Suretek AutoPilot Documentation

Quick Start

Suretek AutoPilot lets you automate repetitive tasks — reports, file moves, reminders, data syncs — and run them on your schedule, directly on your own network. Here's how to get up and running:

Install Python

The Suretek Agent is a Python script, so Python must be installed on any machine where you want to run the agent. This is a one-time setup step.

Windows

python --version

Linux

Python is usually pre-installed on Linux. Verify with:

python3 --version

If it's not installed:

sudo apt install python3   # Ubuntu/Debian
sudo yum install python3   # CentOS/RHEL

Install the Agent

The Suretek Agent is a lightweight Python script that runs on your local machine. It connects outbound to your scheduler dashboard — your data never leaves your network.

Download the agent

Useful agent commands

Running as a background service

To keep the agent running automatically after a reboot — no terminal window needed — install it as a background service.

Windows — Option 1: NSSM (Recommended)

NSSM (Non-Sucking Service Manager) installs the agent as a proper Windows Service that starts at boot, survives logoffs, and auto-restarts if it crashes.

python agent.py install-service

Windows — Option 2: Task Scheduler (No extra tools)

If you'd rather not install NSSM, run this command for step-by-step Task Scheduler instructions:

python agent.py task-scheduler

Or follow these steps manually:

1. Open Task Scheduler from the Start menu
2. Click Create Basic Task — Name it "Suretek Agent"
3. Trigger: When the computer starts
4. Action: Start a program
   Program: python   Arguments: C:\path\to\agent.py
5. In Properties → General: check Run whether user is logged on or not and Run with highest privileges

Linux — systemd

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/suretek-agent.service

[Unit]
Description=Suretek Agent
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 /home/youruser/agent.py
Restart=always
User=youruser

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

sudo systemctl enable --now suretek-agent

Your First Job

A job is any command or script you want to run automatically. It can be a Python script, a batch file, a shell script, or any program your machine can run from a terminal.

python C:\scripts\daily_report.py
bash /home/user/scripts/backup.sh

→ Jobs

A job is any command or script you want to run automatically. Suretek supports any executable that can run from a command line.

Job actions

Each job in the Jobs table has four action buttons:

Execution modes

When creating a job you can choose how it runs:

• Agent — the job runs on your local machine via the Suretek Agent. Use this for tasks that need access to your local network, files, databases, or internal systems.
• Server — the job runs directly on the Suretek hosted server. Use this for lightweight cloud tasks like sending emails, connecting to an online service, or generating a report that doesn't need local data.

Most small business customers will use Agent mode. Server mode is a powerful option for tasks that don't require access to your local network.

Viewing job output logs

Every time a job runs, Suretek captures its full output — everything the script printed to the screen. To view it, go to your Dashboard and look at the Recent Activity table. Any run that produced output will show a → Log button in the Log column.

Click it and a new tab opens showing the complete output from that run — including any error messages — in a clean terminal-style view. This is the fastest way to diagnose why a job failed.

Force clearing a stuck job

Occasionally a job may get stuck showing a Running status — usually because the agent lost connection while a job was executing and never reported back. When this happens the job won't run again until it's cleared.

To fix it immediately, click the ⚠ Clear button that appears in the Actions column whenever a job is stuck in Running. This instantly resets the job to Idle so it can run again on its next scheduled time.

Pause vs Disable

There are two ways to stop a job from running:

• Pause — temporary. Use the ❚❚ Pause button when you need to stop a job briefly. It stays fully configured and is easy to resume. Great for maintenance windows or holidays.
• Disable — indefinite. Use the checkbox in the Enabled column to disable a job you don't need running for the foreseeable future.

Job types

→ Workflow Templates

Workflows are pre-built automations you can configure and deploy in seconds — no scripting required. Each template handles a common business task and generates a fully configured job in your scheduler automatically.

To access workflows, click Workflows in the left navigation. Select a template, fill in the fields, and click Create Workflow. Your job will appear in the Jobs table and run on its next scheduled time.

Stage to Archive

Moves files from a staging folder into a dated archive directory on a schedule. A new subfolder is created automatically for each run so files are always organized by date without any manual effort.

Common use cases: archiving processed invoices, moving completed orders out of a work queue, rotating nightly exports into long-term storage.

Folder Sync

Copies new and updated files from a source folder to a destination on a schedule. Use this to keep a backup drive, network share, or secondary machine in sync automatically.

Common use cases: syncing a work folder to a NAS (network-attached storage drive) or external drive, mirroring files to a backup location, keeping a laptop and desktop in sync.

Aged File Cleanup

Automatically removes or moves files older than a set number of days from a target folder on a schedule.

Common use cases: purging temp files or old exports, clearing a downloads folder of files older than 90 days, rotating log files before a drive fills up.

Script to Email

Runs any script on a schedule and emails the full console output to one or more recipients. No custom email code required — point it at your script and Suretek handles the delivery.

Common use cases: emailing a daily sales summary, sending a nightly error report, delivering a weekly inventory count to your team.

Coming Soon

Two additional templates are in development:

• Database Backup — Schedule automatic backups of SQLite databases to a local or network path.
• Service Monitor — Watch a Windows service and auto-restart it if it stops, then send an alert.

→ Schedules

Suretek supports flexible scheduling so you can run jobs exactly when you need them.

Cron syntax (advanced)

# minute hour day month weekday
0 9 * * 1-5   # Weekdays at 9:00 AM
0 */4 * * *   # Every 4 hours
30 8 1 * *    # 1st of each month at 8:30 AM
0 0 * * 0     # Every Sunday at midnight

Time zones

Schedules run in the time zone configured in Settings → Time Zone. All execution logs display times in your configured time zone.

→ Agents

An agent is the software running on your local machine that executes your jobs. Your agent connects outbound to Suretek — your data stays inside your network.

How agents work

The agent checks in with your dashboard every few seconds, picks up any jobs that are due, executes them locally, and sends the result back. You always see what happened, even for jobs that ran overnight.

What to do if your agent goes offline

If your agent stops polling the server, your jobs will stop running. You'll receive an email alert within 30 minutes. Here's how to get back online:

Agent status

→ SFTP & File Transfer

AutoPilot can connect to remote SFTP servers to upload and download files on a schedule, or trigger jobs automatically when new files arrive. This is available on the Pro and Business plans.

Connections

Before creating SFTP jobs or poller rules, you need to save at least one SFTP connection. Go to Connections in the top navigation. Each connection stores:

• Host — the SFTP server address (e.g. sftp.example.com)
• Port — default is 22
• Username — your SFTP login
• Auth type — password or private key
• Default remote path — the starting directory on the server

Click Test on any saved connection to verify credentials before using it in a job.

SFTP Transfer Jobs

To upload or download files on a schedule, create a new job and set the type to SFTP Transfer. You will then configure:

• Connection — select a saved SFTP connection
• Direction — Upload (local → remote) or Download (remote → local)
• Local path — the file or folder on the machine running the agent
• Remote path — the destination path on the SFTP server

SFTP Transfer jobs support all standard scheduling options — run on a schedule, at a set time, on an interval, or triggered by another job.

File Arrival Poller Rules Business

Poller Rules let AutoPilot watch a remote SFTP folder and trigger a job automatically when a new file appears. This is useful for workflows like processing payroll files, EDI documents, or bank exports as soon as they are dropped on a server.

To set up a poller rule, go to Connections and scroll to the File Arrival Poller Rules section. Click + Add Rule and configure:

• SFTP Connection — which server to watch
• Remote path — the folder to monitor (e.g. /uploads)
• Filename pattern — filter by name, e.g. *.csv or payroll_*.xml
• Poll interval — how often to check, in seconds (minimum 10)
• Linked job — the AutoPilot job to trigger when a match is found
• Action on match — run once per poll cycle, or once per new file
• Move file to — optionally move matched files to an archive folder after triggering
• Delete after trigger — optionally delete the file after the job is triggered

Each active poller rule runs as a background service on the server. Rules can be enabled or disabled at any time without deleting them.

Credential security

All SFTP passwords and private keys are encrypted at rest using AES-128 Fernet encryption. Credentials are never stored in plain text and are decrypted only at the moment a connection is used.

→ Executions & Logs

Every time a job runs, Suretek records the result as an execution. You can see the full history of every run — when it ran, how long it took, whether it succeeded, and the full log output.

Execution results

Failure notifications

Suretek can email you when a job fails. Go to Settings → Notifications to configure your email address and notification preferences.

Plan Comparison

→ Billing & Payments

How billing works

Paid plans are billed monthly. Your billing date is the day you first subscribed. Payments are processed securely via Stripe — Suretek never stores your card details.

Free trial

All paid plans include a free trial. You won't be charged until the trial ends. Cancel any time during the trial with no charge.

Cancellation

Cancel any time from Settings → Billing. Your account remains active until the end of your billing period, then downgrades to the Free plan. Your jobs and data are preserved.

Upgrading Your Plan

Frequently Asked Questions

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