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Automation time windows

Automation time windows define when Wodby may start scheduled automation. Upgrade windows restrict changes to running workloads, while backup windows restrict when an automatic backup may begin.

Time windows are available for:

  • automatic app instance stack upgrades
  • automatic cluster infrastructure version upgrades
  • automatic cluster infrastructure app stack upgrades
  • automatic backups from app, database, and organization-wide backup presets

Each supported upgrade setting has its own window. For example, a cluster can use different windows for infrastructure version upgrades and infrastructure app upgrades, and app instances that share a stack can use different upgrade windows.

Catalog operations that do not change running workloads do not use time windows. Git auto-updates of services and stacks, automatic stack service revision updates, and automatic sync of copied stacks with their origin can create new catalog revisions at any time. An app instance's time window still controls when its running workload may be upgraded to one of those revisions.

Configure a window

For an automatic upgrade, enable Time window in its automation settings. For a backup preset, enable Auto backups. Then select a start time, end time, time zone, and one or more days. All seven days are selected by default. The Every day, Weekdays, and Weekends shortcuts provide quick ways to change the selection.

New app instances and clusters receive enabled 02:00 to 04:00 windows in the organization's default time zone for each applicable automatic upgrade. The organization creation form preselects the creator's browser time zone and lets them change it before creation; if browser detection is unavailable, Wodby uses UTC. Owners and admins can change it under Organization > Settings.

New backup presets created in the dashboard default to a three-hour 02:00 to 05:00 window in the organization's default time zone. Their backup timeout also defaults to three hours. The timeout is separate from the window: the window controls when a backup may start, while the timeout limits how long the backup task may run.

The organization time zone is a creation default, not a live link. Changing it does not rewrite existing resource or backup-preset windows, and each window can use a different time zone. Resources created before a default window was assigned keep their existing setting.

The searchable selector lists available IANA time zone names and follows daylight-saving changes for the selected location. API clients that provide an explicit window without a time zone use UTC; clients that omit the days use every day. Existing windows saved before day selection was introduced also continue to use every day.

A valid window:

  • uses 24-hour HH:mm times
  • includes the start time and excludes the end time
  • is at least one hour long
  • has different start and end times
  • selects at least one day

When the end time is later than the start time, the window is within one day. For example, 02:00 to 04:00 allows automation from 02:00 up to, but not including, 04:00. When the end time is earlier, the window crosses midnight. For example, 22:00 to 02:00 starts at 22:00 and ends at 02:00 the next day.

For a window that crosses midnight, the selected day is the day on which the window starts. For example, a Monday 22:00 to 02:00 window remains open until 02:00 on Tuesday. Selecting Tuesday instead would open the next window at 22:00 on Tuesday.

What the window controls

An upgrade window controls when Wodby may dispatch an automatic upgrade task. A task that starts inside the window continues normally if it runs past the end time. Manual upgrades are never restricted by an automation time window.

If an eligible automatic operation is detected outside its window, Wodby defers it quietly. It does not create an update task, mark the resource as failed, or send a success or failure notification for that deferred check. Periodic reconciliation checks the resource again and can start the operation during a later window.

Cluster upgrades preserve their required order. When both a cluster infrastructure version upgrade and an infrastructure app upgrade are pending, Wodby waits for the infrastructure version upgrade first. An open infrastructure app window does not bypass a closed infrastructure version window.

For an automatic backup, Wodby schedules the occurrence for the beginning of the selected window. If processing is delayed, the backup may still start later while the window is open. If the window has already closed, Wodby skips that occurrence and advances to the next selected day; it does not queue the missed backup for replay. A backup that starts inside the window may continue after it closes, subject to its backup timeout. Manual backups are not restricted by the window.

Pausing automatic backups

Auto backups is the only schedule state control in the dashboard. Turning it off on an existing preset pauses the schedule but preserves its window, timeout, and override setting. Turning it on again resumes the saved schedule. A new preset saved with Auto backups off has no automatic schedule.

Existing backup presets

Backup schedules created by the previous dashboard used an exact UTC launch time. Wodby converts the daily and single-weekday schedules generated by that dashboard into three-hour UTC windows beginning at the same launch time. The selected day, backup timeout, and paused or enabled state are preserved. For example, a Monday 02:00 UTC schedule becomes a Monday 02:00 to 05:00 UTC window.

Custom cron expressions that do not match the previous dashboard's daily or single-weekday format remain on the legacy exact-time schedule and are not reinterpreted in an organization's time zone.

Notification emails

Success and failure emails for automatic app stack upgrades, cluster infrastructure version upgrades, and cluster infrastructure app upgrades include the time when the upgrade task started. When a time window is configured, the email shows the start time in that window's time zone together with the configured interval and selected days. When no window is configured, the email shows the start time in UTC and explicitly notes that the upgrade could run at any time.