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 and take effect as soon as you create them, without waiting for the next schedule run. Keep Running starts the resource if it is stopped; Force Stop stops it if it is running. When the override expires, ZopNight runs the opposite action (Keep Running ends with a stop, Force Stop with a start) and the schedule takes over again.

Current state	Override	What happens when you set it	During the window
Running	Keep Running	Nothing; it keeps running.	Scheduled stops are suppressed.
Stopped	Keep Running	Started right away.	Scheduled stops are suppressed.
Running	Force Stop	Stopped right away.	Scheduled starts are suppressed.
Stopped	Force Stop	Nothing; it stays stopped.	Scheduled starts are suppressed.

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 action

   In the Action field, choose Force ON (prevent stops), listed as Keep Running, to start the resource if it is stopped and block scheduled stops. Choose Force OFF (prevent starts), listed as Force Stop, to stop it if it is running and block scheduled starts. Either action takes effect as soon as you save.

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. Cancelling takes effect right away: ZopNight runs the opposite action at once, so cancelling Keep Running stops the resource and cancelling Force Stop starts it. After that, the schedule 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