Actions
Discover the actions you can perform in your automations
Automation: 5 pages
Actions are the steps that run after a flow's trigger fires. Steps run in order, and you can add as many as you need.
Adding a Step
- Click + below a step on the canvas. The Add a step picker opens.
- Find the step you want. The picker has Explore, AI & Agents, Apps, and Utility tabs, plus a search box. Built-in steps are listed under Coherence actions.
- Configure the step in the inspector. Required settings are marked with an asterisk.
Every step also has a Display label — the name shown on the canvas and in run history.
Coherence Actions
These steps are built into Coherence. Use them in flows that start with a Coherence trigger.
Module action
Creates a record in a module, or updates an existing one.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Module | The module to write to |
| Operation | Create record or Update record |
| Record to update | Required for Update record. The ID of the record to change — use {{trigger.recordId}} to update the record that started the flow |
| Record field values | The fields to set. At least one is required, and Create record also needs the module's required fields |
Enter fixed values, or insert values from the triggering record — for example, {{trigger.fields.email}}.
Examples:
- Create a follow-up record in another module when a deal's status is updated
- Update the triggering record's status when a condition passes
Enroll in Sequence
Enrolls the record that started the flow in an email sequence. Use it with a Module trigger.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Sequence | The sequence to enroll the record in |
| Email field | The field slug holding the recipient's email. Defaults to email |
| Name field | The field slug holding the recipient's name. Defaults to name |
Examples:
- Enroll new website leads in a welcome sequence
- Start a re-engagement sequence when a contact's status is updated to "Inactive"
Document action
Creates a Collab document.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Operation | Create document |
| Title | The document title |
| Status | Optional starting status: Draft, In Review, Approved, Published, or Archived |
| Tags | Optional comma-separated tags, e.g. onboarding, client |
The Operation menu also lists Update status, but Automation Studio has no setting for choosing which document to update, so it can't be configured from the Studio yet.
Outreach action
Creates an outreach item.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Operation | Create item |
| Content type | Blog, LinkedIn, Twitter, Bluesky, Dev.to, Medium, or Email |
| Title | The item title |
| Status | Optional: Draft, Review, Approved, Scheduled, or Published |
| Content | Optional Markdown content |
| Scheduled for | Optional timing: Immediately, A number of days from now, or On a specific date |
As with the Document action, Update status appears in the Operation menu but can't be configured from the Studio yet.
Request approval
Creates an approval request that appears in Approvals for someone to review.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Approval title | What's being approved, e.g. Review {{trigger.fields.title}} before publishing |
| Resource type | The kind of item being approved, e.g. collab_doc |
| Resource ID | The ID of the item being approved, e.g. {{trigger.recordId}} |
| Action type | The action being approved, e.g. publish |
| Details (JSON) | Optional extra context as JSON |
The step creates the request and the flow carries on. To act once the request is decided, build a second flow that starts with an Approval trigger.
Looking to assign leads automatically? Round-robin and territory assignment are handled by Lead Routing Rules, not automation steps. Open your Leads module from the Module catalog, go to Lead Scoring, and click Open Scoring Configuration.
Flow Control
Condition
Checks fields on the triggering record and splits the flow in two:
- Then — steps that run when the checks pass
- Otherwise — steps that run when they don't
Build the checks in the inspector's Conditions section, then use the Then and Otherwise buttons on the canvas to add steps to each path. Leave Otherwise empty to simply stop when the checks fail.
Example:
Condition: Deal value greater than 50,000
Then: Request approval — "Review large deal"
Otherwise: Module action — update status to "Standard review"
Delay
Pauses the flow, then continues with the next step. Like the other Coherence steps, it works in flows that start with a Coherence trigger.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Wait | For a length of time or Until a date/time |
| Amount and Unit | For a length of time — a whole number of Minutes, Hours, or Days, from 1 minute up to 30 days in total |
| Date and time (your time zone) | Until a date/time, with A date and time selected — the moment to continue, entered in your own time zone |
| Date variable | Until a date/time, with A date from an earlier step selected — a date from the trigger, such as a deal's close date. Date values are listed first |
The step on the canvas shows how long it waits — for example, "Waits 2 days".
How waiting works:
- Past dates continue immediately. If the date has already passed when the run reaches the Delay, the flow carries on right away. A fixed date must still be in the future when you publish.
- 30 days is the limit. A fixed date more than 30 days away can't be published, and a date from the trigger that falls more than 30 days after the run reaches the Delay fails the run.
- A date without a time, such as a close date, means midnight UTC on that day.
- The run shows as Waiting. While paused, the run's status is Waiting, and the Runs panel shows "Waiting until …" with the time it will continue.
- Waits survive restarts. Deploys and restarts don't lose a waiting run.
- You can use more than one. A flow can contain several Delays.
- A run keeps its version. A waiting run finishes with the version of the flow it started with. Changes you publish while it waits apply to new runs.
- Turning the flow off cancels it. If the automation is off when the wait ends, the run is Cancelled and the steps after the Delay don't run.
- Trigger values aren't refreshed. Steps after a Delay see
{{trigger.fields.…}}as they were when the run started, not the record's current values.
A Delay doesn't count as an action on its own — a flow still needs at least one other action before it can be published.
Example:
Trigger: Booking — Booking created
Steps:
1. Delay — 1 day
2. Module action — create a follow-up record
Dynamic Values
Text settings accept placeholders that are filled in when the flow runs:
| Placeholder | Becomes |
|---|---|
{{trigger.recordId}} | The ID of the record that started the flow |
{{trigger.fields.field_slug}} | A field value from the triggering record — replace field_slug with the field's slug |
{{date.today}} / {{date.tomorrow}} | Today's or tomorrow's date |
{{date.addDays(7)}} / {{date.subtractDays(7)}} | A date that many days from today |
{{date.endOfWeek}} / {{date.endOfMonth}} | The end of the current week or month |
{{date.nextWeekday('monday')}} | The next occurrence of that weekday |
Flows that start with a Booking or Schedule trigger have no module record — they provide their own {{trigger.fields.…}} values instead. See Booking and Schedule.
Integration Steps
The Pieces section of the picker lists connectors for third-party apps and services — for example, messaging tools or a generic HTTP request. Choose a piece to see its actions.
Integration steps run on a separate engine from Coherence steps, so they need an integration trigger in the same flow and can't follow a Coherence trigger. Flows that mix the two can't be published.
Steps for apps that need an account show a Connection setting. Pick a saved connection, or create one to store the credentials for your workspace.
Chaining Steps
A flow runs its steps in order. If a step fails, the run stops there and the failure appears in the flow's Runs panel.
Trigger: Module trigger — Deals, Status updated
Steps:
1. Condition: Status equals "Won"
Then:
2. Module action — create an onboarding record
3. Enroll in Sequence — "Customer welcome"
Keep flows focused. If a flow does too many things, split it into several smaller flows.
Next: See Workflow Examples for common automation patterns.