Claude routines vs Desktop tasks vs /loop for recurring Sume renders

For a recurring Sume render, use a Claude cloud routine when it must run with your computer off, a Desktop task when it needs local files, and /loop only for polling during a session. If the work is only media generation on a cadence, a Sume cron schedule needs no Claude session at all. Anthropic's own comparison table is the source for the Claude side (Claude Code docs, read 2026-10-04).

The three Claude options, from Anthropic's table

The page compares cloud routines, Desktop scheduled tasks and the /loop command on where they run, whether the machine must be on, MCP access, permission prompts and minimum interval.

What that means for paid Sume calls

A cloud routine runs autonomously with no permission prompts, so nothing stops a paid call except the gates you set. On the hosted MCP at https://mcp.sume.com/mcp, idempotency_key is required on write and paid tools, dry_run previews cost, and max_spend_usd caps a call only when you send it (MCP tools and gates). Put all three in the routine's prompt.

A Desktop task can use a permission mode instead, but a run in a mode that needs approval stalls until you answer. /loop is session-scoped, so it suits checking a job's status, not producing a day's renders.

When a Sume schedule is simpler

A Sume schedule stores instructions, a model, a 5-field cron expression with a timezone and a spend cap, and Sume runs it as an Agent in a fresh thread. You read the run receipt over the API, and an optional webhook delivers it. It is the plain choice when nothing else needs the run, but you author it in the dashboard and cannot create it over the API (Scheduled).

• Needs your repository or local files: Desktop task.
• Must run with your computer off and call tools from Claude: cloud routine, with gates in the prompt.
• Only generation on a cadence, bounded by a per-run cap: Sume Scheduled.
• Checking a job while you are in a session: /loop.

One more difference to plan for

A cloud routine's minimum interval is one hour, and a Desktop task or a loop can run every minute. A cadence tighter than the routine floor points to Desktop or a Sume schedule. Whichever you choose, send a stable idempotency_key per intended output so a retry cannot render twice.