It keeps doing things on its own
Automations fire when they should not, or sessions keep appearing.
Quick question
What keeps happening?
A scheduled recipe or Cron Job keeps running
Pause, resume or run one now
Read it in See everything that runs on its ownIn the desktop app, open Automation > My Automations in the sidebar. Each row that allows it has Pause (or Resume) and Run now. Pause stops it running on its schedule until you resume it; it is the same switch as in the automation's own panel. For an automation marked Uses AI credits, Run now first asks Run this now? and nothing runs until you confirm.
Plain scheduled jobs also have a Delete button, which asks you to confirm first.
Yardmaster's own jobs. The Everything tab ends with a collapsed group of Yardmaster's own background housekeeping. It is listed so nothing runs out of sight; you cannot pause or run those jobs here.
Built with the Automation Helper. Automations the Automation Helper built carry a Helper badge. If one has lost its scheduled job, it appears under Helper automations without a schedule; open it to fix or rebuild it.
On your phone. The list is there too, with fewer buttons: run anything now from the desktop app.
Each kind is explained on its own page: cron jobs, recipes, sweeps, rules, drips, alarms and scheduled messages.
An automation rule keeps acting on messages
Pause or delete a rule
Read it in Act on messages with rulesEach rule in the Automations panel (in the sidebar, Automation > Automations) shows when it last fired and how many times; a rule marked off does not run. To switch one rule off without deleting it, use its switch under Active Recipes in Settings > Automations. To delete it, click it in the panel, click Delete and confirm. To stop every rule at once, turn off Enable Channel Filters.
Saved credentials. Actions such as Send Slack message use a token you save once under Settings > Automations > Credentials. Credentials are stored encrypted on this computer, and a rule refers to them by name, so you can replace a token without editing your rules.
Session status rules. With When session status condition is met, a rule watches your sessions instead of messages, for example to act when a session has needed you for a while.
Stop at the first match. Stop processing further recipes on match keeps later rules from acting on a message this rule already handled.
Bug Intake was removed. The Bug Intake panel (Sentry and GitHub issue polling,
[BUG: name]emails) is gone. To start a session from a bug-report email, make a rule that matches words in the subject and starts a session.
Automation CredentialsSettings, Automations > CredentialsSaved encrypted secrets used by Automation Engine v2 actions (Slack bot tokens, GitHub PATs, SMTP relays). Configure webhook URLs, username and private key fields, plus the allow high-risk credential kinds gate.Open in YardmasterOpens Yardmaster. Don't have it? DownloadMerge sessions start for my pull requests
Stop automatic merge sessions
Read it in Merge pull requests with PR Merge QueueThe Auto-Merge Daemon starts merge sessions for the lowest-risk pull requests by itself, on repos whose Trust level allows it. Each repo starts at Pause and ask (recommended), which never starts one. The daemon is off until you turn it on, stops for the day at the Daily budget per repo (USD), and has a Dry-run mode that only logs what it would do.
To stop it everywhere, open Settings > PR Merge Queue and turn off Auto-Merge Daemon. To stop it for one repo, click the pencil (Edit repo) on that repo's row on the same page, set its Trust level to Pause and ask (recommended) and click Save.
PR Merge Queue Auto-Merge DaemonSettings, PR Merge QueuePeriodically poll repos and auto-spawn merge sessions for fast-lane PRs on fully autonomous reposOpen in YardmasterOpens Yardmaster. Don't have it? DownloadRisky paths. Pull requests that touch a repo's Risky paths are never merged automatically.
Edit the merge prompt. Under Merge prompts you can change the whole instruction the merge agent gets, with Reset to default. That text includes the rules that stop the agent from pushing or touching your base branch: remove them and nothing else enforces them, and a changed prompt stops getting improvements to the default.
Scripts and other AI tools. A merge or close requested through the CLI API always waits for your approval; reviews do too unless you turn that off.
Sessions come back after Yardmaster restarts
Stop sessions from coming back
Read it in Sessions come back after a crash or restartThis time only: click Stop on the "Resuming" message. Sessions that had not come back yet stay stopped, quietly, and you can restart them later from Manage sessions.
Every time: turn off Auto-Resume Sessions on Restart. The same switch is in the Manage sessions window as Resume sessions when Yardmaster restarts.
Auto-Resume Sessions on RestartSettings, Workflow · Default: OnAutomatically restart sessions that were active when the app was closed or crashed. Running sessions receive a continue nudge. Sessions waiting for your input are restored.Open in YardmasterOpens Yardmaster. Don't have it? DownloadWith it off, those sessions wait for you in the Inbox instead: one cut off when you closed the app shows Interrupted, and one cut off by a crash shows Error. Send it a message to carry on.
Something else, or I can't tell (Safe Mode)
Restart in Safe Mode
Read it in Yardmaster keeps doing things on its own: use Safe ModeOpen Settings > Diagnostics. The Health tab opens.
Scroll to the Actions card at the bottom and click Restart in Safe Mode.
Click Restart in Safe Mode again to confirm.
Yardmaster closes cleanly and opens again in Safe Mode. A banner across the top reads "Safe Mode" and has a Restart Normally button.
Auto-Resume Sessions on RestartSettings, Workflow · Default: OnAutomatically restart sessions that were active when the app was closed or crashed. Running sessions receive a continue nudge. Sessions waiting for your input are restored.Open in YardmasterOpens Yardmaster. Don't have it? Download