Automation Palette

Start a scheduled bb automation the moment you want it, from the quick palette, instead of waiting for its cron expression to come around. Each row is titled with the automation and the project that owns it, so the palette finds it by either name, and the run is queued in that project from whichever window you are in. A paused automation keeps its row and says so, since running one by hand is the case pausing does not cover. Runs go through bb's own automations plugin, which stays the one place an automation is created, edited, or reviewed. Requires bb 0.42 or later and the bb CLI on the machine running the server; no account and no external service.

Overview

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What you get

Your bb automations become rows in the quick palette, next to bb's own commands. Press the palette shortcut, type run automation, and start a scheduled sweep the moment you want it rather than waiting for its cron expression to come around.

Each row reads Run automation: Widget sweep · Acme Widgets, so the palette finds it by the word run, by the automation's name, or by the project's name. Selecting one queues the run exactly as the schedule would: same script or agent, same project, same environment.

Rows are listed in every project's palette, not only in the project that owns the automation. An automation worth starting by hand is worth reaching from whichever window you are already in, and the run lands in the owning project either way.

A paused automation keeps its row and says (paused) in the title. Running one by hand is the case pausing does not cover.

How it works

bb collects a plugin's palette rows once per app load, so the rows cannot be fetched while the palette is open. The plugin keeps a list of your automations and registers a row for each one at load time; a background refresh updates that list for the next load. A newly created, renamed, or deleted automation therefore appears in the palette after the next bb reload, and the browser console says so when the plugin notices the difference.

Starting a run is one call to bb's own automations CLI, bb automation run. The plugin adds no scheduler, no state of its own, and no second place to configure anything: the Automations page stays the one place an automation is created, edited, paused, and reviewed.

Because the palette has no way to draw a result, a started run is confirmed in the browser console. The run itself appears where every other run does, on the Automations page and in bb automation runs.

Requirements

Needs bb 0.42 or later and the bundled automations plugin, which is where automations live. Needs the bb CLI on the machine running the bb server; the plugin finds it automatically and takes an explicit path as a setting when it cannot. No account, no external service, and no network access beyond the bb server you are already connected to.

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