> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://webscraping.titannet.io/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Tasks

> A task is Titan’s durable definition of work: targets, intent, output shape, and optional modular actions or multi-step plans.

A **task** is what you define once and run many times. It captures **what** should happen (discovery, navigation, extraction, API calls, or classic URL-based extraction), **where** inputs come from, and **how** results should be shaped. **Executions** are individual runs of that definition—the runtime history, status, and outputs.

## What a task usually contains

Most tasks include:

* A **name**
* An **objective** (what success means in plain language)
* An **execution mode** (for example single run or scheduled)
* Optional **template** or **script** selection

**Classic extraction** tasks also specify:

* One or more **target URLs**
* An **output schema** for structured JSON (and media fields when applicable)

**Modular** tasks add **action types** (`search`, `crawl`, `scrape`, `api_call`), **input sources**, limits, payloads, or a full **multi-step plan** instead of relying only on the classic field layout. See [Action types overview](/about-platform/action-types/overview) for how those pieces fit the API.

## Why tasks matter

Tasks are the stable control-plane object you can:

* List and filter
* Update as sites or APIs evolve
* Schedule or trigger manually
* Tie to many executions over time

That stability is what makes Titan suitable for **monitors**, **pipelines**, and **agent-driven retrieval**, not only one-off scripts.

## Execution types

The main distinction is:

* **Single-run** tasks — ad hoc jobs, proofs of concept, or on-demand collection.
* **Scheduled** tasks — recurring monitors, feeds, and anything that needs a time series of executions.

## Output schemas

For extraction-heavy flows, the **output schema** is the contract between you, the platform, and downstream consumers: it describes the JSON shape you expect. Modular and multi-step tasks may attach schemas **per step** where the plan requires it; the API Reference lists the exact request shapes for your deployment.

## Templates and tasks

Tasks can be authored from scratch or started from a **template** that encodes a proven pattern for a site or vertical. Templates help teams share defaults; the task remains **your** owned object for schedules, history, and updates.

## Tasks versus executions

* A **task** is the definition.
* An **execution** is one run of that definition.

One task can have many executions. The task stays stable while executions capture status, errors, and exports for each attempt.

## Next steps

* [Action types overview](/about-platform/action-types/overview)
* [Create and manage tasks](/use-the-platform/create-and-manage-tasks)
* [Executions](/about-platform/executions)
* [Use templates and preview runs](/use-the-platform/use-templates-and-preview-runs)