# Create Schedules
## Overview
In OneLens, you can create **Schedules** to automate routine resource management tasks and avoid unnecessary manual effort. Each OneLens schedule allows you to specify:
* **Which service and resources** the schedule applies to
* **What action** should be performed (start, stop, or scale)
* **When and how often** the action should run (daily, weekly, or monthly)
Once you understand the value of schedules, the next step is to learn how to set one up inside OneLens.
## Steps to Create
Here’s how you can create a schedule in OneLens:
{% stepper %}
{% step %}
### Head to Schedulers
* Log in to the [**OneLens UI**](https://app-in.onelens.cloud/).
* From the right sidebar, click **Schedulers**.
{% hint style="warning" %}
## **Note**
If you haven’t installed the Scheduler yet, you’ll see the *Getting Started with Scheduler* page. To continue, follow the [Scheduler Installation Guide](/automate/schedulers/install-schedulers.md).
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Create a New Schedule
* Click on **Create New Schedule** in the top-right corner.
A form appears where you define the schedule name, frequency, and the set of rules (expressions) that determine which resources the schedule applies to.
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Enter General Details
Give your schedule its basic identity:
* **Schedule Name** – Name your schedule so you can easily identify it later.
* **Schedule Service** – Select the AWS service you want to automate (EC2, RDS, or ASG).
* **Description** – Add a short description to explain the purpose of your schedule.
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Choose Target Scope
You decide which resources the schedule applies to by:
#### **a) Using Expression-Based Rules**
* Add **rules** by choosing a **field**, an **operator**, and a **value**.
* **Available Fields**: Account, Region, Tags.
* Combine multiple rules with valid operators.
* **Valid operators:** `AND`, `(`, `)`.
{% hint style="success" %}
## Business Usecase
Imagine you want to optimize non-critical workloads in different environments by automatically shutting them down during off-hours. You decide to use expression-based rules to precisely target the right set of resources across multiple accounts and regions.
You create the following rules:
* **Rule 1:** Account = `Account-1`
* **Rule 2:** Region = `us-east-1`
* **Rule 3:** Account = `Account-2`
* **Rule 4:** Region = `us-west-2`
* **Rule 5:** Tag = `non-prod`
The expression looks like:\
\&#xNAN;**`(1 AND 2) AND (3 AND 4 AND 5)`**
Here’s how it works:
* **Group 1 (1 AND 2):** Targets all resources in **Account-1** that are located in **us-east-1**.
* **Group 2 (3 AND 4 AND 5):** Targets all resources in **Account-2**, within **us-east-3**, and tagged as **non-prod**.
The scheduler now applies to **both groups of resources**. That means during off-hours, it will stop all workloads from Group 1 and Group 2, ensuring cost savings without impacting production-critical services.
{% endhint %}
#### **b) Using Resource ID**
* Click **Add Resource** and enter the **ARN** of a resource, or
* Upload a CSV file with multiple ARNs.
{% hint style="warning" %}
**Note:** You can add up to 50 resources only.
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Add Schedule Actions
Once the schedule is created, you can define what action should take place:
1. **Click on Add Action**.
2. A configuration box appears where you need to define:
* **Action Type**
* The available action types vary depending on the service:
* **EC2** → Start or Stop Instance
* **RDS** → Start or Stop Resource
* **Auto Scaling Group (ASG)** → Modify Resource
{% hint style="warning" %}
## Important
For ASG resources, you must additionally provide:
* **Min Size**
* **Desired Capacity**
* **Max Size**
{% endhint %}
* **Action Recurrence**
* Define how often the action should run:
* **Daily** → Choose excluded days
* **Weekly** → Select the day(s) of the week
* **Monthly** → Select the day of the month
* **Time of the Day (UTC)**
* Set the exact hour and minute when the action should be executed.
* Click on **Add Action**.
{% hint style="info" %}
## Note
You can add multiple actions under a single schedule. However, ensure that the **timing of each action does not collide**, as overlapping schedules may cause conflicts in resource management.
{% endhint %}
{% hint style="success" %}
## **Business Usecase**
Suppose you want to reduce costs by stopping non-production EC2 instances every Friday evening. You can configure the following:
* an **EC2 Stop Instance** action,
* set the **recurrence to weekly**, choose **Friday**,
* and define the **execution time as 19:00 UTC**.
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Save the Schedule
* Once you’ve entered all details, click **Create Schedule**.
* Your schedule is now active, and OneLens will execute it exactly as you defined.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}
After you’ve created schedules, head to your [Schedulers Dashboard](/automate/schedulers/schedulers-dashboard.md) to monitor and manage them in one place.
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