# Scheduling Tasks

Plakar includes a scheduler that can run backups as well as tasks like restoring files, synchronizing Kloset stores, and verifying backup integrity. 

Backups only protect you if they run regularly. Without automation, it's easy to forget to run a backup. The backup you didn't run is the one you'll wish you had when something goes wrong. The Plakar scheduler lets you define tasks that run automatically at a given interval, so your backups happen consistently on a schedule.

In this guide, we will show how to set up the scheduler to run backups every day.

## Requirements

Create a configuration for your Kloset store. This ensures the scheduler can later retrieve the store passphrase:

```bash
$ plakar store add mybackups /var/backups passphrase=mysuperpassphrase
```

Then, create the store referencing the configuration:

```bash
$ plakar at "@mybackups" create
```

## Configuration

Create the configuration file `scheduler.yaml` for the scheduler in your current directory with the following content:

```yaml
agent:
  tasks:
    - name: backup Plakar source code
      repository: "@mybackups"

      backup:
        path: /Users/niluje/dev/plakar/plakar
        interval: 24h
        check: true
```

This configuration file defines a task for the Plakar scheduler, where:

- `name` is the task label, displayed in the UI.
- `repository` refers to the Kloset store. The syntax `@mystore` corresponds to the store previously configured with `plakar store add mystore`.
- `backup` is the task type. In this case, we back up the Plakar source code at the given path every 24 hours.
- `check` runs a verification after the backup is created.

## Running the scheduler

You can start the scheduler by running:

```bash
$ plakar scheduler start -tasks ./scheduler.yaml
```

The scheduler runs in the background. To stop it, run:

```bash
$ plakar scheduler stop
```