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Create an automation

An automation files tasks for you: on a schedule, such as a weekly status report, or each time an event arrives, such as a new GitHub issue or a Slack mention. Each run files one task per project or node you pick, and a runner works on it like any other task.

Who can do this: Automations are shown only to Owners and Admins of your organization.

Create it​

  1. In the sidebar, select Automation. The Automations tab opens.
  2. Select ＋. The New automation page opens.
  3. Under About, enter a Name you'll recognize in the list, such as Weekly status report, and optionally a Description.
  4. Under When, pick what makes it run: Schedule, Webhook, GitHub or Slack. Then set it up as in Set the schedule or Set up the event.
  5. Under Target, pick Projects or Nodes, then choose which ones in Run in projects or Run on nodes. See Choose what an automation runs on.
  6. Under Action, leave Task: it files one task per target each time it runs.
  7. Write what each task should do in the description, exactly as you would start a task. For an event, you can quote it with placeholders: the hint under the description lists them.
  8. Optional: pick the depth and involvement, add files with Attach, and pick who it is Assigned to. Under Advanced, check Persona, Model and Priority, and tick Hidden to keep these tasks off the default task board.
  9. Select Create. The automation's page opens, and it appears in the list.

If something is missing, the line beside Create says what, such as Pick at least one project.

Set the schedule​

  1. With Schedule picked, select Edit on the Schedule line.
  2. In Schedule as, pick A cron expression to run at named times, or A fixed interval to run every so many seconds, minutes or hours.
  3. For named times, pick the period, such as day or week, then the days, hours and minutes. For an interval, enter Every and pick a Unit.
  4. Read the Schedule line: it says when it runs, in words, and when it runs next.
  5. Optional: in Keep logs, choose which runs are recorded.

Under the schedule, the editor states the two rules every scheduled run follows: missed runs are skipped, and a target whose previous task is still open is skipped. See What a run skips.

Set up the event​

Pick the source, then fill in what it listens for:

  • Webhook — in Authentication, choose HMAC signature (the other system signs each call with the secret) or Bearer token (it sends the secret itself). Use whichever the other system supports.
  • GitHub — in Events, list the events to act on, such as issues, pull_request. Optional: narrow them with Actions, such as opened, labeled, and set the Repository as owner/repo; empty, it is the project's own GitHub repository.
  • Slack — in Channel IDs, list the channels to listen in, such as C0123ABCD.

Optional: give the task a Title template in the Action form; empty, the title is taken from the event. Under When you can also set a Preflight, Limits, and when it pauses itself after failures. See How automations work.

An event's source can't be changed after you create the automation.

Store the secret and connect the other system (Webhook, GitHub)​

  1. After Create, a dialog, Store this secret now, shows the secret. Select Copy secret, keep it somewhere safe, then select I’ve stored it. Jaah never shows it again. If you lose it, select Rotate secret under Setup on the automation's page; the old one stops working at once.
  2. Under Setup, select Copy URL. For a webhook, the line under it says how each call must carry the secret. For GitHub, Setup lists what to enter in the repository's Add webhook form, field by field, and which events to tick.
  3. In the other system, set it to call that address with the secret.

Test it before the first real event​

  1. On the automation's page, go to Test.
  2. Paste an example of what the other system sends into Sample payload.
  3. Select Test. Title and Body show the task it would file. Nothing is filed.
  4. Read the line under them: Every placeholder had a value., or Missing paths: naming the placeholders the sample doesn't fill. Fix the template and select Save.
  5. To file a real task from the sample, select Run now with this sample.

Check it​

  1. Open the automation from the list. Its status, beside the name, says Active.
  2. To see it work without waiting, select Run now. See Run, pause or change an automation.