Cloud Routines

Last verified: 21 April 2026 | Applies to: Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise

In 30 seconds

Cloud Routines is a research preview launched on 14 April 2026. It lets you run Claude Code automations on Anthropic’s infrastructure without your machine being on. Set up a routine once, then trigger it on a recurring schedule, via an API endpoint, or from a GitHub event. Your laptop can be closed, off, or on the other side of the world. The routine runs in the cloud and delivers results wherever you need them.

What it does

graph LR
    A["Trigger: Schedule, API, or GitHub"] --> B["Anthropic Cloud executes routine"]
    B --> C["Reads repos, runs code, connects tools"]
    C --> D["Delivers output: Slack, email, file, or PR"]

A Cloud Routine is a saved automation that lives on Anthropic’s servers. You define what it should do (the prompt), what it can access (repos, tools, integrations), and how it gets triggered. When the trigger fires, Claude Code runs your routine in a cloud environment and delivers the output to your chosen destination.

Think of it as a team member who is always on, always available, and never forgets to run the Monday morning report.

Three trigger types

Schedule (hourly, nightly, weekly)

Set a routine to run at fixed intervals. This is the most common trigger for operators.

Nightly sales summary to Slack. Pull the day’s numbers from your CRM, format a summary, and post it to your sales channel before the team wakes up.
Weekly Monday morning brief. Compile metrics from multiple tools, flag anything that needs attention, and deliver a formatted brief to your inbox at 7am every Monday.
Daily overdue invoice checker. Scan your accounting tool for invoices past due, draft follow-up emails, and queue them for your review.

API endpoint (per-routine secure key)

Each routine gets a unique API endpoint with a secure key. Call it from any tool that can make HTTP requests.

Client report triggered when your CRM marks a deal as closed. Your CRM fires a webhook, the routine pulls deal data, generates a branded onboarding summary, and emails it to the account manager.
Expense categorisation triggered by bank export upload. Drop a CSV into a watched folder or hit the endpoint, and the routine categorises transactions, flags anomalies, and updates your tracking sheet.

GitHub event

Trigger routines from pull requests, commits, issues, or other GitHub events. This is most relevant for teams with developers, but operators managing technical teams will find it useful for oversight.

Automated code review on pull requests. When a PR is opened, the routine reviews the changes, checks for common issues, and posts a summary comment.
Documentation updates on commits. When code changes land on main, the routine checks whether relevant documentation needs updating and creates a PR with suggested changes.

Plan limits

Plan	Daily runs
Pro	5
Max	15
Team / Enterprise	25

Runs reset daily. Each trigger firing counts as one run, regardless of how long the routine takes to execute.

How to set it up

Open the Claude Code desktop app. Cloud Routines are set up through the desktop interface, not the terminal.
Create a new routine. Give it a name and a clear description of what it should do.
Define the prompt. Write the instructions Claude will follow each time the routine runs. Be specific about inputs, processing steps, and expected outputs.
Connect repos and tools. Grant the routine access to the repositories, integrations, and services it needs. This uses the same connector framework as Cowork.
Set the trigger. Choose schedule, API, or GitHub event. For schedules, pick the frequency and time. For API, you will receive an endpoint URL and key. For GitHub, select the repository and event type.
Test the routine. Run it manually once to verify the output is correct before enabling the trigger.
Enable and monitor. Turn on the trigger and check the run history in the desktop app to confirm everything is working.

Routines vs Cowork scheduled tasks

If you are already using Cowork’s /schedule command, you might wonder how Cloud Routines differ.

	Cloud Routines	Cowork /schedule
Runs on	Anthropic’s cloud	Your machine
Machine required	No	Yes (awake with Desktop open)
Triggers	Schedule, API, GitHub	Schedule only
Setup via	Claude Code desktop app	Cowork chat
Daily limits	5/15/25 by plan	Unlimited
Best for	Always-on automations	Quick recurring tasks

The short version: use Cowork /schedule for lightweight tasks where you are at your desk anyway. Use Cloud Routines for anything that needs to run reliably regardless of whether your laptop is open.

How operators actually use it

Morning brief, delivered before you wake up. A scheduled routine runs at 6am, pulls overnight metrics from your key tools, summarises what changed, flags anything urgent, and posts it to Slack. By the time you open your laptop, the brief is waiting.

Weekly metrics compilation. Every Friday afternoon, a routine collects data from your CRM, accounting tool, and project management system. It produces a formatted weekly report and emails it to your leadership team.

CRM-triggered client reports. When a deal moves to “Closed Won” in your CRM, an API trigger fires. The routine generates an onboarding packet, a welcome email draft, and an internal handoff document.

Bank statement processing. Upload your monthly bank export and hit the API endpoint. The routine categorises every transaction, reconciles against your books, flags discrepancies, and produces a summary ready for your accountant.

What to watch out for

Research preview. This is early access. Expect occasional reliability issues and changes to how routines work as Anthropic iterates.
Daily run limits matter. If you are automating heavily, 5 runs per day on Pro may not be enough. Plan your routines around the limits or consider upgrading.
Separate from Cowork /schedule. These are different systems. Routines you set up in Cowork’s /schedule do not appear in Cloud Routines, and vice versa.
No local file access. Cloud Routines run on Anthropic’s infrastructure, not your machine. They cannot access files on your local filesystem. They work with connected repos, integrations, and APIs.
GitHub triggers suit technical teams. If your organisation does not use GitHub, the schedule and API triggers are what you will use.

Workflow Orchestration for chaining multiple automations together
5 Essential Scheduled Tasks for the most valuable recurring automations
Scheduled Tasks for Cowork’s built-in scheduling
Code Tab and Claude Code for the environment that powers Cloud Routines

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