> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.decube.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.decube.io/data-quality/monitor-configuration-settings/available-monitor-modes.md).

# Available Monitor Modes

Every monitor runs in one of two modes: **Scheduled** or **On-Demand**. You select the mode when creating a monitor, and it cannot be changed after creation.

## Scheduled

Scheduled monitors run automatically at the frequency you configure — hourly, daily, weekly, or custom intervals. Decube scans the asset at each interval, evaluates the monitored metric against the threshold or confidence interval, and opens an incident if the result falls outside the expected range.

Scheduled mode supports Smart Training. When Smart Training is enabled, the ML model trains on historical data to learn a dynamic confidence interval. See [How Anomaly Detection Works](/data-quality/anomaly-detection-explained.md) for how training works.

**All monitor types support Scheduled mode** — Freshness, Volume, Field Health (including Cardinality), Custom SQL, Schema Drift, Job Failure.

***

## On-Demand

On-Demand monitors do not run on a schedule. You trigger them manually from **All Monitors**, either immediately after creation (Save and Run) or at any later point (Run once from the ellipsis menu).

On-Demand mode is useful for ad-hoc investigation, validating a specific data load, or testing a monitor's configuration before committing to a schedule.

**Constraints in On-Demand mode:**

* Smart Training is not available. Thresholds must be set manually.
* Grouped By is not available.
* Frequency is not configured — instead, you set a **Lookback Period** that defines how far back each run scans.
* The Cardinality test type is not available.

**Supported monitor types:** Freshness, Volume, Field Health (excluding Cardinality), Custom SQL.

***

## Comparison

|                    | Scheduled                         | On-Demand                |
| ------------------ | --------------------------------- | ------------------------ |
| Runs automatically | Yes                               | No — manual trigger only |
| Smart Training     | Yes (with Timestamp row creation) | No                       |
| Grouped By         | Yes                               | No                       |
| Cardinality        | Yes                               | No                       |
| Frequency setting  | Required                          | Not applicable           |
| Lookback Period    | Set automatically from frequency  | Required                 |

***

## Choosing a mode

Use **Scheduled** for production monitoring — tables that need continuous coverage, SLA tracking, or anomaly detection based on historical patterns.

Use **On-Demand** for development, investigation, or one-off validation checks where you don't need continuous alerting.

***

## Related pages

{% content-ref url="/pages/6RrAkEEUumLsBRBdTnw3" %}
[Custom Scheduling For Monitors](/data-quality/monitor-configuration-settings/custom-scheduling-for-monitors.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/YpzBR4Fms5X6aZfHSJXj" %}
[Set Up Freshness Monitors](/data-quality/how-to-set-up-monitors/set-up-freshness-monitors.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/K9nwiEHp0zGa6BN2j0kl" %}
[Set Up Volume Monitors](/data-quality/how-to-set-up-monitors/set-up-volume-monitors.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/Dtvx04oJ0XpeTvHOkQQD" %}
[Set Up Field Health Monitors](/data-quality/how-to-set-up-monitors/set-up-field-tests.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/PWGhO7SkX4GtJu3jfRBX" %}
[Set Up Custom SQL Monitors](/data-quality/how-to-set-up-monitors/custom-sql-monitors.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}