Overview: Automations Page

Last updated: August 7, 2026

Summary

The Automations page allows you to manage the entire lifecycle of your scheduled scans. Its primary value is transforming security from a periodic task into a continuous, integrated process, providing you with real-time insights and helping you maintain a proactive defense.

Who Should Read This

  • Security Leads: To ensure continuous monitoring is in place to meet compliance standards like SOC 2, PCI-DSS, and HIPAA.

  • DevOps & Engineers: To automate security feedback loops within your development environment.

  • Compliance Officers: To maintain up-to-date reports for audits by ensuring scans run at the required intervals.

Key Functions

The Automations table provides a clear breakdown of your scheduled efforts:

  • Target & Type: Identifies the specific application or API and its asset category.

  • Name: Your custom label for the specific schedule (e.g., "Weekly Production Scan").

  • Scan Type: Indicates whether the automation triggers an Automated Scan or a Manual Pentest.

  • Automated Scan Type: For automated runs, this specifies if it is a Full, Lightning, or Emerging Threat scan.

  • Status & Frequency: Shows if the automation is currently active and how often it is set to run (e.g., daily, weekly).

  • Next Run: Displays the timestamp for the next scheduled execution.

Available Actions

  • Create Scan Schedule: Click the button in the hero section to select targets, timezones, and frequencies for a new automation.

  • Edit a Schedule: Click on any row in the table to open the edit sheet and modify existing settings.

  • Disable a Schedule: Use the toggle in the "Status" column or the three-dot menu (⋮) to pause scans without deleting your configuration.

  • Delete a Schedule: Permanently remove an automation via the three-dot menu (⋮) or the button within the edit sheet.

Best Practices

  • Optimize Delta Scans: For the most accurate incremental testing, schedule an Automated Crawl (e.g., at 2:00 AM) and then set a Delta Scan to run a few hours later (e.g., 4:00 AM).

  • Frequency Matching: We recommend running Lightning Scans daily for common issues and Full Scans at least once a week for deep assessments.

  • Timezone Alignment: Ensure you select your local timezone during setup so that scans occur during your team's preferred maintenance windows.

Troubleshooting & FAQ

  • Exact Start Times: If you schedule a scan for 4:00 AM, you may see it start at a time like 4:39 AM. This is intentional; our system automatically assigns the best available timeslot within that hour to optimize performance and prevent queuing.

  • Scan Quota Exhausted: If you hit your limit, please contact us at help@getastra.com. We can verify your subscription and increase your quota as needed.

  • Canceled Scans: Schedules may be automatically canceled if your target is unreachable or if another scan is already in progress for that same target.