Create an automation
An automation is an agent that runs with nobody in the chat. This page covers what to settle on the agent first, and where to attach the trigger. For what an automation is, see Automations.
Before you attach a trigger
An unattended run cannot ask you anything. Three parts of the agent have to carry what you would have carried in the chat.
1. Put the answers in the instructions
Open Sidebar > Agents > <agent name>, set Playground mode to Build, and open Instructions in the Configuration column. Click the AGENTS.md row and write down the choices the agent would otherwise ask you about: which source to read, which format to produce, what to do when the data is missing, and where the result goes. Click Save.
Write your agent's instructions covers the writing itself.
2. Give it somewhere to put the result
A run that finishes with nobody watching has to leave the result where you will see it.
Open Tools, click Add tool, and choose Third-party integration. In the Add app tools dialog pick the app you want to deliver into, choose the action under CHOOSE AN ACTION, and click Done. Then name that destination in the instructions.
If a run should leave something behind for later runs, have the agent write it into the agent folder. See Build a knowledge base for your agent.
3. Settle the permissions
Open Advanced, then the Permissions section, and set Policy:
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
Allow reads | Reads run, writes ask. This is the default |
Allow all | Every tool runs without asking |
Ask | A human approves every tool call |
Deny all | Every tool call is refused |
Under Ask, and under Allow reads when the agent needs to write, the run stops at the first gated tool call and waits for an approval. With nobody in the chat, that answer never arrives and the run does not finish. Decide what the agent may do on its own before you attach a trigger.
The Auto-approve field in the same section lists the tools that run without asking. Entries land there when you use Always allow on an approval card during a chat, and a grant reaches a trigger only after you commit.
For the wider set of controls, see Control what an agent can do.
Commit a version
A trigger runs one pinned variant and revision, so it runs what you committed, not your current draft.
Click Commit in the Configuration header, keep New version, write a commit message, and click Commit.
Attach the trigger
In Configuration, below Advanced, the Triggers heading holds two sections.
Schedulesruns the agent on a clock. ClickAdd schedule. See Schedule an automation.Subscriptionsruns the agent when an event fires in a connected app. ClickAdd subscription. See Trigger an automation from an app.
Both dialogs ask Which version runs? and pin the variant and revision you choose. Both carry a Run in playground button in the footer, which runs the agent with the message you configured, and an Active toggle that decides whether the trigger is live when you click Create.
Where automations are listed
Sidebar > Settings > Triggers lists every trigger in the project. Event triggers has the columns Name, Connection, Event, Status, Created at. Scheduled runs has Name, Schedule, Window (UTC), Bound workflow, Status, Created at. You can create either kind from this page too, with + Subscribe and + Schedule.
Related
- Automations explains what changes when nobody is watching.
- Build a marketing coworker builds an agent and puts it on a schedule end to end.
- Analyze cost and usage shows what an agent is costing.