> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.boostgpt.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Heartbeat

> Your agent runs autonomously on a schedule

## What is Heartbeat?

Heartbeat turns your agent from a passive chatbot into an autonomous assistant. Instead of waiting for someone to send a message, your agent wakes up on a schedule, executes a prompt, uses its connected tools, and can notify users — all without human interaction.

<Info>
  **Heartbeat vs Chat**: Chat is reactive — users ask, the agent responds. Heartbeat is proactive — the agent runs on its own, checks things, takes actions, and reports back.
</Info>

## How to Enable

1. Go to your agent's **Settings** page
2. Scroll to **Features & Options**
3. Toggle **Heartbeat** on

<Warning>
  Heartbeat is available on **Starter** plans and above. Free and Hobby plans will see an "Upgrade" badge on the toggle.
</Warning>

Once enabled, a new **Heartbeat** tab will appear on your agent's page where you can create and manage heartbeat configurations.

## Creating a Heartbeat

Navigate to the **Heartbeat** tab on your agent's page and click **Create Heartbeat**.

### Configuration Options

| Setting           | Description                                                                                                      |
| ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Prompt**        | The instruction your agent executes each time it runs (e.g., "Check for new support tickets and summarize them") |
| **Frequency**     | How often the agent runs: Every hour, Every day, Every week, or Every month                                      |
| **Time**          | What time to run (for daily, weekly, and monthly frequencies)                                                    |
| **Day of Week**   | Which day to run on (for weekly frequency)                                                                       |
| **Day of Month**  | Which day to run on, 1–28 (for monthly frequency)                                                                |
| **Timezone**      | Timezone for scheduling                                                                                          |
| **Credit Budget** | Maximum credits this heartbeat can consume per billing period (optional)                                         |

### Plan Limits

| Plan    | Max Heartbeats per Agent | Minimum Frequency |
| ------- | ------------------------ | ----------------- |
| Starter | 3                        | Hourly            |
| Pro     | 10                       | Hourly            |
| Prime   | 20                       | Hourly            |

## Execution & Notifications

When a heartbeat fires, the agent:

1. Receives the configured prompt
2. Uses any connected tools (CRM, email, calendar, etc.) to gather information or take actions
3. Can send notifications to users via the **notify\_user** capability
4. Logs the execution result (success, error, or skipped)

Each heartbeat gets a fresh conversation thread daily, so the agent starts with clean context each day while retaining long-term knowledge through its memory.

## Scheduled Tasks

Agents with heartbeat enabled can also create their own recurring tasks. During a heartbeat execution, the agent may decide to schedule follow-up actions using the **schedule\_task** capability — for example, "remind the user about their appointment tomorrow at 9 AM."

Scheduled tasks have their own limits per plan and per subscriber.

## Execution Logs & Stats

The **Heartbeat** tab provides:

* **Execution logs** — Every run with status (success/error/skipped), duration, tokens used, and credits charged
* **Activity chart** — Daily visualization of execution volume
* **Stats breakdown** — Success rate, total executions, active heartbeats, and per-type breakdowns
* **Filtering** — Filter logs by status, heartbeat, or date range

## Safety Features

Heartbeats include built-in safety controls:

* **Circuit breaker** — If a heartbeat fails 5 consecutive times (configurable), it automatically pauses to prevent runaway errors
* **Credit budget** — Set a maximum credit spend per billing period. The heartbeat pauses when the budget is exhausted and resets monthly
* **Plan-tier caps** — Maximum heartbeats per agent are enforced per plan
* **Frequency-based scheduling** — Choose from hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly with precise time and day controls

## Best Practices

* Enable for agents that monitor, report, or take recurring actions (daily summaries, ticket checks, status updates)
* Set a credit budget to prevent unexpected costs
* Choose the right frequency: hourly for real-time monitoring, daily for summaries, weekly for reports
* Review execution logs regularly, especially after first enabling
* Connect the tools your agent needs before creating heartbeats

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="User Memory" icon="brain" href="/creators/user-memory">
    Let your agent remember users across conversations
  </Card>

  <Card title="Integrations" icon="plug" href="/creators/integrations/overview">
    Connect tools for your agent to use
  </Card>
</CardGroup>