Scheduling Releases

Instead of deploying manually, you can schedule a release to go live at a specific date and time. This is ideal for campaigns, content updates, or any coordinated change that needs to happen at a precise moment — even outside of business hours.

Setting a schedule

1. In the MageDrop dashboard, navigate to your release.
2. Click Edit on the release details (or set the schedule when creating the release).
3. Set the Scheduled Start date and time.
4. Optionally set a Scheduled End date and time for auto-rollback.
5. Click Save.

The release status changes to Scheduled.

Timezone

All schedule times are displayed in your account's configured timezone. The cron system uses UTC internally, so make sure your timezone setting is correct to avoid surprises. You can check your timezone in Account Settings.

How the cron works

MageDrop runs a background cron job that checks for pending scheduled releases every minute:

• Each minute, the system queries for releases with a Scheduled Start time that has passed and a status of Scheduled.
• Matching releases are deployed automatically using the same process as a manual deploy (see Deploying Releases).
• The deploy captures a rollback snapshot, merges staged fields, and pushes via the Magento REST API — exactly the same as clicking "Deploy Now".

This means your release will deploy within 60 seconds of the scheduled time. If you need split-second precision, consider deploying manually at the exact moment.

Auto-rollback with end dates

If you set a Scheduled End date, the release will be automatically rolled back when that time arrives:

• The same cron job checks for live releases whose end date has passed.
• When an end date is reached, the rollback process runs automatically — restoring all entities to their pre-deploy values.
• The release status changes from Live to Rolled Back.

This is particularly useful for:

• Limited-time promotions — set a sale to start Friday at 00:00 and end Sunday at 23:59.
• Event-driven content — display a banner for an event, then automatically remove it when the event ends.
• A/B testing windows — try a content change for a set period and automatically revert.

Example schedule

Changing the schedule

You can modify the schedule at any time before the release deploys:

• Change the start time — edit the release and update the Scheduled Start date.
• Change the end time — update or remove the Scheduled End date.
• Remove the schedule — clear the Scheduled Start date to move the release back to Draft status. You can then deploy manually whenever you're ready.
• Add a schedule to a draft — set a Scheduled Start date on any draft release to move it to Scheduled status.

If a release is already Live, you can still modify the end date. For example, you might extend a promotion by pushing the end date out a few days.

Monitoring scheduled releases

The MageDrop dashboard shows all upcoming scheduled releases on the Releases page. Releases are sorted by scheduled start date, with the next upcoming release at the top. You can also see:

• A countdown to the deploy time.
• The number of staged changes in the release.
• The store the release is associated with.

What if the cron fails?

If the cron encounters an error during a scheduled deploy:

• The release is marked as Failed.
• The error is logged in the release's activity log.
• You'll need to investigate the failure, fix the issue, and either retry the deploy or deploy manually.
• Check the Troubleshooting page for common deployment errors.