Resource Schedules

Resource Schedules enable time-based auto-stop and auto-start of platform resources to reduce costs during off-hours. Schedules can be scoped to the entire platform, a specific user, or a resource group, providing flexible cost optimization across environments.

Schedule Structure

Each schedule consists of the following components:

Scope

Schedules are scoped to one of three levels:

Scope Level	Description
platform	Applies to all resources across the entire platform
user	Applies to resources owned by a specific user
resourceGroup	Applies to resources within a specific resource group

The scope object includes:

Field	Description
level	One of platform, user, or resourceGroup
userId	User ID (for user-scoped schedules)
userName	Display name of the user (cached)
resourceGroupId	Resource group ID (for group-scoped schedules)
resourceGroupName	Display name of the group (cached)

Schedule Configuration

Field	Description
timezone	IANA timezone string (e.g., America/New_York, UTC)
stopTime	Time to stop resources (e.g., 19:00)
startTime	Time to start resources (e.g., 08:00)
daysOfWeek	Array of active day numbers (0 = Sunday, 1 = Monday, ..., 6 = Saturday)

Schedule Status

Status	Description
active	Schedule is enabled and will execute at configured times
paused	Schedule is temporarily suspended (preserves configuration)
disabled	Schedule is disabled and not tracking or executing

Tracking Fields

Field	Description
lastStopAt	When resources were last stopped by this schedule
lastStartAt	When resources were last started by this schedule
nextStopAt	Next scheduled stop time
nextStartAt	Next scheduled start time

Creating a Schedule

Via the UI

1. Navigate to FinOps then Resource Schedules
2. Click Create Schedule
3. Configure the schedule:

Basic Information:

• Name -- Descriptive name (e.g., "Dev Environment Weeknight Shutdown")
• Description -- Optional description of the schedule's purpose

Scope:

• Platform -- Applies to all platform resources
• User -- Select a specific user from the dropdown
• Resource Group -- Select a resource group from the dropdown

Schedule Configuration:

• Timezone -- Select the timezone for stop/start times
• Stop Time -- When to stop resources (e.g., 7:00 PM)
• Start Time -- When to start resources (e.g., 8:00 AM)
• Days of Week -- Select which days the schedule applies to

4. Click Create Schedule

Schedule Methods

Method	Parameters	Description
schedules.create	{ name, description, scope, schedule, enabled }	Create a new schedule
schedules.get	scheduleId	Get a schedule by ID
schedules.list	{ scopeLevel, status, search, skip, limit }	List schedules with filters
schedules.update	scheduleId, { name, description, scope, schedule, enabled }	Update a schedule
schedules.delete	scheduleId	Delete a schedule

All schedule methods require admin role access.

Managing Schedules

Filtering and Searching

The schedule list supports the following filters:

• Scope Level -- Filter by platform, user, resourceGroup, or all
• Status -- Filter by active, paused, disabled, or all
• Search -- Text search on schedule name (case-insensitive, regex-safe)
• Pagination -- skip and limit for paging through results

Results are sorted by creation date (newest first).

Pausing and Resuming

Temporarily disable a schedule without deleting it:

Pause:

schedules.pause(scheduleId)

Sets enabled: false and status: 'paused'. The schedule stops executing stop/start actions.

Resume:

schedules.resume(scheduleId)

Sets enabled: true and status: 'active'. The schedule resumes executing at configured times.

Execute Now

Manually trigger a stop or start action immediately:

schedules.executeNow(scheduleId, action)

Parameter	Description
scheduleId	The schedule to execute
action	Either stop or start

This creates an execution log entry with triggeredBy: 'manual' and status: 'pending'.

Execution History

View the execution history for a schedule:

schedules.getHistory(scheduleId, limit = 50)

Returns the most recent execution log entries, sorted with newest first. Each entry includes:

Field	Description
action	stop or start
executedAt	When the action was executed
triggeredBy	scheduled (automatic) or manual (user-initiated)
status	success, failed, or pending
resourcesAffected	Number of resources or array of resource IDs affected
errorMessage	Error details if the execution failed

Override Management

Overrides allow you to exempt specific resources from a schedule's stop/start actions. This is useful for excluding critical resources that must remain running.

Adding an Override

schedules.addOverride(scheduleId, override)

Field	Description
resourceType	Type of resource to exempt
resourceId	ID of the resource to exempt
skipUntil	Date until which the override is active
reason	Optional reason for the override

The override is automatically attributed to the user who created it, with a creation timestamp recorded.

Removing an Override

schedules.removeOverride(scheduleId, resourceType, resourceId)

Removes the override matching the specified resource type and ID from the schedule.

Schedule Examples

Development Environment -- Weeknight Shutdown

Stop development resources after business hours and restart them in the morning:

• Scope: Resource Group ("Development Environment")
• Timezone: America/New_York
• Stop Time: 7:00 PM
• Start Time: 8:00 AM
• Days of Week: Monday through Friday (1-5)
• Potential Savings: 60-70% on development compute costs

With this schedule, development resources run 11 hours per day on weekdays and are stopped on weekends, significantly reducing compute costs.

Staging Environment -- Extended Hours

Keep staging resources running during extended business hours but stop overnight:

• Scope: Resource Group ("Staging Environment")
• Timezone: UTC
• Stop Time: 10:00 PM
• Start Time: 6:00 AM
• Days of Week: Monday through Saturday (1-6)
• Potential Savings: 30-40% on staging compute costs

User-Level Development Budget Protection

Automatically stop resources for a specific developer during off-hours:

• Scope: User (specific developer)
• Timezone: America/Los_Angeles
• Stop Time: 6:00 PM
• Start Time: 9:00 AM
• Days of Week: Monday through Friday (1-5)

Platform-Wide Weekend Shutdown

Stop all non-production resources on weekends:

• Scope: Platform
• Stop Time: 8:00 PM Friday
• Start Time: 7:00 AM Monday
• Days of Week: Monday through Friday (1-5)

Use overrides to exempt any resources that must remain running over the weekend.

Storage and Filtering

Schedules are stored in the platform and can be filtered by scope level, status, enabled state, and upcoming stop/start times.

Combining Schedules with Budgets

For maximum cost control, combine resource schedules with budgets:

1. Set schedules to automatically reduce costs during off-hours
2. Set budgets to catch unexpected spending that exceeds schedule savings
3. Configure budget thresholds based on expected post-schedule spending levels

For example, if a development environment costs $100/day at full utilization, and a schedule reduces runtime to 11 hours/day on weekdays only, expected monthly cost drops from ~$3,000 to ~$1,000. Set the budget at $1,200/month with an alert at 80% ($960) to catch any anomalies.

Best Practices

Start with Development Environments

Development resources typically have the most flexibility for scheduling. Start here for immediate savings before applying schedules to staging or shared environments.

Use Overrides for Critical Resources

Always add overrides for resources that must remain available:

• Long-running batch jobs that span off-hours
• Resources needed for overnight deployments or testing
• Shared services used by teams in different time zones

Set Appropriate Timezones

Choose timezones that match the working hours of the team using the resources. For globally distributed teams, consider using UTC and setting stop/start times that accommodate all time zones.

Monitor Execution History

Review execution logs regularly to ensure schedules are working correctly:

• Check for failed executions that may indicate resource issues
• Verify that the correct number of resources are being affected
• Investigate any unexpected manual executions

Coordinate with Team Schedules

Communicate schedule changes to affected teams. Unexpected resource shutdowns can disrupt work if team members are unaware of the schedule.

warning

Resource schedules will stop running resources at the configured stop time. Ensure that no critical workloads are running during scheduled stop windows, or add overrides for resources that must remain available.