> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.planmyrounds.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Setting up an Auto Duty

> Walk through the four-step wizard to configure a recurring Auto Duty — cadence, the Shift Schedule it uses, the team it draws from, and its scheduling rules.

Setting up an Auto Duty is a guided, four-step process, similar to the manual roster wizard but focused on what should repeat every cycle.

> [!NOTE]
>
> Only admins can create or edit an Auto Duty.

## Before you begin

* A [Shift Schedule](/docs/shifts/shift-schedules.md) exists for the team this Auto Duty will plan for.
* Doctors who should be in the pool have their **department**, **pod**, and (if you use them) **location** set correctly on their [profiles](/docs/team/doctor-profiles.md) — this is how the doctor pool is scoped.

## Open the wizard

Go to **Auto Duty Planning** in the sidebar and select **Set Auto Duty**. The wizard has four tabs: **Basics**, **Shifts**, **Department & Pod**, and **Rules**.

## Basics

**1. Name it**

Enter a **Duty plan name** your team will recognise — for example, *MICU Weekly Planning*.

**2. Set a location (optional)**

Choose a **Location**, or leave it as **No location** if this Auto Duty isn't tied to a specific site.

**3. Choose the cadence**

Toggle **Schedule Cadence** to **Weekly** or **Monthly**, then set **Starts on** — a day of the week for weekly, or a day of the month for monthly.

**4. Set when planning opens**

Under **Planning & Automation**, set **Planning opens** — how many days before each period staff can start updating their availability and leave.

### Automation toggles

Still under **Planning & Automation**:

| Toggle | What it does |
| - | - |
| **Generate duty plan automatically** | When on, sets **Generate duty plan** — how many days before the period starts the review window closes and the engine generates automatically, even if some responses are still pending. New Auto Duties start with this on; you can turn it off once you're editing. |
| **Publish automatically** | Publishes the generated Duty Plan with no admin review. Only available when automatic generation is on. |

> [!TIP]
>
> Leave both off if you'd rather review the roster before it goes anywhere — the cycle will still notify staff and collect availability for you, and wait for you to click **Generate Duty Plan** and **Publish Roster** yourself. See [Running a planning cycle](/docs/auto-duty-planning/running-a-planning-cycle.md).

## Shifts

Select the **Shift Schedule** this Auto Duty generates against every cycle. If none exist yet for your organisation, create one under [Shift Schedules](/docs/shifts/shift-schedules.md) first, then come back to the wizard.

## Department & Pod

This step sets the doctor pool the engine draws from — re-queried fresh every cycle, so it never goes stale.

* Check one or more **Departments** — leave none checked to include the whole organisation.
* Check one or more **Pods** — leave none checked to include every pod.

A live count shows how many active doctors currently match your scope, alongside a summary badge (for example, *2 dept · All pods · Main Hospital*) combining department, pod, and the location you set on Basics.

## Rules

Set the same work, rest, and fairness rules used by the manual roster wizard — max consecutive work days, minimum rest days, senior-to-junior ratios, and more. See [Roster constraints](/docs/rosters/roster-constraints.md) for what each one does.

## Save

Select **Save Auto Duty**. It's active immediately and its next cycle will start on schedule.

## Turning automation off mid-cycle

If you switch off **Active** or **Generate duty plan automatically** while a cycle is already in progress, PlanMyRounds asks you to confirm:

> [!WARNING]
>
> **Turn off automation?** A planning cycle is currently in progress for this Auto Duty. It will run to completion as normal; nothing in progress will be cancelled. This only stops future cycles from starting or auto-generating automatically.

Select **Turn Off** to confirm, or **Cancel** to leave automation as it is.

## Next steps

> **[Run a planning cycle](/docs/auto-duty-planning/running-a-planning-cycle.md)**
>
> See what happens at each stage, and how to start a cycle manually.

> **[Build a Shift Schedule](/docs/shifts/shift-schedules.md)**
>
> Set up the weekly pattern your Auto Duty will generate against.


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