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

# Schedule an experiment

> Start on a date, stop on a date, or cap the run length. All in your project's timezone. Auto-stop lands the test in Paused, never in the trash.

Most tests you start manually and stop when the verdict is in. Some
tests benefit from a schedule, a Black Friday hero, a launch-day
homepage, a seven-day validation on a limited feature. That is what the
Schedule section handles.

## Three fields

Under **Schedule** in the editor, you can set any combination of:

* **Start date and time.** When to flip the experiment from Draft to
  Live. Defaults to "start when I click Start now".
* **End date and time.** When to auto-stop. Blank means run until you
  stop it.
* **Maximum run days.** A safety cap. If set, the test auto-stops after
  N days regardless of whether an end date arrives sooner.

All three fields use your **project timezone**, which is set once per
site under [Settings → General](/settings/general). If your project is
America/New\_York, "9 AM" means 9 AM Eastern.

## The two-step flow

Scheduling is two clicks, not one PATCH:

1. Fill the schedule fields (**Save changes** stores them on the
   draft).
2. Click **Schedule for later** at the top-right.

Step two flips the experiment's status to **Scheduled**. It does not go
live yet, cron picks it up and starts it at the configured time.

To cancel a schedule and put it back to Draft, use **Cancel schedule**
from the row menu or the detail page.

## Auto-stop lands in Paused

When the end date arrives (or max-days is hit), the experiment
transitions to **Paused**, not Archived. Nothing is deleted. The
results page stays available and any team member with the right role
can review, then choose to **Resume** or **Archive**.

An email goes to the workspace admins when auto-stop fires. If your
day-seven test needs a day-eight look before it goes back on, that
email is your reminder.

## What happens to bucketed visitors on auto-stop

Existing bucketed visitors stop seeing the variant on their next
pageview. The snippet reads the new config within about sixty seconds
and applies whatever is now live. Historical data is preserved and the
results page keeps working.

## Scheduled + activation triggers

A scheduled experiment respects its activation trigger like any other.
If your test is set to **On click** and cron starts it at 9 AM, the
first exposure fires when the first eligible visitor clicks, not at 9
AM sharp.

## Corner cases

**Start date in the past**, the editor rejects it. Use **Start now**
instead.

**End date before start**, rejected.

**End date without a start**, allowed. The experiment runs from
whenever you click Start until the end date.

**Max days and end date both set**, whichever comes first wins.