Clockwork

About Clockwork

Clockwork is a macOS scheduling tool that lets you book AI coding agents on a real calendar. Agents run unattended inside sandboxed git worktrees, pause when a step looks risky, and file a report showing the actual dollar cost of the run. The tool is currently free, requires Apple silicon, and is not yet notarized.

Review

Clockwork approaches autonomous coding agents from a scheduling angle rather than a chat-based one. You set a time slot, assign a budget, and the agent works within those boundaries while you're away from your keyboard. The tool doesn't try to do everything - it focuses on running predefined repo chores on a recurring calendar, surfacing only the moments that need human judgment.

Key Features

• Recurring agent jobs booked on a calendar, with the ability to skip a slot if the previous run is still awaiting approval.
• Sandboxed execution using macOS Seatbelt and per-run git worktrees, where writes stay confined and credentials like SSH_AUTH_SOCK are blocked from reaching the agent process.
• Hard budget caps enforced by the supervisor - dollar limits, turn limits, and wall-clock timeouts - rather than relying on the model to self-regulate.
• Pause-on-risk behavior that holds the slot until you approve or reject, instead of failing silently or continuing without permission.
• Post-run reports that include the actual dollar cost of the completed work.

Pricing and Value

Clockwork is free at launch. There is no paid tier available to purchase right now, and the maker has stated that paid plans are still being finalized with no firm launch date. Users bring their own API key or ride an existing subscription; the tool itself does not currently charge for usage.

Pros

• Runs agents on a schedule, which reduces the need to manually kick off repetitive repo tasks.
• Sandboxing and credential isolation are implemented at the OS level, with the relevant code Apache-2.0 licensed and testable.
• Budget controls use concrete limits (dollars, turns, wall-clock time) that the supervisor enforces directly.
• Paused runs hold their state rather than timing out, so a 2am approval request waits for morning input.

Cons

• Requires the Mac to stay awake during booked windows - the tool can hold off idle sleep when plugged in, but a missed slot due to sleep or power loss is reported rather than recovered.
• The wall-clock timeout is a hard cut. It terminates the agent process even mid-operation, which can leave a worktree in an interrupted state for the next run to handle.
• Not well suited for teams or users who need event-driven triggers today. Webhooks are on the roadmap, but the current build only supports time-based calendar scheduling.

Clockwork fits developers who already know which repo tasks they want to hand off and when they want them done. It's less useful for ad-hoc exploration or for anyone whose workflow depends on triggering agents from GitHub releases or CI events - at least until webhook support ships. The free, pre-notarized build makes it accessible for early testing on Apple silicon Macs, with the understanding that you'll need to clear the quarantine flag manually.

Open 'Clockwork' Website