Deferring Task Execution

Delays agent work until a user-specified time using a background timer script, then proceeds with the deferred task.

Script Location

~/.claude/skills/deferred-task-execution/scripts/wait-until.sh

Supported Input Formats

The script accepts one argument in either format:

Duration

- relative delay from now:

30s

,

5m

,

1h

,

90m

,

2h30m

,

1h15m30s

Clock time

- specific time of day:

14:30

,

9:00

,

3pm

,

3:30pm

If the time has already passed today, it waits until that time tomorrow

Workflow

Step 1: Confirm the user's intent

Confirm what task to perform and when. Parse their natural language into a wait-until argument:

User says

Argument

"in 30 minutes"

30m

"in an hour"

1h

"in 2 and a half hours"

2h30m

"at 3pm"

3pm

"at 14:30"

14:30

"at half past 9"

9:30am

Tell the user exactly what will happen and when the timer will fire. Ask them to confirm before starting.

Step 2: Launch the timer in background

Run the wait script using Bash with

run_in_background: true

:

~/.claude/skills/deferred-task-execution/scripts/wait-until.sh

Note the task ID from the response -- you need it for the next step.

Step 3: Wait for the timer

Use the

TaskOutput

tool to block until the timer completes:

Set

block: true

Set

timeout: 600000

(maximum: 10 minutes / 600000ms)

Use the task ID from Step 2

If the wait exceeds 10 minutes

TaskOutput will return before the timer completes because the maximum timeout is 600000ms. Check the output -- if it does not contain "Timer complete", call TaskOutput again with the same task ID and block: true . Repeat until the timer finishes. Step 4: Execute the deferred task Once TaskOutput returns output containing "Timer complete. Proceed with deferred task.", carry out whatever work the user requested. Important Notes The agent session must remain open for the timer to work. If the user closes the session, the deferred task will not execute. Warn the user about this. For very long waits (multiple hours), remind the user that the session needs to stay active. If the user asks to cancel, use TaskStop with the background task ID. Always tell the user the calculated wake time so they know when to expect the action.