Automations

Create powerful backend processes and workflows to orchestrate your AI applications

Automations are the core server-side processes that power your Builder applications. They define what to do and when to do it, allowing you to create sophisticated workflows, integrate with external systems, and build intelligent applications.

Understanding Automations

What are Automations?

In simple words, automations describe what to do and when:

• What to do: A sequence of instructions that process data and perform actions
• When to do it: Triggers that activate the automation when specific conditions are met

Example:

A HubspotDealsOnSlack automation might send a notification message on Slack every time a new Hubspot deal is created:

• The what would be a fetch instruction calling Slack API to send a message
• The when would be a URL (webhook) trigger that Hubspot calls whenever a new deal is opened

Automation Architecture

Automations function within an event-driven architecture:

• Triggers: Define when the automation runs (events, endpoints, schedules)
• Instructions: Sequential steps that perform specific tasks
• Variables: Store and manage data during automation execution
• Memory Scopes: Different persistence layers for data (run, session, user, global)
• Output: Final result returned to the caller or next automation

This architecture enables complex workflows while maintaining flexibility and scalability.

Automation YAML Syntax

Every automation is a YAML file. The visual editor reads and writes that same file, so understanding the syntax is what unlocks the rest of the platform.

File anatomy

A minimal automation:

slug: hello
name: Hello World
when:
  endpoint: true
do:
  - set:
      name: greeting
      value: "Hello, {{body.name}}"
output: "{{greeting}}"

Top-level key	Purpose
slug	URL-safe identifier. Must be unique inside the workspace. Used in API paths and event sources.
name	Human-readable label shown in the sidebar.
description	Optional free text shown in the workspace overview and app store.
arguments	Schema for the inputs the automation expects when called directly (see Arguments).
when	Trigger configuration: endpoint, events, schedules (see Triggers).
do	Ordered list of instructions to execute.
output	Expression returned to the caller after do completes.
validateArguments	When true, the runtime rejects calls whose inputs do not match the arguments schema.
private	When true, the automation cannot be called from outside the workspace (only via runWorkflow from another automation).
disabled	When true, the automation is registered but never executes.
labels	Free-form tags used for organization.

Indentation and structure rules

YAML structure is significant. Three rules cover 95 % of the mistakes the editor will surface.

1. Indentation is spaces, not tabs. Two spaces per level is the convention used everywhere in this documentation. Mixing tabs and spaces fails parsing.
2. A list item starts with - at the parent’s indentation level. The contents of the item are indented one more level.
3. A key always ends with : and a single space before its value (except when the value is on the next line).

do:                          # 0 spaces — top-level key
  - set:                     # 2 spaces — list item, starts with "- "
      name: counter          # 6 spaces — value of "set" (4 for the list item's indent + 2 more for the nested map)
      value: 0
  - emit:
      event: started

If a value contains characters YAML would otherwise interpret (:, #, {, [, &, *, !, |, >, ', ", %, @, `` `), wrap it in single or double quotes.

- set:
    name: message
    value: "Status: ready"   # the colon forces quoting
- set:
    name: pattern
    value: '^[A-Z]:.*'       # backslashes survive better in single quotes

Naming and casing conventions

Element	Convention	Examples
slug	kebab-case or camelCase, no spaces	send-welcome, sendWelcome
name	free text	Send welcome email
Variable names (set: name: …)	camelCase	userEmail, nextStep
Event names (emit: event: …)	dot-separated, lowercase	app.greeting.requested
Module names in run	lowercase	secrets, collections, accessManager, text

The platform does not enforce most of these, but the visual editor, the Activity view, and the SDK all assume them — sticking to the conventions keeps tooling consistent.

Interpreted keywords

Inside do: and other instruction lists, these keys are interpreted by the runtime. Any other key is treated as an app or workspace automation call (see Visual Editor and YAML Mapping).

Keyword	Effect
set	Assign a variable.
delete	Remove a variable.
emit	Publish an event.
fetch	Make an HTTP request.
wait	Pause until an event arrives or a timeout elapses.
conditions	Branch on expressions. The keys of the map are the conditions themselves; default runs if none match.
repeat	Loop over a collection (on:) or a fixed count (until:).
break	Exit the current loop or the whole automation.
all	Execute child branches in parallel.
try / catch	Catch errors raised by child instructions.
run	Call a built-in runtime module function.
runWorkflow	Call another automation in the workspace.
comment	Free-form annotation, ignored at runtime.
rateLimit, auth, createUserTopic, joinUserTopic	Specialized runtime instructions; see the table in Visual Editor and YAML Mapping.

Expressions: {{ … }} and {% … %}

Anywhere a value is expected, you can interpolate an expression.

• {{ … }} evaluates and substitutes a single expression. The whole value is replaced by the result.
• {% … %} evaluates an arithmetic or logical sub-expression while keeping the rest of the string.

- set:
    name: greeting
    value: "Hello, {{body.name}}"          # → "Hello, Alice"

- set:
    name: nextIndex
    value: "{% {{$index}} + 1 %}"          # → "3" when $index is 2

- conditions:
    "{{user.age}} >= 18":
      - set: { name: status, value: adult }
    default:
      - set: { name: status, value: minor }

The full expression and condition grammar is documented in Condition and Expression syntax — it covers comparison and logical operators, regular expressions, MongoDB-style matches, deep-merge, and the built-in helpers for dates, math, strings, and URL parsing.

Variable scopes

Variables live in different scopes with different lifetimes. Each scope is exposed as a top-level object in expressions.

Scope	Prefix in expressions	Lifetime	Use it for
Run / temporary	none ({{myVar}})	One automation run	Local working values inside do.
Session	{{session.x}}	One user session	State shared across runs of the same user session.
User	{{user.x}}	One user	Per-user persistent state.
Global / workspace	{{global.x}}	Workspace, all users	Shared counters, caches, feature flags.
Config	{{config.x}}	Workspace static config	Non-sensitive parameters defined in the workspace index.yml.
Secret	{{secret.x}}	Workspace, encrypted	Sensitive values from Settings → Secrets.
Trigger input	{{body}}, {{headers}}, {{query}}, {{pathParams}}, {{method}}, {{event}}	One run	Inputs from the request or event that triggered the automation.

See Memory Architecture for the full picture, including persistence guarantees.

What the YAML editor reports

The Builder’s Monaco editor validates the YAML as you type, using the same schema the runtime applies on save.

• Indentation / parsing errors are flagged on the offending line. Fix them before save — the editor blocks the save button.
• Schema errors (unknown keyword, wrong type for a field) are surfaced with the path of the offending field.
• Lint warnings (e.g. an unused variable, a duplicate slug) appear inline but do not block saving.

When in doubt, switch to the visual graph: nodes that the editor cannot render correspond to YAML the runtime would reject.

Triggers

Automations can be activated through different types of triggers, configured at the top of the automation graph:

URL (Webhook/API Endpoint)

When an automation activates its URL trigger, it becomes publicly available through a URL which you can copy from your Workspace graph or source code. You can then use this URL in external services that support webhooks.

From inside the automation, 5 variables give access to input HTTP requests:

• body: Request body
• headers: Request headers
• method: HTTP method (GET, POST, etc.)
• query: URL query parameters
• pathParams: Extracted path parameter values (when using path parameters like :id)

For multipart/form-data requests, uploaded files will be detailed within a body.<fileKey> object variable.
Example :

  {
    "originalname": "filename.pdf",
    "encoding": "7bit",
    "mimetype": "application/pdf",
    "size": 375966,
    "base64": "<file base 64>"
  }

By default, these HTTP requests will receive the automation output as a response body. However, an $http variable available inside the automation gives full control over the response:

- set:
    name: $http
    value:
      headers:
        content-type: application/json
      status: 200

You can also use this variable to implement Server-Sent Events (SSE) for streaming responses:

- set:
    name: $http
    value:
      chunk: # Data object that will be sent as an SSE event
        partial: "First part of response"
- set:
    name: $http
    value:
      chunk: # Another chunk
        partial: "Second part of response"

• $http is only available in the URL-triggered automation (not in children calls)
• Headers cannot be set after the first chunk is sent
• When using SSE events, the automation output will also be sent as the last event
• SSE automatically sets appropriate headers (Content-Type, Cache-Control, Connection)

For long-running SSE endpoints, you can configure a keep-alive to avoid timeouts:

- set:
    name: $http
    value:
      sseKeepAlive: 5000 # Keep-alive interval in milliseconds (minimum 5000ms)

After this instruction, a data: {"keepAlive": true} chunk will be regularly emitted until the connection ends.

Path Parameters

Webhook endpoints support path parameters for building RESTful APIs. Path parameters allow you to define dynamic URL segments that extract values from incoming requests.

Basic Usage:

get-user

when:
  endpoint: "v1/users/:id"
do:
  - set:
      name: output
      value:
        userId: "{{pathParams.id}}"

When a request is made to /webhooks/{workspaceSlug}/v1/users/123, the automation receives:

• pathParams.id = "123"

Multiple Parameters:

get-user-post

when:
  endpoint: "v1/users/:userId/posts/:postId"
do:
  - set:
      name: output
      value:
        user: "{{pathParams.userId}}"
        post: "{{pathParams.postId}}"

Request to /webhooks/{workspaceSlug}/v1/users/alice/posts/456 results in:

• pathParams.userId = "alice"
• pathParams.postId = "456"

Combined with Query and Body:

update-user

when:
  endpoint: "v1/users/:id"
do:
  - fetch:
      url: "{{config.apiUrl}}/users/{{pathParams.id}}"
      method: "{{method}}"
      body:
        name: "{{body.name}}"
        filter: "{{query.filter}}"

Multi-segment Parameters (wildcards):

Use *paramName instead of :paramName when the value can contain slashes — for instance, model identifiers like openai/text-embedding-3-large or hierarchical paths.

get-model

when:
  endpoint: "v1/models/*model_id"
do:
  - set:
      name: output
      value:
        modelId: "{{pathParams.model_id}}"

Request to /webhooks/{workspaceSlug}/v1/models/openai/text-embedding-3-large yields:

• pathParams.model_id = "openai/text-embedding-3-large"

A request to /webhooks/{workspaceSlug}/v1/models/gpt-4o (no slash) matches the same endpoint with pathParams.model_id = "gpt-4o".

Path Parameter Behavior:

• Single-segment parameters use :paramName syntax (e.g., :id, :userId) — they match one URL segment and reject values containing /
• Multi-segment parameters use *paramName syntax — they match one or more segments and let you capture values containing /
• All defined parameters are required - requests missing parameters will not match
• Parameter values are automatically URL-decoded
• Exact match endpoints take priority over pattern endpoints
• When multiple patterns could match, the first defined pattern wins
• Patterns like message:stream (colon without preceding slash) are treated as exact matches, not patterns

Path parameters must be defined in the endpoint field, not in the automation slug.

The automation slug (e.g., get-user) only supports letters, numbers, spaces, underscores, and hyphens. To use path parameters, you must explicitly set the endpoint field to your desired path pattern:

    slug: get-user  # Slug without path parameters
    when:
      endpoint: "v1/users/:id"  # Path parameters defined here

Using endpoint: true will expose the automation at the slug path, but the slug itself cannot contain : characters.

Events

An automation can listen to a list of events. Whenever such events are received, the automation is executed and can access:

• payload: Event payload data
• source: Event source information (source IP, correlationId, userId, automation, etc.)

These events can be:

• Native events: Generated automatically by the platform
• Custom events: Emitted from automations in the same workspace
• App events: Emitted from installed Apps

Example configuration:

when:
  events:
    - user-login
    - document-uploaded

Workspaces can only listen to a specific subset of native events. See the Supported Native Events section for details.

Schedules

An automation can be regularly triggered based on cron expressions:

when:
  schedules:
    - '0 9 * * 1-5' # Run at 9:00 AM on weekdays

• Automations can be scheduled at most every 15 minutes
• Schedules use UTC timezone
• When scheduled, the automation runs “on the hour” (e.g., a 20-minute schedule starting at 3:14 will run at 3:20, 3:40, etc.)
• When successfully scheduled, a runtime.automations.scheduled event is emitted

A helpful tool for creating cron expressions is crontab.guru.

Memory Architecture

Automations can use and modify data across different memory scopes:

Run Scope

Available only during current execution

Access pattern: {{run.variable}} Run variables include execution context like:

• run.date: Current timestamp
• run.ip: Client IP address
• run.automationSlug: Current automation identifier
• run.correlationId: Unique ID for tracing related events
• run.depth: Current automation depth in the stacktrace
• run.trigger.type: Trigger type (event, endpoint, automation)
• run.trigger.value: Trigger value (event name, endpoint path, etc.)
• run.socketId: Current socket ID if connected by websocket
• run.appSlug: Current app slug if running from an appInstance
• run.appInstanceSlug: Current appInstance slug if applicable
• run.parentAppSlug: Parent app slug if parent is also an appInstance

The run context is automatically removed 60 seconds after the last automation run.

User Scope

Persistent for the authenticated user

Access pattern: {{user.variable}}

User variables include:

• user.id: Unique user identifier
• user.email: User’s email address
• user.authData: Authentication information
• user.role: User’s role in the workspace
• Custom user-specific data that persists across sessions

Session Scope

Available for the current user session

Access pattern: {{session.variable}}

Session variables include:

• session.id: Current session ID
• Custom session data

Session variables store temporary user data:

• Form inputs across multiple steps
• Wizard progress state
• Temporary preferences

For authenticated users, session expiration is defined by the Gateway API (default 1 month). For unauthenticated endpoint calls, sessions expire after 1 hour of inactivity.

Global Scope

Shared across all users and executions

Access pattern: {{global.variable}}

Global variables include:

• global.workspaceId: Current workspace ID
• global.workspaceName: Current workspace name
• global.apiUrl: Current API instance public URL
• global.studioUrl: Current studio instance public URL
• global.pagesUrl: Current workspace pages public URL
• global.pagesHost: Current pages instance base domain
• global.endpoints: Map of available endpoint slugs to URLs
• global.workspacesRegistry: Map of public workspaces
• Custom workspace-wide variables

Socket Scope

Available for the current websocket connection

Access pattern: {{socket.variable}}

Socket scope provides a temporary state local to a websocket connection, useful for separating state between multiple browser tabs. This context automatically expires after 6 hours without any updates.

Config Scope

Workspace and app configuration

Access pattern: {{config.variable}}

Contains the workspace configuration defined in the workspace settings.

$workspace Scope

Read-only workspace information

Access pattern: {{$workspace.variable}}

This read-only context holds the current workspace definition, allowing access to any of its sections (e.g., installed apps config via $workspace.imports.myApp.config).

Except for $workspace, all these contexts can be written to using the set instruction. Written data will be persisted and available in subsequent requests. However, when setting variables inside session/user contexts from an unauthenticated webhook, they will not be persisted.

Working with Variables

Inside your automation instructions, dynamic data can be injected by surrounding a variable name with double braces: {{some.variable.name}}.

Variables can be created and modified using the set instruction and removed using the delete instruction.

For objects or arrays, you can access specific properties:

# Basic property access
{{user.profile.name}}

# Dynamic property access using another variable
{{session.myObjectVariable[{{item.field}}]}}

If session.myObjectVariable equals {"mickey": "house"} and item.field equals mickey, the entire expression resolves to house.

Visual Editor and YAML Mapping

Every automation has two equivalent representations:

• YAML — the source of truth, stored in the workspace and synchronized with Git.
• Visual graph — a node-based editor that reads and writes the same YAML.

The visual editor never adds extra semantics: each node maps 1-to-1 to a DSUL instruction (or a trigger field). Switching between the two modes does not change the saved file.

Trigger nodes (Start)

The single Start node represents the automation’s when block. Its visual sub-labels reflect which trigger fields are populated.

Visual node	Sub-label	DSUL field	Notes
Start → Webhook	”Webhook”	when.endpoint: true (or a custom string slug)	Exposes the automation as POST /webhooks/<slug>.
Start → Event	event names, comma-separated	when.events: [eventName, ...]	The automation runs whenever a matching event is emitted on the workspace bus.
Start → Schedule	cron expression	when.schedules: [cron, ...]	Standard 5-field cron syntax.

Multiple triggers can coexist on the same Start node — e.g. an automation can be both a webhook and a scheduled job.

Instruction nodes

Each instruction node serializes to a single DSUL key. The table below lists every node available in the editor’s “Add instruction” panel and the YAML it produces.

Visual node	DSUL key	Main fields	Use it for
Set Variable	set	name, value	Assign or update a variable in any scope.
Delete Variable	delete	name	Remove a variable from a scope.
Emit Event	emit	event, payload, optional target	Publish an event on the workspace bus.
HTTP Request	fetch	url, method, headers, body, query, output	Call any HTTP API. Resolves $secret: references automatically.
Wait	wait	timeout, oneOf	Pause until an event arrives or a timeout elapses.
Conditions	conditions	map of expression: [instructions] plus optional default	Branching. The visual editor renders one Branch node per key and a Merge node where branches reconverge. Full operator and helper grammar in Condition and Expression syntax.
Repeat	repeat	on (collection) or until (count/expression), do	Iterate over a list or loop a fixed number of times. Inside the body, {{item}} and {{$index}} are available.
Break	break	scope (automation | repeat), optional payload	Exit early from the current loop or automation.
Note (Comment)	comment	string	Documentation only — no runtime effect.
Parallel (All)	all	do: [instructions]	Execute branches concurrently and wait for all of them.
Try / Catch	try	do, catch	Recover from errors raised by inner instructions.
Run Module	run	module, function, parameters, output	Call a built-in runtime module (e.g. secrets, collections).
Run Workflow	runWorkflow	workflow, parameters, output	Call another automation in the same workspace.
Rate Limit	rateLimit	name, limit, window, output	Enforce a sliding-window rate limit.
Auth Token	auth	workspace (bool), output	Issue a short-lived JWT for the current user or workspace.
Create User Topic	createUserTopic	topic, userIds	Create a multi-user real-time topic.
Join User Topic	joinUserTopic	topic	Subscribe the current user to an existing topic.
End	output (top-level key)	expression	The single End node maps to the automation’s top-level output field — i.e. the value returned to the caller.

App and workspace automation calls

Beyond the built-in nodes above, the editor also lets you drop any imported app action or any other automation in the same workspace.

• An imported app action is rendered as <App name> → <action> and serializes to the action’s slug, e.g. mySlackInstance.sendMessage.
• A workspace automation call uses its slug directly.

In both cases the YAML is just the slug as a key, with parameters as the value:

- mySlackInstance.sendMessage:
    channel: "#general"
    text: "Hello"

The catalog of available app actions is read from the workspace’s installed imports; the catalog of workspace automations is read from the workspace itself.

Visual-only nodes

A few nodes appear in the graph but have no DSUL counterpart — they exist purely to organize the canvas:

• Branch — one per key inside a conditions block; renders the condition expression.
• Merge — converges all branches of a conditions or all block.

Switching to Code view is the only way to see these aren’t separate keys: they are computed from the structure of conditions / all.

Instructions

Once triggered, automations execute a sequence of instructions in order. Here are the available instructions:

Logic Instructions

Condition

Conditionally execute instructions based on variable values or expressions.

- conditions:
    '{{user.age}} >= 18':
      - set:
          name: status
          value: adult
    '{{user.age}} < 18':
      - set:
          name: status
          value: minor
    default:
      - set:
          name: status
          value: unknown

More details on condition syntax

Repeat

Loop through items or execute instructions multiple times.

# Iterate through an array
- repeat:
    on: '{{users}}'
    do:
      - set:
          name: processedUsers[]
          value: '{{item.name}}'

# Execute a fixed number of times
- repeat:
    until: 5
    do:
      - set:
          name: counter
          value: '{% {{$index}} + 1 %}'

You can also process batches in parallel:

- repeat:
    on: '{{workQueue}}'
    batch:
      size: 3  # Process 3 items by 3 items  in parallel
      interval: 500  # Pause 500ms between batches
    do:
      - process:
          item: '{{item}}'

Break

Stop execution of the current automation or loop.

- break:
    scope: repeat  # Breaks out of the nearest repeat loop

- break:
    scope: automation  # Stops the current automation

- break:
    scope: all  # Stops all parent automations too
    payload:
      reason: "Operation cancelled"

When break is meant to be handled from a parent automation’s try/catch, scope must be set to all.

If using the instruction like this : - break: {}, it will default to scope: automation.

All

Execute multiple operations in parallel.

- all:
    - automation1: {}
    - automation2: {}
    - fetch:
        url: https://api.example.com/data

Try/Catch

Handle errors gracefully.

- try:
    do:
      - riskyOperation: {}
    catch:
      - set:
          name: errorInfo
          value: "{{$error}}"
      - emit:
          event: operation-failed
          payload:
            error: "{{$error}}"

The $error variable is accessible both inside and outside the catch block.

Data Instructions

Set Instruction

Create or update variables in different scopes.

Basics

# Simple variable assignment
- set:
    name: greeting
    value: "Hello, world!"

# Create or update object property
- set:
    name: user.profile.firstName
    value: "Jane"

Objects

# Merge objects
- set:
    name: settings
    type: merge
    value:
      theme: "dark"

Array

# Add item to array
- set:
    name: users[]
    value: 
      id: 123
      name: "Jane Doe"

# Add multiple items to array
- set:
    name: users
    type: merge
    value:
      - id: 124
        name: "Alice"
      - id: 125
        name: "Bob"     

Like everywhere else, you can also use expressions in the value parameter:

- set:
    name: counter
    value: '{% {{counter}} + 1 %}'

Delete Instruction

Remove variables when no longer needed.

- delete:
    name: temporaryData

Integration Instructions

Fetch Instruction

Make HTTP requests to external APIs.

Basics

  # Basic GET request
  - fetch:
      url: https://api.example.com/users
      method: GET
      headers:
        Authorization: Bearer {{secret.apiToken}}
      output: apiResponse
  
  # POST request with JSON body
  - fetch:
      url: https://api.example.com/users
      method: POST
      body:
        name: "New User"
        email: "[e-mail]"
      output: createResponse

Output options

Retrieve response headers and status with outputMode: detailed_response :

    # Detailed response with headers
    - fetch:
        url: https://api.example.com/status
        outputMode: detailed_response
        output: fullResponse
    # Access `{{fullResponse.body}}`, `{{fullResponse.headers}}` and `{{fullResponse.status}}`        

Other outputMode :

• base64 : return the base64 encoded response body
• data_url : return the response body encoded as a data_url

multipart/form-data

  - fetch:
      url: https://api.example.com/upload
      method: POST
      multipart:
        - fieldname: file
          value: "{{fileContent}}" # Can be an ascii string, a base64 encoded string or a buffer array
          filename: report.pdf # Required if value is a file
          contentType: application/pdf
        - fieldname: metadata
          value: "{{fileMetadata}}"
      output: uploadResult        

application/x-www-form-urlencoded

  - fetch:
      url: '...'
      headers:
        Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
      body:
        foo: bar

HTTP SSE (Server Side Events)

By default, HTTP responses indicating a content-type: text/event-stream header will force their responseMode to detailed_response, and their {{output.body}} will be a stream that can be read in real time from the calling automation :

- fetch:
    url: "some SSE url (i.e openai /chat-completion endpoint)"
    output: output
- repeat:
    'on': '{{output.body}}'
    do:
      - set:
          name: test[]
          value: '{{item}}'    

Here, the repeat instruction will block until all chunks have been processed & the HTTP socket is closed.
Each {{item}} will look like this :

{
  "chunk": {
    "data": [
      "data1",
      "data2"
    ]
  }
}

Here, data1 and data2 correspond to 2 individual chunks written by the remote server, which can be grouped together if they were received at the same time.
If these data strings are valid JSON, they will be automatically parsed into objects.

Alternatively, we can emit received chunks so they can be processed asynchronously & concurrently from other automations :

- fetch:
    url: ..
    stream:
      event: chunk
      payload:
        foo: bar

Each chunk will be emitted like this :

{
  "type": "chunk",
  "payload": {
    "chunk": {
      "data": [
        "data1",
        "data2"
      ]
    },
    "additionalPayload": {
      "foo": "bar"
    }
  }
}

An ending chunk can be specified with endChunk :

- fetch:
    url: ..
    stream:
      event: chunk
      endChunk:
        foo: bar

stream option also accepts target and options fields from emit instruction.

AWS SigV4

The auth.awsv4 parameter allows configuring an access / secret access key pair to automatically sign your request with AWS Signature V4 :

  - fetch:
      url: https://bedrock-runtime.eu-west-3.amazonaws.com/model/{{model}}/invoke
      auth:
        awsv4:
          accessKeyId: ''
          secretAccessKey: ''
          service: bedrock
          region: 'eu-west-3'
      method: POST
      body:
        inputText: Hello
      output: output
      emitErrors: true

service and region are optional and automatically calculated from given url.

Emit Instruction

Trigger events for UI updates or other automations.

Basics

- emit:
    event: user-registered
    payload:
      userId: "{{user.id}}"
      timestamp: "{{run.date}}"        

Target

- emit:
    event: user-registered
    payload:
      userId: "{{user.id}}"
      timestamp: "{{run.date}}"        
    target:
      userTopic: 'target user topic'        
      sessionId: 'target session id'
      userId: 'target user id'

Options

Disable events persistence :

- emit:
    event: user-registered
    payload:
      userId: "{{user.id}}"
      timestamp: "{{run.date}}"        
    options:
      persist: false        

Wait Instruction

Pause execution until a specific event is received.

- emit:
    event: start-processing
    payload:
      documentId: "{{documentId}}"

- wait:
    oneOf:
      - event: processing-complete
        filters:
          payload.documentId: "{{documentId}}"
    timeout: 30  # Defaults to 20 seconds
    output: processingResult

Rate Limit Instruction

Control resource usage with rate limiting.

- rateLimit:
    name: ExternalAPICall
    window: 60  # In seconds (1 minute)
    limit: 5    # Maximum 5 calls per minute
    consumer: "{{user.id}}"  # Per-user limit
    output: limits
- conditions:
    "{{limits.ok}}":
      - fetch:
          url: https://api.example.com/data
    default:
      - emit:
          event: rate-limit-exceeded
          payload:
            retryAfter: "{{limits.retryAfter}}"
            limit: "{{limits.limit}}"
            window: "{{limits.window}}"
            remaining: "{{limits.remaining}}"
            consumer: "{{limits.consumer}}"

Other Instructions

Auth Instruction

Generate authentication tokens for internal API calls. This token cannot be used outside of automations, and is specifically intented for fetch consumption (as an Authorization header).

- auth:
    workspace: true
    output: jwt
- fetch:
    url: https://api.studio.prisme.ai/v2/workspaces/123/webhooks/someAutomation
    headers:
      Authorization: Bearer {{jwt.jwt}}
    output: apiResponse

When fetching a Prismeai automation endpoint with such workspace token, a {{run.authenticatedWorkspaceId}} variable (which cannot be manually set) will be made available to securely check calling workspace.
You can also forward source workspace authentication to a subsequent fetch :

- fetch:
    url: https://api.studio.prisme.ai/v2/workspaces/123/webhooks/someAutomation
    auth:
      prismeai:
        forwardWorkspaceAuth: true
    output: apiResponse

User Topic Instructions

Manage user subscription topics.

User topics allow sending events to multiple users without knowing who they are in advance, automatically granting them read access to these events without requiring any API Key.

# Create a user topic
- createUserTopic:
    topic: project-updates
    userIds: 
      - "{{user1Id}}"
      - "{{user2Id}}"

# Add users to a topic
- joinUserTopic:
    topic: project-updates
    userIds: # Defaults to current user.id
      - "{{newUserId}}"

User topics allow sending events to multiple users without knowing who they are in advance.

Run instruction

Run is a generic instruction allowing you to call runtime modules.
These are lightweight NodeJS packages offering various methods for use cases needing raw Javascript for better performances than standard automations.

Example :

- run:
    module: collections
    function: create
    parameters:
      collection: 'someCollection'
      data: {}
    onError: break
    output: output

Parameters :

• module : Module name
• function : Function name
• parameters : Function parameters object
• onError : Exception handling behaviour
  • break will break current automation with given exception (default)
  • emit will emit an error event but continue current automation
  • continue will only return the error and continue current automation

Embed JavaScript or Python with the Custom Code app

Need to run arbitrary code inline (parsing, hashing, reshaping)? Install the Custom Code app and use Custom Code.run to invoke a function you defined in YAML.

Collections

Store, query, and manage structured data with MongoDB-style queries. This module is generally meant to be used through the Collection application.

Collections Module Reference

Functions: create, findMany, updateOne, deleteOne, aggregate, and more

Secrets

Securely store and retrieve sensitive values (API keys, tokens, credentials) at runtime, with automatic redaction from logs.

Secrets Module Reference

Functions: set, get, delete — scopes: workspace, user

Access Manager

Manage organization service account tokens at runtime with in-memory secret caching and event-driven invalidation.

Access Manager Module Reference

Functions: getServiceAccountToken, createServiceAccount, rotateServiceAccountSecret, deleteServiceAccount

Text

Pure-JS text processing utilities for splitting text into chunks with configurable separators and overlap.

Text Module Reference

Functions: splitText

Instruction Reference

Quick lookup tables for every built-in instruction. For each one: the full parameter list (with type, default, and notes), the value left in output (when applicable), the errors it raises, and the related instructions you typically chain it with.

set

Assigns a value to a variable in any scope.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
name	string (required)	—	Target variable. Supports dotted paths (user.profile.name) and array append (items[]).
value	any (required)	—	Value to assign. Expressions are evaluated.
type	replace | merge | push	replace	merge deep-merges objects/arrays; push appends to an array.
lifespan	number (seconds)	session/run lifetime	TTL for the variable. After expiry the variable is unset.

Output: none. Raises: none. Often chained with: delete, conditions, emit.

delete

Removes a variable.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
name	string (required)	—	Variable to remove. Dotted paths supported.

Output: none. Raises: none.

emit

Publishes an event on the workspace event bus.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
event	string (required)	—	Event name. Convention: app.<thing>.<verb> (dot-separated, lowercase).
payload	object	{}	Event data.
target.userTopic	string	—	Deliver only to the named user topic (see createUserTopic).
target.sessionId	string	—	Deliver only to events streams scoped to that session.
target.userId	string	—	Deliver only to streams scoped to that user.
target.currentSocket	boolean	false	Deliver only on the socket that triggered this run (useful for SSE replies).
options.persist	boolean	true	When false, the event is broadcast but not stored — invisible in Activity.

Output: none. Raises: none. Often chained with: wait, runWorkflow.

fetch

Calls an HTTP endpoint.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
url	string (required)	—	Absolute or workspace-relative URL. $secret: references are resolved transparently.
method	GET | POST | PUT | PATCH | DELETE	GET	HTTP method.
headers	object	{}	Request headers.
query	object	{}	Query string parameters. Merged with any present in url.
body	any	—	Request body. Serialized as JSON unless Content-Type says otherwise.
multipart	array	—	Multipart/form-data fields (file uploads). See the Fetch accordion above.
auth.basic.user / auth.basic.password	string	—	HTTP Basic auth.
auth.awsv4	object	—	AWS SigV4 signing. See the Fetch accordion above.
outputMode	body | detailed_response | base64 | data_url	body	Shape of the value left in output.
stream	object	—	Emit each SSE chunk as an event instead of buffering. See the Fetch accordion above.
emitErrors	boolean	false	When true, HTTP errors are caught and emitted as prismeai.fetch.error events instead of aborting the run.
output	string	—	Variable name receiving the response.

Output: the response body, or { body, headers, status } if outputMode: detailed_response. Raises: network errors, timeout, non-2xx HTTP (unless emitErrors). Often chained with: set, conditions, repeat (for streams).

wait

Blocks the automation until a matching event arrives or a timeout elapses.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
oneOf[].event	string (required)	—	Event name to wait for.
oneOf[].filters	object	{}	Match conditions on the event payload (dotted paths).
timeout	number (seconds)	20	Maximum wait time.
output	string	—	Variable receiving the matching event ({ event, payload }).

Output: the event, or null if the timeout elapsed. Raises: none. Often chained with: emit (initiate the request, then wait for the reply).

conditions

Branches on expressions.

Structure:

- conditions:
    '<expression>':
      - <instructions>
    '<other expression>':
      - <instructions>
    default:
      - <instructions>

Branches are evaluated in declaration order. The first one whose expression is truthy runs; if none match, default runs (if present). See Condition and Expression syntax for operators and helpers.

Output: none. Raises: expression evaluation errors. Often chained with: set, emit, break.

repeat

Iterates over a collection or repeats a fixed number of times.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
on	expression	—	Collection to iterate. Exclusive with until.
until	number | expression	—	Number of iterations, or an expression that stops the loop when truthy. Exclusive with on.
do	array (required)	—	Instructions to execute each iteration.
batch.size	number	1	Items processed in parallel per batch.
batch.interval	number (ms)	0	Pause between batches.

Inside do, {{item}} is the current element and {{$index}} the 0-based index. Output: none. Raises: none. Often chained with: break, all.

break

Exits a loop or the whole automation.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
scope	repeat | automation | all	automation	repeat exits the nearest loop; automation ends the current automation; all propagates to parent automations through try/catch.
payload	object	—	Forwarded as the automation output.

all

Runs branches in parallel.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
(positional list)	array of instructions (required)	—	Each entry is an independent branch. Run concurrently.

all returns once every branch has completed. Errors in one branch do not cancel the others — wrap with try/catch if you need fail-fast.

try / catch

Catches errors raised by inner instructions.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
do	array (required)	—	Protected block.
catch	array	—	Recovery block. Receives {{$error}} ({ name, message, details }).

If catch is omitted, the error is silently swallowed.

run

Calls a built-in runtime module.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
module	string (required)	—	secrets, collections, accessManager, text. See Modules.
function	string (required)	—	Module function name.
parameters	object	{}	Function inputs. Shape depends on the function.
output	string	—	Variable receiving the return value.
onError	throw | continue	throw	When continue, errors are returned in output as { error: '<code>' } instead of aborting.

Output: the function’s return value (varies). Raises: module-specific errors (not_found, user_required, …). See each module’s reference page.

runWorkflow

Calls another automation in the same workspace.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
workflow	string (required)	—	Slug of the target automation.
parameters	object	{}	Inputs passed to the target’s arguments.
output	string	—	Variable receiving the target’s output.
wait	boolean	true	When false, fire-and-forget — the parent continues without waiting.

Output: the target automation’s output. Raises: propagates errors from the target (unless wait: false).

rateLimit

Enforces a sliding-window rate limit.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
name	string (required)	—	Identifier shared across automations that should share the limit.
limit	number (required)	—	Maximum events in the window.
window	number (seconds, required)	—	Sliding-window size.
consumer	expression	global	Partition key (e.g. "{{user.id}}" for per-user limits).
output	string	—	Variable receiving { ok, retryAfter, remaining, limit, window, consumer }.

Output: the limit state. Does not raise — branch on output.ok to decide what to do.

auth

Issues a short-lived JWT for internal calls.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
workspace	boolean	false	When true, the JWT carries workspace identity. The receiving automation can read {{run.authenticatedWorkspaceId}}.
output	string	—	Variable receiving { jwt: '<token>' }.

The token is only valid for fetch calls back to the platform — it cannot authenticate against external systems.

createUserTopic / joinUserTopic

Manage real-time delivery topics.

Instruction	Parameter	Type	Description
createUserTopic	topic	string	Topic name (workspace-scoped).
createUserTopic	userIds	array of strings	Initial subscribers.
joinUserTopic	topic	string	Topic name. The current user is added.

Once a user is subscribed, emit … target: { userTopic: '<topic>' } delivers events to all members in real time.

comment

Free-form annotation. No runtime effect. Renders as a yellow sticky note in the visual editor.

- comment: "Skip processing for test users — see Jira-1234"

Errors raised by all instructions

Any instruction can raise the following platform errors regardless of its own logic:

Error	When
WorkspaceQuotaExceeded	The workspace has hit its event/run quota.
WorkflowTimeoutError	The whole automation run exceeded its max duration.
ConfigurationError	An expression references a variable scope that is unavailable in the current trigger (e.g. {{user}} in a cron).

Wrap calls in try/catch to recover from these.

Condition and Expression syntax

Conditions allow you to execute different instructions based on contextual information. You can use a powerful expression syntax in conditions and anywhere with {% ... %} delimiters.

Basic Operators

# Comparison operators
{{someAge}} > 18
{{someAge}} >= 18
{{someAge}} < 18
{{someAge}} <= 18
{{someAge}} == 18
{{someAge}} = 18
{{cityName}} = "Toulouse"

# Inequality
{{someAge}} !== 18
{{someAge}} != 18

# String matching
"hello" matches "hel"
"hello" matches {{someArray}}

# Variable checking
{{testedVariable}}      # Is this variable defined?
!{{testedVariable}}     # Is this variable empty?

# Membership testing
{{someValue}} in {{someList}}
{{someKey}} in {{someObject}}
{{someKey}} not in {{someObject}}
{{someKey}} not in "my,string,list"

# Type checking
isArray({{someVariable}})
isObject({{someVariable}})
isString({{someVariable}})
isNumber({{someVariable}})

Logical Operators

# AND operators
{{someAge}} >= 18 and {{cityName}} == "Toulouse"
{{someAge}} >= 18 && {{cityName}} == "Toulouse"

# OR operators
{{someAge}} >= 18 or {{cityName}} == "Toulouse"
{{someAge}} >= 18 || {{cityName}} == "Toulouse"

# Grouping with parentheses
{{someCity}} == "Paris" || ({{someAge}} >= 18 && {{cityName}} == "Toulouse")

# Negation
{{someCity}} == "Paris" || ! ({{someAge}} >= 18 && {{cityName}} == "Toulouse")
{{someCity}} == "Paris" || not ({{someAge}} >= 18 && {{cityName}} == "Toulouse")

Regular Expressions

"[e-mail]" matches regex("luke|skywalker")
"[e-mail]" matches regex(/luke|skywalker/)

MongoDB-like Conditional Matches

jsonmatch({{object}}, {{condition}})

Example condition:

{
  "$or": [
    {
      "test": "unknown"
    },
    {
      "one": {
        "$eq": "three"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Deep merge objects

This functiun helps deep merge two objects.

deepmerge({{firstObject}}, {{secondObject}})

It also accepts an option object which can slightly modify the merge behaviour.

deepmerge({{firstObject}}, {{secondObject}}, {{options}})

Example options:

{
  "concatStrings": true // Rather than replacing string from the same keys, concatenate them if possible.
}

Date Functions

Parsing and Access

date("2022-04-13T08:00:05.493Z").hour == 8
date({{mydate}}).minute > 34 && date({{mydate}}).minute < 37
date({{mydate}}).second >= 5
date({{mydate}}).date == 23
date({{mydate}}).month >= 6 && date({{mydate}}).month < 10
date({{mydate}}).year == 2022
date({{mydate}}).day == 3
date({{mydate}}).day in {{allowedDays}}
date({{mydate}}).ts == 1649836805493
date({{mydate}}).iso == '2022-04-13T08:00:05.493Z'

Note: Tested values are UTC based, and day starts on 0 for Sunday (so 3 is Wednesday).

Formatting

date("2023-03-31T17:07:23.975Z", "l") == "3/31/2023"
date("2023-03-31T17:07:23.975Z", "DD/MM/YYYY") == "3/31/2023"
date("2023-03-31T17:07:23.975Z", "LT") == "7:07 PM"
date("2023-03-31T17:07:23.975Z", "LT", "fr") == "19:07"
date("2023-03-31T17:07:23.975Z", "lll", "fr") == "31 mars 2023 19:07"
date("2023-03-31T17:07:23.975Z", "l LT") == "3/31/2023 7:07 PM"
date("2023-03-31T17:07:23.975Z", "LT", "fr", "America/New_York") == "13:07"

See all formatting options on Day.js documentation.

Math Functions

Operators

1+1
1+{{someVariable}}
{{firstVar}} * {{secondVar}}
({{firstVar}} * {{secondVar}} + 10) / 2

Functions

rand(50, 150)  # Random number between 50 and 150
rand()  # Random float between 0 and 1

number("42")  # 42 — parse a string to integer

round(10.2)  # 10
round(10.2, 1)  # 10.2
round(10.26, 1)  # 10.3

floor(10.9)  # 10
floor(10.26, 1)  # 10.2

ceil(10.1)  # 11
ceil(10.9)  # 11

min(1, 2, 3)  # 1
max(1, 2, 3)  # 3
min({{numbersArray}})  # smallest value of the array
max(0, {{maybeNegative}})  # clamp to 0 minimum

String Functions

# convert string to lower case
lower({{foo}})

# convert string to upper case
upper({{foo}})

# Truncate string
truncate({{str}})
truncate({{str}}, 42)
truncate({{str}}, 42, ' etc')
truncate({{str}}, {{len}}, {{ellipsis}})

# JSON parsing/stringifying
json('{"foo": "bar"}')  # Object { foo: "bar" }
json({"foo": "bar"})  # String '{"foo":"bar"}'

# Unsafe JSON parsing: never raises exception, try to extract a JSON object or array when surrounded by other text
unsafejson('Voici un tableaux: ["un"] !') # ["un"]
unsafejson('Voici un objet :\n ```{"un": 1}```\n !') # {"un": 1}

# String manipulation
split('one,two,three', ',')  # Array ["one", "two", "three"]
join(['one', 'two', 'three'], ',')  # String "one,two,three"
replace('hello world', 'world', 'there')  # String "hello there"

# Array slicing
slice({{myArray}}, 0, 3)    # First 3 elements
slice({{myArray}}, 2)       # From index 2 to end
slice({{myArray}}, 0, -1)   # All except the last element

# Sanitize html
sanitize('<b>Bonjour <u>toi</u></b> !') # &#60;b&#62;Bonjour &#60;u&#62;toi&#60;/u&#62;&#60;/b&#62; !

# Remove complex unicode characters (non BMP, non UTF16 surrogates)
sanitize('Bonjour 🌍 ! Ça va ? 我爱你 ❤️') # Bonjour  ! Ça va ? 我爱你 ❤️

# Base64 encoding
base64("Hello World")  # String "SGVsbG8gV29ybGQ="
base64({{someBuffer}})  # Base64 encode a buffer variable

# Generate a random UUID (without dashes)
uuid()  # String "550e8400e29b41d4a716446655440000"

URL parsing

Parse URL search params :

URLSearchParams("key1=value1&key2=value2").asJSON  # Object
URLSearchParams({foo: "bar", abc: "xyz"}).asString  # String "foo=bar&abc=xyz"

Or parse a complete URL as an object :

URL("https://user:[e-mail]/some/path/?query=string&foo=bar#anchor")

This returns :

{
  href: 'https://user:[e-mail]/some/path/?query=string&foo=bar#anchor',
  origin: 'https://www.google.fr',
  protocol: 'https:',
  username: 'user',
  password: 'password',
  host: 'www.google.fr',
  hostname: 'www.google.fr',
  port: '',
  pathname: '/some/path/',
  search: '?query=string&foo=bar',
  searchParams: { "query": "string", "foo": "bar" },
  hash: '#anchor'
}

Or directly access a specific field :

URL("https://user:[e-mail]/some/path/?query=string&foo=bar#anchor").hostname # www.google.fr

Arguments

When calling a native instruction or another automation, different arguments can be transmitted. These graphical inputs are not reserved to native instructions, but can also be configured for your own custom automations by specifying expected arguments and their types.

testArguments:  
  do: []  
  name: testArguments
  arguments:
    someString:
      type: string
    someNumber:
      type: number
    someObject:
      type: object
      properties:
        someStringField:
          type: string
    someOtherObject:
      type: object
      properties:
        nestedObject:
          type: object
          properties:
            someField:
              type: number
    someStringArray:
      type: array
      items:
        type: string
    someObjectArray:
      type: array
      items:
        type: object
        properties:
          fieldA:
            type: string
    someRawJSON:
      type: object
      additionalProperties: true          
    someToken:
      type: string        
      secret: true

The someToken argument defined with secret: true is automatically redacted from native runtime events to avoid accidental leaks of sensitive information.

Arguments Validation

Automation arguments can be validated during execution by enabling validateArguments: true:

slug: test
name: test
do: []
when:
  endpoint: true
output: '{{body}}'
arguments:
  body:
    type: object
    required:
      - str
    properties:
      str:
        type: string
      uri:
        type: string
        format: uri
      obj:
        type: object
        required:
          - un
        properties:
          un:
            type: string
            pattern: '^[a-z]+$'
validateArguments: true

Arguments support various validation formats including date, url, time, password, etc. Validation errors immediately stop current and parent automations.

Advanced Automation Patterns

Webhook Handling

Implement secure webhook endpoints for third-party integrations:

# Webhook automation
slug: hubspot-webhook
name: Hubspot Deal Created
when:
  endpoint: true
do:
  # Validate webhook signature
  - conditions:
      '!{{headers["x-hubspot-signature"]}}':
        - set:
            name: $http
            value:
              status: 401
        - break:
            scope: automation
  
  # Process webhook data
  - set:
      name: newDeal
      value: "{{body.deal}}"
  
  # Notify team on Slack
  - fetch:
      url: "{{config.slackWebhookUrl}}"
      method: POST
      body:
        text: "New deal created: {{newDeal.name}} ({{newDeal.amount}})"
      output: slackResponse
  
  # Return success response
  - set:
      name: output
      value:
        success: true
        message: "Webhook processed successfully"

Data Processing Pipeline

Create multi-stage data processing workflows:

# Document processing automation
slug: process-document
name: Process Document
when:
  events:
    - document-uploaded
do:
  # Parse document
  - set:
      name: documentUrl
      value: "{{payload.documentUrl}}"
  
  # Extract text with OCR
  - fetch:
      url: "{{config.ocrServiceUrl}}"
      method: POST
      body:
        url: "{{documentUrl}}"
      output: ocrResult
  
  # Classify document
  - fetch:
      url: "{{config.aiClassifierUrl}}"
      method: POST
      body:
        text: "{{ocrResult.text}}"
      output: classification
  
  # Store results
  - emit:
      event: document-processed
      payload:
        documentId: "{{payload.documentId}}"
        text: "{{ocrResult.text}}"
        category: "{{classification.category}}"
        confidence: "{{classification.confidence}}"

Multi-LLM Orchestration

Coordinate multiple AI models for complex tasks:

# AI Orchestration
slug: analyze-product-feedback
name: Analyze Product Feedback
when:
  events:
    - analyze-feedback-request
do:
  # Categorize feedback
  - fetch:
      url: "{{config.llmApiUrl}}/chat-completions"
      method: POST
      body:
        model: "gpt-3.5-turbo"
        messages:
          - role: system
            content: "Categorize this product feedback into one of these categories: Bug, Feature Request, UX Issue, Praise, Other."
          - role: user
            content: "{{payload.feedbackText}}"
      output: categorization
  
  # Extract sentiment and key points
  - fetch:
      url: "{{config.llmApiUrl}}/chat-completions"
      method: POST
      body:
        model: "mistral"
        messages:
          - role: system
            content: "Analyze this product feedback and extract: 1) Sentiment (positive/negative/neutral), 2) Key points as bullet points, 3) Actionability score (1-10)"
          - role: user
            content: "{{payload.feedbackText}}"
      output: analysis
  
  # Store and notify
  - emit:
      event: feedback-analysis-complete
      payload:
        feedbackId: "{{payload.feedbackId}}"
        category: "{{categorization.choices[0].message.content}}"
        analysis: "{{analysis.choices[0].message.content}}"

Supported Native Events

Workspaces can listen to a specific subset of native events:

Workspace Events

App Events

Automation Events

Runtime Events

Best Practices

Modular Design

Create maintainable automation structures:

Break complex flows into smaller automations

Use events for communication between modules

Create reusable patterns for common tasks

Document automation purposes and interfaces

Error Handling

Build robust fault tolerance:

Use try/catch blocks for risky operations

Implement appropriate retry strategies

Provide informative error messages

Create fallback paths for critical operations

State Management

Handle data appropriately across scopes:

Use appropriate memory scopes for different data needs

Clean up temporary variables when finished

Initialize variables before using them

Be mindful of persistence requirements

Security Best Practices

Keep your automations secure:

Store sensitive data in secrets

Validate inputs from external sources

Implement rate limiting for external APIs

Use proper authentication for API calls

Performance Optimization

Ensure efficient execution:

Use parallel processing for independent operations

Implement batching for large data sets

Cache results when appropriate

Monitor execution times and optimize bottlenecks

Testing

Validate automation functionality:

Test with representative data samples

Verify error handling paths

Test edge cases and unexpected inputs

Use Activity view to review execution history

Next Steps

Pages

Learn how React pages call endpoints and emit workspace events

Testing & Debugging

Trace automation runs with Activity and correlation IDs

Deployment

Learn more about deployment strategies