Automations overview

Editorial illustration of a polished automation graph of trigger and action nodes.

Automations watch for an event or schedule, then run the connected steps you define. Use them to notify your team, update records, communicate with clients, call an integration, or branch and wait without repeating the work manually.

Open Settings, then Automations ( /settings/automations (opens in new tab) ) to see the automation list.

Automations list with two active documentation examples and one inactive example with a failed last run — View full size

How an automation fits together

Part	What it does
Trigger	Starts the automation when an event occurs, a schedule arrives, a webhook is received, or a button or link is selected.
Condition	Narrows a trigger or creates a branch by comparing fields and values.
Action	Performs work such as sending a notification, updating a task, creating a ticket, or calling an integration.
Connection	Sets the path and order between nodes. A node’s position on the canvas does not set execution order by itself.
Run	One recorded execution. The Activity tab shows its status, timing, steps, and any surfaced error.

Understand states

Publishing and activation are separate controls.

State	Meaning
Draft	The current builder graph has not been published. A new automation starts here.
Published	A saved version is available to run.
Active	The published version can accept new trigger events.
Inactive	New trigger events do not start runs. Existing activity remains available.
Draft (v# is Active)	You are editing a draft while the named published version remains active. Publish the draft when it is ready to replace that version.

Publishing does not automatically make an automation active. After publishing, use the toggle beside the state badge when it should begin accepting triggers.