Create and run a playbook

Last updated: September 4, 2026

A playbook is a recurring piece of work that Rhythms runs for you: a weekly status document, a pipeline digest posted to Slack, a watch on a Linear project that flags changes. You create a playbook by describing the workflow to the Rhythms assistant from Playbooks › New Playbook, and Rhythms runs it on a schedule or when it detects a change in a connected app. You can also run any active playbook on demand with Run now.

Where playbooks live

Playbooks appears in the left navigation if enabled for your workspace. The page lists Your Playbooks: the ones you created and the ones shared with you (marked "Shared by …"). Each card shows the playbook's status, its last run, and a Run now button when it is active. A card that reads Waiting for trigger has not run yet; Disabled means its schedule is switched off.

What a playbook is made of

  • Trigger: when it runs. Either a schedule (for example "Every Monday at 9:00 AM") or a poll of a connector that fires when something changes there. The Configuration tab shows this under When this happens, with the next run time for scheduled playbooks.
  • Connections: the connectors the playbook reads from and writes to, such as Slack, Linear, Salesforce or Google Sheets, and their status (Connected, Not connected, Error).
  • Instructions: what the assistant should do on each run, written in plain language.
  • Model: the AI model the playbook uses. Leave it on Auto unless you have a reason to pin one.

Create a playbook

  1. Open Playbooks and click New Playbook.
  2. Choose Build Your Own to describe a workflow you know well, or Explore Recommendations to have the assistant look for repeated work across your connectors and propose playbooks.
  3. A chat opens. Describe what should happen and when, for example "Every Friday, summarise this week's closed Linear issues for the platform team and post it in #eng-updates". The assistant asks about the trigger, checks which connectors are connected, and tells you if one you need is missing.
  4. Review the preview the assistant offers, then confirm. The playbook is saved and, once you approve it, activated.

There is no step-by-step builder or schedule picker: the conversation is how you set the trigger, the connectors and the instructions. If a connector is not yet connected, the assistant walks you through connecting it before the playbook goes live.

Run a playbook now

Click Run now on the playbook card or in the playbook's header. A chat thread opens and the assistant carries out the playbook step by step in that thread, showing its work as it goes. The run is added to Run history on the playbook's Overview tab. You can also type "Run the playbook <name>" in any chat. Running requires Can edit on the playbook.

See what a playbook has done

Open the playbook and stay on the Overview tab. Run history lists each run with its status (Completed, Running, Paused, Errored, Pending or Cancelled), when it ran, and the documents it produced; tick Show cancelled runs to include cancelled ones. Click a run to open the chat thread where it executed. On a failed run, Review and fix hands the problem to the assistant to diagnose.

Edit a playbook

Open the playbook and switch to the Configuration tab. You can rename the playbook by clicking its title, edit the Instructions in place and click Save, change which connection each connector uses under Connections, and pick a Model. To change the schedule, the trigger, or the workflow itself, ask the assistant: "change this playbook's schedule to Tuesdays at 8am" or "edit this playbook so it also includes open bugs". Changes apply from the next run; past runs are unchanged.

Pause, re-activate or delete a playbook

  • Disable: open the playbook, click ⋯ and choose Disable. The schedule stops and the card shows Disabled. Anyone with Can edit can do this.
  • Activate: a disabled playbook shows an Activate button in place of Run now. It opens a chat where the assistant previews the automation and switches it back on.
  • Delete: ⋯ › Delete, then confirm. Only the person who created the playbook can delete it, and deletion cannot be undone.

If a playbook fails three runs in a row, Rhythms pauses it and shows a banner: This playbook has been paused. Click Review and fix to let the assistant diagnose the failures, then The issues have been fixed. Activate again. to resume.

Frequently asked questions

Can a playbook update OKRs or documents? Yes. A playbook can do anything the assistant can do in chat with your connectors, including checking in on goals, creating or refreshing documents, and posting to Slack or Teams.

Where do I set a schedule? In the conversation when you create the playbook, or later by asking the assistant to change it. The Configuration tab shows the resulting schedule and next run.

What happens if a run fails? The run is marked Errored in Run history with the error message. After three consecutive failures the playbook is paused until you review and re-activate it.

Can I copy a playbook? There is no Duplicate button. Ask the assistant to "create a playbook like <name>" and it uses the existing one as a starting point.

Why is Playbooks missing from my navigation? The Playbooks page is enabled per workspace. Ask your Rhythms Admin, or open a playbook from the chat where the assistant created it.

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