How autopilot works

Autopilot is the core of HarperFlow: once it's on, your site gets a steady stream of new articles without you starting each one by hand. This article walks through the loop it runs and what has to be true before it actually fires.

The loop autopilot runs

Each time autopilot fires, HarperFlow works through the same four steps:

1. Discover a keyword worth writing about, based on your niche and what you've already covered.
2. Draft a full article: title, body, images, citations, FAQs, and metadata.
3. Schedule it with a real future publish time, never "now."
4. Publish it automatically once that time arrives, unless you skipped it first.

Between steps 3 and 4 sits the veto window, the only review step in the loop. Nothing needs your sign-off to move forward; something only needs your attention if you want to stop it.

What has to be true before it runs

Autopilot only dispatches for a project that is:

• Connected, with a healthy credential to your site.
• Mapped, with a validated field mapping so HarperFlow knows where each part of an article belongs.
• Taxonomized, with at least 12 reviewed, active topic clusters.
• Turned on, with autopilot enabled and a publishing cadence set. This usually happens during the onboarding wizard, but it can also be changed later from your project settings.

Missing any of these doesn't produce an error message anywhere obvious; autopilot just quietly has nothing to do until the gap is closed.

How often it checks in

HarperFlow checks every autopilot-enabled project on a short interval, comparing your configured cadence (for example, three mornings a week) against what has already run for that slot. When a project's next occurrence comes due, it dispatches a run sized to your plan's remaining monthly quota, split across the cadence so a whole month's budget doesn't land in one sitting.

If a run only partly completes, delivering fewer articles than it asked for, HarperFlow automatically dispatches one follow-up run for exactly the shortfall, so a batch you were promised still arrives in full.

Note: A project stuck below 12 reviewed topic clusters, or with an unvalidated field mapping, will not error loudly anywhere. Check your project's readiness status if autopilot seems to have gone quiet.

Related

• Topic clusters and content types
• The veto digest
• Scheduling and spread
• Go-live checklist