/tc (Timed Commands / Cron)

Overview

Timed Commands run a saved Command Group on one game server at the times you choose. Use them for event reminders, recurring admin commands, or server setup routines.

First create a Command Group and add its commands. An empty group has nothing to run. For recurring chat messages with a color picker, Auto Messages is a simpler option.

Setup Flow

1. Open the dashboard and choose Manage Server on the target server.
2. Open Automations → Timed Commands → Create Timed Command.
3. Name the schedule and select the Command Group to run.
4. Enter a 5-field cron, choose the Timezone, and optionally set Minimum population.
5. Check Timed Command is active when ready, choose Create, and wait for the success message.

Example: Friday event reminder

Use the Event reminder group from the Command Groups walkthrough. Its message announces an event starting in 10 minutes.

Setting	Value
Timed command name	Friday event reminder
Command Group	Event reminder
5-field cron	50 19 * * 5
Timezone	America/New_York
Minimum population	10

Example draft on Helios Bot Testing. The active box is unchecked; enable it when you want the schedule to run.

When active, this sends the reminder on Fridays at 7:50 PM New York time, ready for an 8 PM event, if at least 10 players are online. It sends the reminder only; it does not start the event itself.

Minimum population

Set 0 for no player-count requirement. If the population is below your minimum when the task is checked, Helios skips that occurrence and waits for the next scheduled one. It does not hold that reminder until more players join.

Check, edit, or pause

The saved row shows the group, cron schedule, minimum population, and Active or Paused status. Expand it to check the Timezone and Last run.

Use Edit to change the schedule, Pause to stop future runs, Resume to enable it again, or Remove to delete it. A last-run timestamp alone does not prove the command succeeded; low-population skips also advance it.

Use /tc list with the same server selected to review the next scheduled time.

Cron Help

Five fields, separated by spaces:

minute hour day-of-month month weekday

Use numeric weekdays: 0 is Sunday, 1 is Monday, through 6 for Saturday. Use 5 for Friday, rather than FRI. Times follow the selected timezone; the editor defaults to UTC.

Cron Examples

Schedule	Cron
Daily at 9 AM	0 9 * * *
Daily at 2:30 PM	30 14 * * *
At midnight, 6 AM, noon, and 6 PM	0 */6 * * *
Every Friday at 8 PM	0 20 * * 5

Commands Covered

Discord command	Purpose
/tc add	Choose the server, name, group, cron, optional timezone, and optional minimum-pop
/tc list	Review the selected server's timed commands and next runs
/tc remove	Remove a timed command from the selected server

Requirements

You need permission to manage the selected server. Helios must be connected, the task must be active, and the selected group must contain valid server commands.

If a run is missing, check those items first, then verify the timezone and population minimum. Test the group's commands on the target server before relying on its schedule.