Overrides

An override is a time-bounded exception to a schedule. Use it when you need a resource or group up (or down) for a specific window and don’t want the cron to fight you; it clears itself when the window ends, so savings come back without anyone remembering to undo it.

Automate → Schedules → Overrides: each active or expired override with its type, reason, and window.

Before you start

• A role with the override policies (the built-in Editor and Admin roles have them).
• Usually, a schedule attached to the resource or group. An override typically targets a resource or group that a schedule runs, and its expiry uses that schedule’s timezone. See Scheduling.

How it works

When to use an override

Situation	What to do
Demo at 8pm tonight; dev cluster normally sleeps at 7pm	Keep Running until 10pm
Code freeze for the next 48 hours; nothing should start	Force Stop on the group for 48 hours
Release tonight; staging should stay up regardless of schedule	Keep Running on the staging group

If the change is permanent, edit the schedule instead. Overrides are for windows, not for new policy.

How overrides interact with schedules

Overrides take precedence over schedules but do not start or stop resources on their own. Think of an override as a “do not touch” sign that prevents the schedule from acting.

Current state	Override	Scheduled action	Result
Running	Keep Running	Stop	Stop suppressed. Resource stays running.
Stopped	Keep Running	Start	Start runs normally. Override has no effect.
Running	Force Stop	Stop	Stop runs normally. Override has no effect.
Stopped	Force Stop	Start	Start suppressed. Resource stays stopped.

To start or stop a resource right now regardless of the schedule, use manual start/stop from the resource row menu. See Resources.

Create an override

1. Pick the target

   Start from a single resource (in the resource detail drawer), a resource group (on the group detail page), or Create Override on the Automate → Schedules → Overrides tab. A resource or group can have only one active override at a time.

2. Pick the override type

   Keep Running prevents any scheduled stop from firing. Force Stop prevents any scheduled start from firing. ZopNight does not start a stopped resource just because you set Keep Running; it only blocks the schedule from stopping it.

3. Set the expiry

   Choose the end date and time. The expiry uses the timezone of the schedule attached to the resource or group. The override clears itself when the expiry passes; you don’t need to remember to remove it.

4. Add a reason

   Give a reason so that other admins can later see why the override exists. It shows in the Reason column of the Overrides list.

Active overrides

The Overrides tab (Automate → Schedules → Overrides) lists every override across the org with these columns:

Column	What it shows
Name	The resource or group (groups carry a Group badge).
Status	Active or expired.
Override Type	Keep Running or Force Stop.
Reason	Why the override was set.
Start Time and End Time	The window, with the end time’s timezone.

Filter the list by status (active, expired, or all), target (resource or group), and type, or search by resource or group name.

Cancel an active override early from its row’s actions. Once it is cleared, the next scheduled action runs normally.

Notifications

Override activity is one of the events you can subscribe a notification channel (Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, or a webhook) to, in Settings → Notifications → Channels & Alerts. A subscribed channel is told when an override is:

• Set
• Cleared manually
• Expired automatically

Nothing is sent for overrides until a channel subscribes to these events.

Audit trail

Creating or cancelling an override is recorded in the audit log (Activity → Audit Logs) with the actor, timestamp, and request, including the reason. Use the audit log when you’re investigating “who turned off prod last weekend.” Automatic expiry is not an API request, so it does not add an audit row; a subscribed channel is told instead.

Troubleshooting

Next steps