Keep a document up to date automatically
Last updated: September 4, 2026
Auto-refresh regenerates a document on a schedule you choose, so a weekly review or a pipeline summary always shows current data from your connectors. You set it up by asking Rhythms in chat and see its status in the document's Info pane. A document can refresh in place, create a fresh copy each period, or both.
Two ways a document can stay current
- Refresh in place. The same document is regenerated on a cadence (for example daily at 9:00 or every Monday). Its link never changes and everyone who has access sees the latest content. Use this for standing dashboards and always-current summaries.
- A new copy each period. Rhythms creates a fresh copy of the document each week, fortnight or month, locks the previous copy, and keeps a series index document that lists every copy. Use this for reviews where each period's record must be preserved, such as a monthly business review.
You can combine them: a document can refresh daily and also spawn a new copy every month. The copy cadence must be longer than the refresh cadence.
Where auto-refresh lives
Open the document and click the info icon in the toolbar to open the Info pane. Under Playbooks on this document, a Document refresh card shows whether auto-refresh is on: a green dot and Enabled · daily (or weekly, monthly, and so on) when it is running, Disabled when it is off, and the time of the last run. The card name links to the refresh playbook itself.
If you have Can edit or higher on the document, the card has a switch to turn the refresh off and back on without losing the schedule. Everyone else sees the status only. Layouts have no refresh card, and a solution hub document is refreshed by the solution's own playbook, so its card has no switch.
Workspaces that have not yet moved to the document Info pane show the same status as a small round pill in the document header; clicking it opens the same options.
Turn on auto-refresh
Auto-refresh is set up in chat. Open the chat panel on the document and say what you want, for example "make this document live and refresh it every Monday at 9am", "refresh this daily", or "create a new edition of my MBR each month". The assistant confirms the schedule in one sentence, and the Document refresh card in the Info pane switches to Enabled with the cadence. Times are shown in your local time zone. The shortest refresh interval is every 30 minutes; copies can be created at most once a day.
Change or stop a schedule
Ask in chat: "change the refresh to daily at 8am", "switch this to weekly", "add a monthly copy", or "turn off auto-refresh". The assistant reads back the current setting before changing it. To pause without losing the schedule, use the switch on the Document refresh card in the Info pane; switch it back on to resume with the same cadence.
Refresh a document now
Use Refresh now in the Info pane's refresh controls, or ask in chat: "refresh this document now". A manual refresh regenerates the content immediately and is recorded in the activity log as a manual refresh, separate from scheduled runs.
What happens on each refresh
- Refreshes run in the background. You do not need to be online or have the document open.
- The refresh uses the connectors chosen when it was set up; if a connector is disconnected the refresh cannot read from it, so check your connections under Settings › Workspace › Connectors.
- Every refresh is recorded in the document's Activity Log as Auto-refresh, so you can compare runs or restore an earlier one.
- For a copy series, the previous copy is locked when the new one is created. It is marked Locked and links to the current copy; the series index lists all copies.
Tip: schedule the refresh shortly before the meeting that uses the document, for example Sunday evening for a Monday morning review.
Frequently asked questions
Which cadences can I use? Any: daily, weekly, every other week, monthly, a specific weekday and time, or a custom schedule you describe. The Info pane summarises the setting as daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly or custom.
Do viewers get notified when the document refreshes? No. The document updates in place for everyone with access.
Can I edit a document that auto-refreshes? Yes, but the next refresh regenerates the content, so ask the assistant to adjust the document's instructions if you want a change to persist. Earlier content is always recoverable from the Activity Log.
Why don't I see refresh controls? Layouts are never refreshed, a solution hub document is refreshed by its own playbook, and only people with Can edit or higher see the on/off switch and Refresh now. Everyone with access can still see the status on the Document refresh card in the Info pane.