> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.abconvert.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Schedule a test
> Plan your testing, and ABConvert executes it for you.
A schedule turns your testing plan into something ABConvert executes for you. Set the window a test should run in, and we launch and end it on schedule, even when you're away.
## When to use it
* **The start has to match another event.** A campaign, a sale, or a theme release that goes live at 2 AM your time.
* **You planned a testing roadmap.** Schedule each test to start after the one before it ends, and the whole plan runs on its own.
* **You decided the run length up front.** Set the end time and the test stops on time, every time.
## When not to use it
* **You want the test live now.** Click **Launch** instead. A schedule is for a time you won't be there.
* **You haven't checked the setup yet.** [Preview](/experiments/lifecycle#preview-before-you-launch) the test first. A schedule launches the test exactly as it is at that moment.
## How it works
1. You pick a start time, an end time, or both, in the time zone you choose.
2. The test waits on the **Scheduled** tab of your tests list. Your shoppers see nothing until it launches, so you can keep editing it, preview it, or cancel the schedule any time before then.
3. At the start time, we launch the test, running the same checks as the **Launch** button.
4. At the end time, we end the test. Results are final and a closed test can't restart.
We notify you when a test launches or ends, and tell you if something goes wrong. See [If a schedule doesn't run](#if-a-schedule-doesnt-run).
Try it: open any draft test, go to the review step, and click **Add schedule**. Nothing is saved until you confirm, so you can look around freely.
## Set up a schedule
Build the test the way you normally would. On the review step, click **Add schedule**.
* **Starts** is when the test goes live. Leave it as **Immediately** to launch it yourself.
* **Ends** is optional. Without it, the test runs until you end it.
* **Time zone** defaults to your store's.
Click **Done**, then **Schedule** at the bottom of the review step. Nothing is saved until you click **Schedule**.
The card then shows your window, how long the test runs, and a countdown to launch.
## Edit a schedule
### Before the test launches
Open the test and go to the review step.
* **Edit schedule** changes the start time, the end time, or the time zone.
* **Cancel schedule**, the trash icon, drops the schedule. Everything else about the test stays as you set it, and you launch it yourself.
To launch a scheduled test early, cancel its schedule and click **Launch**.
### After the test launches
Once the test is live, only the end time can change. Open the test's edit page to move it, or remove it to let the test run until you stop it. Ending the test yourself always works, whatever the schedule says.
A paused test still ends at its end time. If you paused a test to fix something and want to keep it, move the end time later or remove it.
## If a schedule doesn't run
A scheduled launch can fail for the same reasons a manual one can: your store is unreachable, a test it conflicts with is already running, or the theme the test points at has changed.
| What happened | What we do | What you do |
| --------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| The launch failed | Retry for about 15 minutes, then leave the test as a draft | Fix the problem we show on the test, then launch it or schedule it again |
| The test couldn't end | Keep retrying, and tell you the test is still running | End it yourself |
After an important scheduled launch, check that the test moved from the **Scheduled** tab to **Active**.
In the app, go to **Help > Support > Open ticket**. Include your store and the test, and we'll look into it.
## Common mistakes
| Mistake | Why it hurts | Do this instead |
| -------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Ending the test the moment it looks like a winner | Early results swing a lot, so a test that leads on day three often loses by day ten. This is [p-hacking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_dredging). | Set the run length before you launch, and let the end time enforce it. |
| Scheduling a run that's too short | Two or three days is rarely enough to reach [statistical significance](/analytics/statistical-significance). | Run the test for one to two full weeks, so it covers weekdays and weekends. |
| Scheduling in your own time zone instead of your store's | A 9 AM start in the wrong time zone can go live in the middle of the night, when your traffic is lowest. | Set **Time zone** to your store's zone before you save. |
| Scheduling two tests that conflict | A template test and a theme test conflict when the template you're testing is missing from one of the themes. The second test can't launch while the first is running. | Schedule the second test to start after the first one ends. |
## FAQ
Nothing moves. A schedule stores the exact moment you picked, and we keep showing it in the time zone you chose when you set it.
Your times stay at the exact moments you picked. If you type a time that a daylight saving change skips, such as 2:30 AM on the night clocks move forward, we ask for another time instead of guessing.
You can set or move its end time. The start time can't change once the test is live.
Yes, both work. A start time alone launches the test and leaves it running until you end it. An end time alone ends a test you launched yourself.