---
url: https://docs.lfghub.gg/features/scheduling.md
description: >-
  Schedule an LFG group up to 7 days ahead in your own timezone. Members join in
  advance and the bot pings everyone when it's time to play.
---

# Scheduling

Not everyone can play right now. Scheduling lets members set up a group for **later, up to a week ahead,** and have the bot round everyone up when it's time.

## Creating a scheduled session

[`/lfg`](/commands/reference#lfg) and **Create Group** ask **Playing now or Schedule?** — as the first question the first time a member makes a group for a game, and as a switch on their saved-filters panel every time after. Picking **Schedule** there, the **Schedule Group** button on a schedule-only LFG channel, and the **Schedule** button on a group's control panel all open the same form with two fields:

### Time (flexible input)

The time field understands natural language, so members can type it however feels natural:

* `18:00`
* `20:30 tmrw`
* `10am Sat`
* `tonight`
* `22` → interpreted as `22:00`

Shorthand like `tmrw`, `2day`, and `tonite` is understood automatically.

### Timezone

A dropdown lists timezones as `GMT±offset (Cities)` and is daylight-saving-aware. The member's saved timezone is pre-selected and remembered for next time.

## The 7-day limit

Sessions can be scheduled up to **7 days ahead**. Times in the past are rejected, and anything more than a week out is rejected too.

## What happens as the session approaches

A scheduled session lives as a joinable event that others can sign up for. Then, automatically:

* **Shortly before start time**, the bot posts a one-time reminder with **Start**, **Cancel**, and **Leave** buttons.
* **At start time:**
  * If only the owner joined, the event is **auto-cancelled**.
  * If others joined, it **auto-converts into a live "playing now" group** and pings everyone.

Owners can also manually **Start**, **Cancel**, or **Leave** at any point via the buttons.

## Inviting interested players

When enabled (main server only), the bot DMs up to 15 players who historically play that game around that time of day, inviting them to the scheduled session. This respects each member's mute setting and a cooldown so it never becomes spammy.

## Scheduling has to be enabled per game

On a server with an LFG channel for the game, scheduling follows that channel's setup: an admin picks the **Schedule** option, the **Playing now** option, or both in [Step 1 — Game Options](/guide/configuration#step-1-game-options).

* With both picked, members are asked **Playing now or Schedule?** — wherever on the server they type `/lfg`, since the group is posted to that LFG channel either way.
* With only one picked, the question is already answered and is never asked. A schedule-only channel keeps its **Schedule Group** button, as that is its only way in.

A server with no LFG channel for the game has switched nothing off, so `/lfg` there offers both.

## Limits and settings

* One active scheduled event per member at a time.

## Related

* [LFG & groups →](/features/lfg)
* [Discovery & notifications →](/features/notifications)