Workflows
- What workflows are and when to use them
- The three building blocks of every workflow: trigger, steps, and inputs
- The three trigger types available: temporal, hook, and manual
- How to access and navigate the workflows page
Workflows let you automate repetitive tasks by defining a series of steps that run automatically based on a trigger you choose. Instead of manually performing the same actions every time, you set up a workflow once and let the system handle the rest. The workflows page is found under Automations > Workflows in the sidebar, and displays a standard list view titled "workflows" with options to filter, bulk update, and create new workflows.
What can workflows do?
Common uses for workflows include:
- Send a welcome message when a new client is created
- Assign a tag when a conversation is opened from a specific channel
- Notify your team when an appointment is booked
- Run a daily report on a set schedule
- Trigger external actions via webhooks or API calls
- Process data by combining multiple steps that pass information using
{{variable}}placeholders
Workflow building blocks
Every workflow has three main parts:
- Trigger (Gatilho) -- The condition that starts the workflow. You choose from three trigger types:
- Temporal -- Runs on a schedule (time-based, similar to a cron job). For example, every day at 9 AM.
- Hook -- Fires when a specific event occurs in the system, such as a new message received, a client created, or a conversation opened.
- Manual -- Started by an employee on demand, by clicking the executeManual button on the workflow.
- Steps (Etapas) -- The actions the workflow performs in sequence. You add steps one at a time using the Add passo (Add step) button. Steps execute from top to bottom in the order you define them.
- Inputs -- Dynamic data passed into your workflow using placeholder syntax like
{{client.name}},{{event.date}}, or{{trigger.channel}}. These allow each step to use real data from the trigger event or previous steps.
The workflows list page
When you open the workflows page, you will see:
- A Back button to return to the previous screen
- A Bulk Update option for making changes to multiple workflows at once
- A Filter option to search and narrow down your list of workflows
- A workflow_history button to view past execution history across all workflows
- A workflow_add button to create a new workflow
Start with a simple workflow -- like sending a welcome message to new clients -- and build from there as you get comfortable. You can always come back and add more steps or change the trigger type later.