schtasks /?

SCHTASKS /parameter [arguments]

Description:
    Enables an administrator to create, delete, query, change, run and
    end scheduled tasks on a local or remote system. ...

Parameter List:
    /Create         Creates a new scheduled task.
    /Delete         Deletes the scheduled task(s).
    /Query          Displays all scheduled tasks.
    /Change         Changes the properties of scheduled task.
    /Run            Runs the scheduled task immediately.
    /End            Stops the currently running scheduled task.
    /ShowSid        Shows the security identifier corresponding to a
                    scheduled task name.

schtasks /Create [options]
schtasks /Query  [options]
schtasks /Run    /TN taskname [/S host]
schtasks /End    /TN taskname [/S host]
schtasks /Delete /TN taskname [/F]
schtasks /Change /TN taskname [options]

schtasks /Create /TN "MyApp\DailyBackup" /TR "C:\Scripts\backup.bat" /SC DAILY /ST 02:00 /RU SYSTEM /F

SUCCESS: The scheduled task "MyApp\DailyBackup" has successfully been created.

rem Run every 15 minutes
schtasks /Create /TN "MyApp\HealthCheck" /TR "C:\Scripts\health.bat" /SC MINUTE /MO 15 /RU SYSTEM /F

SUCCESS: The scheduled task "MyApp\HealthCheck" has successfully been created.

schtasks /Query /FO TABLE

Folder: \
TaskName                          Next Run Time          Status
================================= ====================== ===============
\MyApp\DailyBackup                4/29/2026 2:00:00 AM   Ready
\MyApp\HealthCheck                4/28/2026 2:15:00 PM   Ready

rem Query a specific task with full details
schtasks /Query /TN "MyApp\DailyBackup" /FO LIST /V

Folder: \MyApp
HostName:                             MYHOST
TaskName:                             \MyApp\DailyBackup
Next Run Time:                        4/29/2026 2:00:00 AM
Status:                               Ready
Logon Mode:                           Service Account
Last Run Time:                        4/28/2026 2:00:02 AM
Last Result:                          0
Author:                               MYHOST\alicedev
Task To Run:                          C:\Scripts\backup.bat
Run As User:                          SYSTEM
Schedule Type:                        Daily
Start Time:                           2:00:00 AM

schtasks /Run /TN "MyApp\DailyBackup"

SUCCESS: Attempted to run the scheduled task "MyApp\DailyBackup".

schtasks /End /TN "MyApp\DailyBackup"

SUCCESS: The scheduled task "MyApp\DailyBackup" has been terminated successfully.

rem Update the command
schtasks /Change /TN "MyApp\DailyBackup" /TR "C:\Scripts\backup_v2.bat"

SUCCESS: The parameters of scheduled task "MyApp\DailyBackup" have been changed.

rem Disable a task
schtasks /Change /TN "MyApp\HealthCheck" /DISABLE

SUCCESS: The parameters of scheduled task "MyApp\HealthCheck" have been changed.

rem Re-enable it
schtasks /Change /TN "MyApp\HealthCheck" /ENABLE

SUCCESS: The parameters of scheduled task "MyApp\HealthCheck" have been changed.

schtasks /Delete /TN "MyApp\HealthCheck" /F

SUCCESS: The scheduled task "MyApp\HealthCheck" was successfully deleted.

rem Run once at a specific date/time
schtasks /Create /TN "OneTime\Maintenance" /TR "C:\Scripts\maint.bat" /SC ONCE /SD 04/30/2026 /ST 22:00 /RU SYSTEM /F

SUCCESS: The scheduled task "OneTime\Maintenance" has successfully been created.

rem Run at every logon
schtasks /Create /TN "Startup\NotifyUser" /TR "C:\Scripts\notify.bat" /SC ONLOGON /RU alicedev /RP * /F

SUCCESS: The scheduled task "Startup\NotifyUser" has successfully been created.

schtasks /Query /S myhost /FO LIST /TN "MyApp\DailyBackup"

HostName:      MYHOST
TaskName:      \MyApp\DailyBackup
Status:        Ready
...

schtasks /Create ^
    /TN "Ops\RotateLogs" ^
    /TR "C:\Scripts\rotate_logs.bat" ^
    /SC DAILY ^
    /ST 00:30 ^
    /RU SYSTEM ^
    /RL HIGH ^
    /F

SUCCESS: The scheduled task "Ops\RotateLogs" has successfully been created.

schtasks /Query /FO CSV /NH > C:\Audit\tasks_%COMPUTERNAME%.csv
echo Saved to C:\Audit\tasks_%COMPUTERNAME%.csv

Saved to C:\Audit\tasks_MYHOST.csv

schtasks /Query /TN "MyApp\DailyBackup" /FO LIST /V | findstr "Last Result"

Last Result:                          0

schtasks /Delete /TN "\MyApp\*" /F

SUCCESS: The scheduled task "\MyApp\DailyBackup" was successfully deleted.
SUCCESS: The scheduled task "\MyApp\HealthCheck" was successfully deleted.

rem Run every 30 minutes between 9 am and 5 pm
schtasks /Create /TN "Ops\PollFeeds" /TR "C:\Scripts\poll.bat" ^
    /SC MINUTE /MO 30 /ST 09:00 /DU 0008:00 /RU SYSTEM /F

SUCCESS: The scheduled task "Ops\PollFeeds" has successfully been created.

rem Weekly: Monday + Friday at 03:15
schtasks /Create /TN "Ops\WeeklyReport" /TR "C:\Scripts\weekly.bat" ^
    /SC WEEKLY /D MON,FRI /ST 03:15 /RU SYSTEM /F

SUCCESS: The scheduled task "Ops\WeeklyReport" has successfully been created.

rem Monthly: first Monday of every month at 02:00
schtasks /Create /TN "Ops\MonthlyAudit" /TR "C:\Scripts\audit.bat" ^
    /SC MONTHLY /MO FIRST /D MON /ST 02:00 /RU SYSTEM /F

SUCCESS: The scheduled task "Ops\MonthlyAudit" has successfully been created.

rem One-off run 60 seconds from now (date and time must be future)
schtasks /Create /TN "OneShot\Test" /TR "C:\Scripts\test.bat" ^
    /SC ONCE /SD 05/25/2026 /ST 14:31 /RU SYSTEM /F

SUCCESS: The scheduled task "OneShot\Test" has successfully been created.

rem US: month-first
schtasks /Create … /SD 06/15/2026 /ST 14:00 …

rem UK / EU: day-first
schtasks /Create … /SD 15/06/2026 /ST 14:00 …

for /f "tokens=2 delims==" %%G in ('wmic os get locale /value ^| find "="') do set LOC=%%G
echo Detected locale code: %LOC%

Detected locale code: 0409

rem Export an existing task to XML
schtasks /Query /TN "MyApp\DailyBackup" /XML > backup.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?>
<Task version="1.4" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/windows/2004/02/mit/task">
  <Triggers>
    <CalendarTrigger>
      <StartBoundary>2026-04-28T02:00:00</StartBoundary>
      <ScheduleByDay><DaysInterval>1</DaysInterval></ScheduleByDay>
    </CalendarTrigger>
  </Triggers>
  <Principals>
    <Principal id="Author">
      <UserId>S-1-5-18</UserId>
      <RunLevel>HighestAvailable</RunLevel>
    </Principal>
  </Principals>
  <Settings>
    <DisallowStartIfOnBatteries>true</DisallowStartIfOnBatteries>
    <StopIfGoingOnBatteries>true</StopIfGoingOnBatteries>
    <MultipleInstancesPolicy>IgnoreNew</MultipleInstancesPolicy>
  </Settings>
  <Actions>
    <Exec><Command>C:\Scripts\backup.bat</Command></Exec>
  </Actions>
</Task>

rem Edit backup.xml, then import to create a new task
schtasks /Create /TN "MyApp\DailyBackupV2" /XML backup.xml /F

SUCCESS: The scheduled task "MyApp\DailyBackupV2" has successfully been created.

<!-- Snippet: repeat every 5 min for 1 hour -->
<CalendarTrigger>
  <Repetition>
    <Interval>PT5M</Interval>
    <Duration>PT1H</Duration>
  </Repetition>
  <StartBoundary>2026-05-25T09:00:00</StartBoundary>
  <ScheduleByDay><DaysInterval>1</DaysInterval></ScheduleByDay>
</CalendarTrigger>

$action  = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute 'C:\Scripts\backup.bat'
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Daily -At 2:00am
$principal = New-ScheduledTaskPrincipal -UserId 'SYSTEM' -RunLevel Highest
$settings = New-ScheduledTaskSettingsSet `
    -StartWhenAvailable `
    -DontStopIfGoingOnBatteries `
    -AllowStartIfOnBatteries `
    -RestartCount 3 `
    -RestartInterval (New-TimeSpan -Minutes 5)

Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName 'MyApp\DailyBackup' -TaskPath '\MyApp\' `
    -Action $action -Trigger $trigger -Principal $principal -Settings $settings -Force

TaskPath              TaskName               State
--------              --------               -----
\MyApp\               DailyBackup            Ready

$actions = @(
    New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute 'powershell.exe' -Argument '-File C:\Scripts\step1.ps1'
    New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute 'powershell.exe' -Argument '-File C:\Scripts\step2.ps1'
)
$triggers = @(
    New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Daily -At 3:00am
    New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -AtStartup
)
Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName 'Ops\Multi' -Action $actions -Trigger $triggers `
    -RunLevel Highest -User 'SYSTEM' -Force

TaskPath  TaskName  State
--------  --------  -----
\         Ops\Multi Ready

Get-ScheduledTask -TaskName 'DailyBackup' | Get-ScheduledTaskInfo

LastRunTime        : 5/24/2026 2:00:00 AM
LastTaskResult     : 0
NextRunTime        : 5/25/2026 2:00:00 AM
NumberOfMissedRuns : 0
TaskName           : DailyBackup
TaskPath           : \MyApp\

# Trigger off an Event Log entry — modern way to do "ONEVENT"
$xml = @'
<QueryList><Query Id="0" Path="System">
  <Select Path="System">
    *[System[Provider[@Name='Service Control Manager'] and EventID=7034]]
  </Select>
</Query></QueryList>
'@
$trigger = New-CimInstance -ClassName MSFT_TaskEventTrigger `
    -ClientOnly -Namespace ROOT/Microsoft/Windows/TaskScheduler `
    -Property @{ Enabled = $true; Subscription = $xml }

$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute 'C:\Scripts\on_service_crash.bat'

Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName 'Ops\OnServiceCrash' `
    -Action $action -Trigger $trigger -User 'SYSTEM' -RunLevel Highest -Force

TaskPath  TaskName             State
--------  --------             -----
\         Ops\OnServiceCrash   Ready

$svc = New-Object -ComObject Schedule.Service
$svc.Connect()
$folder = $svc.GetFolder('\MyApp')
$folder.GetTasks(0) | ForEach-Object {
    "{0,-32} state={1} last={2}" -f $_.Name, $_.State, $_.LastRunTime
}

DailyBackup                      state=3 last=5/24/2026 2:00:00 AM
HealthCheck                      state=3 last=5/24/2026 2:15:00 PM

schtasks /Create /TN "Ops\Privileged" /TR "C:\Scripts\admin.bat" ^
    /SC ONCE /SD 01/01/2099 /ST 00:00 ^
    /RU SYSTEM /RL HIGHEST /F

SUCCESS: The scheduled task "Ops\Privileged" has successfully been created.

wevtutil sl Microsoft-Windows-TaskScheduler/Operational /e:true

Get-WinEvent -LogName 'Microsoft-Windows-TaskScheduler/Operational' -MaxEvents 50 |
    Where-Object Id -in 100,200,201,202,203 |
    Select-Object TimeCreated, Id,
        @{N='Task';E={ ($_.Properties | Select-Object -First 1).Value }},
        Message

TimeCreated         Id Task                  Message
-----------         -- ----                  -------
5/24/2026 2:00:00  100 \MyApp\DailyBackup    Task Scheduler started "{...}" instance of …
5/24/2026 2:00:00  200 \MyApp\DailyBackup    Task Scheduler launched action "C:\Scripts\backup.bat"
5/24/2026 2:00:02  102 \MyApp\DailyBackup    Task Scheduler successfully finished …

$task = Get-ScheduledTask -TaskName 'DailyBackup'
$task.Settings

MultipleInstances          : IgnoreNew
DisallowStartIfOnBatteries : True
StopIfGoingOnBatteries     : True
AllowHardTerminate         : True
StartWhenAvailable         : True
RunOnlyIfNetworkAvailable  : False
ExecutionTimeLimit         : PT72H
WakeToRun                  : False
Hidden                     : False
Priority                   : 7
IdleSettings               : MSFT_TaskIdleSettings
NetworkSettings            : MSFT_TaskNetworkSettings

# Snapshot every task to a directory of XML files
Get-ScheduledTask | ForEach-Object {
    $safe = ($_.TaskPath + $_.TaskName) -replace '[\\/]', '_'
    Export-ScheduledTask -TaskName $_.TaskName -TaskPath $_.TaskPath |
        Out-File -Encoding Unicode "C:\TaskRepo\$safe.xml"
}

Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName 'MyApp\DailyBackup' `
    -Xml (Get-Content C:\TaskRepo\_MyApp_DailyBackup.xml -Raw) -Force

TaskPath  TaskName    State
--------  --------    -----
\MyApp\   DailyBackup Ready

$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute 'net.exe' -Argument 'stop "MySvc" && net.exe start "MySvc"'
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Daily -At 4:00am
$settings = New-ScheduledTaskSettingsSet `
    -RestartCount 3 -RestartInterval (New-TimeSpan -Minutes 10) `
    -StartWhenAvailable `
    -DontStopIfGoingOnBatteries
Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName 'Ops\Restart-MySvc' `
    -Action $action -Trigger $trigger -User 'SYSTEM' -RunLevel Highest `
    -Settings $settings -Force

TaskPath  TaskName             State
--------  --------             -----
\Ops\     Restart-MySvc        Ready

function ConvertFrom-Cron {
    param([string]$Cron)
    $f = $Cron -split '\s+'
    if ($f.Count -ne 5) { throw "expected 5 fields, got $($f.Count)" }
    $min, $hour, $dom, $mon, $dow = $f
    if ($min -eq '*' -and $hour -eq '*') {
        return New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Once -At (Get-Date) `
            -RepetitionInterval (New-TimeSpan -Minutes 1)
    }
    if ($min -match '^\d+$' -and $hour -match '^\d+$' -and $dom -eq '*' -and $mon -eq '*' -and $dow -eq '*') {
        return New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Daily -At ([datetime]::Today.AddHours($hour).AddMinutes($min))
    }
    throw "cron pattern '$Cron' not yet supported by this stub"
}
ConvertFrom-Cron '30 4 * * *'

StartBoundary : 2026-05-25T04:30:00
DaysInterval  : 1

$cutoff = (Get-Date).AddDays(-30)
Get-ScheduledTask | ForEach-Object {
    $info = $_ | Get-ScheduledTaskInfo
    if ($info.LastRunTime -lt $cutoff) {
        [PSCustomObject]@{
            Path       = $_.TaskPath + $_.TaskName
            LastRun    = $info.LastRunTime
            LastResult = "0x{0:X}" -f $info.LastTaskResult
        }
    }
} | Sort-Object LastRun

Path                        LastRun              LastResult
----                        -------              ----------
\MyApp\OldStaleTask        1/12/2026 3:00:00 AM  0x0
\Ops\DeprecatedReport      2/04/2026 6:00:00 AM  0x0

Get-ScheduledTask | ForEach-Object {
    $info = $_ | Get-ScheduledTaskInfo
    [PSCustomObject]@{
        Host        = $env:COMPUTERNAME
        Path        = $_.TaskPath
        Name        = $_.TaskName
        State       = $_.State
        Author      = $_.Author
        UserId      = $_.Principal.UserId
        RunLevel    = $_.Principal.RunLevel
        Triggers    = ($_.Triggers | ForEach-Object { $_.GetType().Name }) -join ';'
        Actions     = ($_.Actions  | ForEach-Object { "$($_.Execute) $($_.Arguments)".Trim() }) -join ' | '
        LastRun     = $info.LastRunTime
        LastResult  = "0x{0:X}" -f $info.LastTaskResult
        NextRun     = $info.NextRunTime
    }
} | Export-Csv "C:\Audit\tasks_$env:COMPUTERNAME.csv" -NoTypeInformation