What is a Presence Scheduler?
Quick Definition
A presence scheduler is a tool that automatically maintains your Slack presence status (active/online) during specified time windows, typically matching your work hours. Unlike mouse jigglers or scripts, modern presence schedulers run from the cloud.
Understanding Presence Scheduler
Presence schedulers solve the problem of Slack's auto-away feature by keeping your status active during times you want to appear available. The best presence schedulers are cloud-based, meaning they work even when your laptop is closed or disconnected. You set your work schedule (like 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday), and the scheduler handles maintaining your active presence during those hours. The concept of presence scheduling emerged as remote work became mainstream and workers discovered that Slack's auto-away feature didn't align with their actual availability. Early solutions were device-based—mouse jigglers, keep-awake scripts, and browser extensions. These required the computer to stay on and connected, making them unreliable for anyone who traveled, commuted, or simply wanted to close their laptop at the end of the day. Cloud-based presence schedulers represent the evolution of this category. By running on external servers, they maintain the connection Slack needs without depending on any specific device. Modern presence schedulers typically offer features like custom work hours per day, lunch break pauses, timezone awareness, and instant on/off toggles. They authenticate through standard OAuth flows and only request the minimum permissions needed to update presence status, without access to messages, files, or channels.
Key Points
- Automates Slack presence during set hours
- Cloud-based solutions work when laptop is off
- Different from mouse jigglers (which keep device awake)
- Supports custom schedules with breaks
- No workspace app installation typically required
Examples
Remote worker schedule
A remote worker sets their presence scheduler for 8am-5pm with a 12-1pm lunch break. Their Slack stays green during those hours, goes away during lunch, and stays away after 5pm.
Flexible hours
A consultant with variable hours can set different schedules for different days, or turn the scheduler on/off as their meetings and availability change.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a presence scheduler the same as a mouse jiggler?
Do presence schedulers read my Slack messages?
Is using a presence scheduler allowed?
How Idle Pilot Helps
Idle Pilot is a cloud-based presence scheduler that keeps your Slack active during your scheduled work hours. Set your schedule once (including lunch breaks and different hours per day), and Idle Pilot handles the rest—even when your laptop is closed.
Try Idle Pilot freeRelated Terms
Slack presence is the indicator (green or yellow dot) next to your name showing whether you're currently active or away in Slack. It's automatically determined by Slack based on your recent activity and connection status.
Slack auto-away is the automatic system that switches your presence status from active (green) to away (yellow) after a period of inactivity. Slack typically triggers this after approximately 10 minutes with no interaction.
The green dot in Slack is a presence indicator showing that a person is currently active. It appears as a solid green circle next to their profile picture and name, indicating they've recently interacted with Slack.