{ "interval": "manual" }

Behavior: No automatic execution. The flow must be triggered via the run_flow tool or the Execute API.

One-Time

json

{ 
  "interval": "one_time",
  "timestamp": 1735689600 
}

Behavior: Executes once at the specified Unix timestamp.
Requirement: A valid future Unix timestamp must be provided in the timestamp field.

Usage Examples

Flows API Integration

bash

curl -X POST https://example.com/wp-json/datamachine/v1/flows 
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" 
  -u username:application_password 
  -d '{
    "pipeline_id": 123,
    "flow_name": "Daily Flow",
    "scheduling_config": {"interval": "daily"}
  }'

# Schedule flow to run every 5 minutes
curl -X POST https://example.com/wp-json/datamachine/v1/flows 
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" 
  -u username:application_password 
  -d '{
    "pipeline_id": 123,
    "flow_name": "Rapid Processing",
    "scheduling_config": {"interval": "every_5_minutes"}
  }'

Custom Intervals via Filters

Developers can register additional intervals using the datamachine_scheduler_intervals filter:

php

add_filter('datamachine_scheduler_intervals', function($intervals) {
    $intervals['every_3_days'] = [
        'label' => 'Every 3 Days',
        'seconds' => DAY_IN_SECONDS * 3,
    ];
    return $intervals;
});

Interval Selection Guidelines

High Frequency (5 Minutes to Hourly)

Best For: Social media posting, news monitoring, real-time data processing
Considerations: Higher server load, API rate limits
Examples: Twitter feeds, breaking news alerts, live data updates

Medium Frequency (Every 2 Hours to Daily)

Best For: Content aggregation, blog posting, regular data processing
Considerations: Balanced server load, sufficient content accumulation
Examples: RSS feed processing, email newsletters, content curation

Low Frequency (Weekly)

Best For: Reports, archives, maintenance tasks, bulk processing
Considerations: Lower server impact, content batching opportunities
Examples: Weekly reports, content audits, archive processing, cleanup tasks

Performance Considerations

Server Load

Higher frequency intervals (like every_5_minutes) increase server resource usage
Consider content volume and processing complexity
Monitor job execution times and system performance

API Rate Limits

External APIs (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) have rate limits
Schedule intervals should respect API limitations
Build in buffer time for API failures

Error Handling

Missed Schedules

Action Scheduler automatically handles missed schedules:

Backlog Processing: Runs missed executions on the next WordPress cron
Failure Recovery: Failed jobs are logged; the next execution follows the scheduled interval
Overlap Prevention: Prevents multiple concurrent executions of the same flow

Monitoring and Management

Schedule Status