Creating an automation

An automation only starts running after it has a saved version and is turned on. Until then, you can build and test the flow in the editor. This guide also explains what is saved immediately, what remains only on the canvas, and which effects a test can produce.

1. Create the automation and pick a starting point

Under Automations, select New automation. In How do you want to start?, choose:

• Start from scratch — creates a blank canvas. Use it to build your own flow.
• Follow-up for a stalled conversation — fills in a flow that starts when a conversation has had no reply for 23 hours, sends the first message, waits 2 days, sends the second, waits 4 days, sends the third, and ends. Both waits cancel the remaining sequence if the contact replies or the conversation is resolved, and restrict sending to weekdays from 9 AM to 6 PM in the organization’s time zone.

When you choose an option, SquadOS immediately creates the automation record, turned off and with a placeholder name such as New automation #1, and opens the Editor. The initial design still has to be saved as a version.

Review the follow-up before enabling it

This starting point uses free-form text messages. On WhatsApp, a later attempt may happen outside Meta’s 24-hour customer service window and be skipped. Replace the necessary sends with approved message templates and a fallback before relying on the sequence. See Automation actions.

2. Set its identity and overall behavior

Open Settings in the left rail to adjust:

• name and description;
• re-entry — whether the same conversation may start another run while a previous one is still active;
• activation — whether the automation is on or off.

These settings are written directly to the automation. They do not depend on the editor’s Save button, which creates a graph version. Use a name that describes both the trigger and outcome, such as Stalled conversation — sales follow-up.

3. Build the flow in the Editor

Return to Editor. The palette on the left separates Triggers, Actions, and Logic. You can search for a step and add it in either of two ways:

• click — SquadOS inserts the step in a valid destination: a trigger goes into the starting convergence; an action or rule goes into the last open tail;
• drag — valid slots light up on the canvas, and you choose exactly where to drop. Dropping outside a slot cancels the operation.

On a blank canvas, the first step must be a trigger. Actions and rules remain unavailable until the flow has a starting point. You may then add more triggers: any one of them starts the same shared path. Configure filters that do not overlap, because ambiguous combinations prevent saving.

Would you rather describe the flow?

The AgentMaker button in the top bar proposes an automation from free-form text, for example: “when the customer has not replied for 2 days, send a message.” Review the proposal, apply it to the canvas, and continue configuring it. See Building the automation with AgentMaker.

For precise editing:

• select a step to open its configuration on the right;
• use the right-click menu to duplicate or delete;
• use Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V to copy and paste selected steps;
• use Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Shift+Z to undo and redo;
• drag an existing step to another compatible slot.

4. Configure and validate each step

Select a card on the canvas. The right panel shows the step’s fields in sections; the first section opens by default, and closed sections display a summary when there is a useful value to show. Complete every required field and verify the variables used in messages or conditions.

The card summarizes the main configuration, but does not replace reviewing the panel. See the details for triggers, actions, and rules.

5. Test with controlled effects

Select Test, then choose Current canvas to run the design currently in the editor, even if it has never been saved. If the flow has more than one trigger, choose which one starts the test and provide the requested data.

During a test:

• send actions are simulated and do not deliver messages to the contact;
• AI steps run for real and may consume credits;
• Find or create conversation may create a real conversation, although it does not send a message;
• integrations and lookups may depend on real organization data.

Use a test contact and data that are safe to query or create. When the test finishes, SquadOS opens Activity, where the timeline shows each step’s input, output, and status. See Runs and tests.

6. Save a version and turn it on

Select Save to validate the graph and create a new version. There is no separate step called “Publish”: a saved version is the version available to future runs while the automation is on.

If there is a trigger without a path, an incomplete step, an invalid variable, or another incompatibility, the dialog lists the problems and highlights the matching steps. Fix them and try saving again.

After the first valid save, turn the automation on with the activation control. New events then use the saved version. Editing the canvas without saving does not change the running version.

Saving while runs are active

The dialog tells you how many runs are still in progress. They continue on the version they started with; the new version applies to future runs.

If the browser closes before you save

The editor keeps a local safety copy of graph changes for up to 14 days. When you reopen the same automation in the same organization and browser, you can Restore that draft or Discard it and return to the last saved version.

This copy is not synchronized between browsers or computers. Saving a version removes its corresponding local draft. Name, description, re-entry, and activation are separate from the graph and may already have been saved even while a canvas draft still exists.

Checklist before enabling

• The name identifies the purpose of the flow.
• Each trigger has clear filters and a valid path.
• Every required step is configured.
• WhatsApp messages that may fall outside the 24-hour window use an approved template with a fallback.
• The test used safe data and its result was reviewed under Activity.
• The latest version was saved before the automation was turned on.