# Automations

> Event-triggered and schedule-triggered automations with natural-language conditions. Use when creating automations, wiring events, or understanding how triggers fire.

- Skill: `builderio/automations` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add builderio/automations`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/builderio/automations/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: Builder.io (https://skillmd.com/u/builderio)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/builderio/automations

---


# Automations

## Rule

Automations are the user-facing umbrella for agent-executed tasks that fire in
response to events or on a cron schedule. **Scheduled** and **Event** are the
two trigger types. Each automation is a markdown resource under `jobs/` with
YAML frontmatter describing when and how it fires, and a body containing
natural-language instructions the agent follows.

Recurring Jobs is the legacy name and API for scheduled automations.
`manage-jobs`, `jobs/`, and `/agent#jobs` remain stable compatibility surfaces.
Use `manage-automations` for new personal or organization automations, including
per-automation model overrides and MCP allowlists. Keep `manage-jobs` for
existing schedule-only integrations and delivery metadata.

## The Two Trigger Types

| Type       | Fires when                                      | Key field           |
| ---------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------- |
| `schedule` | Cron expression matches (same as recurring jobs) | `schedule` (cron)   |
| `event`    | A matching event is emitted on the event bus     | `event` (event name) |

Event triggers can optionally include a `condition` -- a natural-language string evaluated by Haiku against the event payload before dispatch. If the condition does not match, the automation is skipped.

## How It Works

1. User asks the agent to create an automation (or uses the settings UI).
2. Agent calls `manage-automations` with `action=list-events` to discover available events.
3. Agent calls `manage-automations` with `action=define` to write a `jobs/<name>.md` resource.
4. The trigger dispatcher subscribes to the event on the bus.
5. When the event fires, the dispatcher loads all matching triggers, enforces
   owner and organization scope, and evaluates conditions via Haiku.
6. Event and cron acquisition converge on the shared background-automation
   runner, which validates identity, resolves the configured model and MCP
   allowlist, runs the agent loop, handles continuation and delivery, and
   records usage.
7. Status (`lastRun`, `lastStatus`, `lastError`) is written back to the resource frontmatter.

Trigger acquisition stays separate by design: the scheduler decides when a cron
expression is due, while the event dispatcher matches event names, owners, and
conditions. Everything after a trigger is accepted uses the same execution
lifecycle.

## Markdown Format

```yaml
---
schedule: ""
enabled: true
triggerType: event
event: calendar.booking.created
condition: "attendee email ends with @example.com"
mode: agentic
domain: calendar
createdBy: user@example.com
runAs: creator
---

Send a Slack message to #sales with the booking details.
Use the web-request tool with ${keys.SLACK_WEBHOOK}.
```

### Frontmatter Fields

| Field         | Type                           | Purpose                                                |
| ------------- | ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| `schedule`    | `string`                       | Cron expression; new scheduled automations default to once per hour (`0 * * * *`) when omitted |
| `enabled`     | `boolean`                      | Whether the automation is active                       |
| `triggerType` | `"schedule" \| "event"`        | How the automation fires                               |
| `event`       | `string?`                      | Event name to subscribe to (event triggers)            |
| `condition`   | `string?`                      | Natural-language condition evaluated before dispatch   |
| `mode`        | `"agentic"`                    | Full agent loop (only supported mode; `"deterministic"` was removed — never implemented, rejected at define time) |
| `model`       | `string?`                      | Override the model for this trigger's agent loop       |
| `domain`      | `string?`                      | Grouping tag (mail, calendar, clips, etc.)             |
| `createdBy`   | `string?`                      | Creator email; required for organization event automations |
| `orgId`       | `string?`                      | Organization scope                                     |
| `runAs`       | `"creator" \| "shared"`        | Execution identity; trigger-aware automations use `creator` |
| `mcpTools`    | `string[]?`                    | Exact MCP tool allowlist for this automation           |
| `lastRun`     | `string?`                      | ISO timestamp of last execution                        |
| `lastStatus`  | `string?`                      | `success`, `error`, `running`, or `skipped`            |
| `lastError`   | `string?`                      | Error message from last failed run                     |

## Agent Tools

All automation operations are accessed through a single `manage-automations` tool with an `action` parameter:

| Action        | Purpose                                                              |
| ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `list-events` | Discover all registered events with descriptions and payload schemas |
| `list`        | List all automations with status, filter by domain or enabled        |
| `define`      | Create a new automation (name, trigger type, event, condition, body)  |
| `update`      | Update an existing automation (enabled, condition, body)             |
| `delete`      | Delete an automation (always confirm with user first)                |
| `fire-test`   | Emit a `test.event.fired` event to validate automations              |
| `run-now`     | Run one automation immediately with its real actions and side effects |

Additional tool: `web-request` — outbound HTTP with `${keys.NAME}` substitution.

`manage-automations` accepts personal or organization scope and supports
`model` and `mcpTools` on define/update. An MCP allowlist is enforced, not
advisory: every named tool must resolve in the creator's request context or the
run fails clearly, and the runner never widens access beyond the configured
names.

## Organization Event Automations

Organization event automations are visible to organization members but always
run as their creator:

- `createdBy` is required and `runAs` must be `creator`.
- An organization event automation matches only events emitted for that
  creator. Organization visibility does not turn an event into a broadcast.
- Organization admins may update or delete an automation, but cannot replace
  its creator or retarget its execution identity.
- Before every run, the framework verifies that the creator still exists and is
  still a member of the organization. A removed creator or unreadable
  membership state prevents execution.

## The Event Bus

Integrations register events at module load time. The bus validates payloads against Standard Schema definitions and dispatches to subscribers.

```ts
import { registerEvent, emit } from "@agent-native/core/event-bus";
import { z } from "zod";

// Register an event type (typically in a server plugin)
registerEvent({
  name: "calendar.booking.created",
  description: "A new calendar booking was created",
  payloadSchema: z.object({
    bookingId: z.string(),
    attendeeEmail: z.string(),
    startTime: z.string(),
  }),
  example: { bookingId: "abc", attendeeEmail: "jane@co.com", startTime: "2025-01-15T10:00:00Z" },
});

// Emit the event (from an action, webhook handler, etc.)
emit("calendar.booking.created", {
  bookingId: "abc",
  attendeeEmail: "jane@co.com",
  startTime: "2025-01-15T10:00:00Z",
}, { owner: "user@example.com" });
```

### Built-in Events

| Event                     | Source              |
| ------------------------- | ------------------- |
| `test.event.fired`        | Manual / manage-automations action=fire-test |
| `agent.turn.completed`    | Agent chat          |
| `calendar.*`              | Calendar integration |
| `clip.*`                  | Clips integration   |
| `mail.*`                  | Mail integration    |

### Event Bus API

| Function         | Purpose                                     |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| `registerEvent`  | Declare an event type with schema           |
| `emit`           | Fire an event (validates payload)           |
| `subscribe`      | Listen for an event (returns subscription ID) |
| `unsubscribe`    | Remove a subscription by ID                 |
| `listEvents`     | List all registered event definitions       |

## Condition Evaluator

When an automation has a `condition`, the dispatcher calls the configured fast/classification model to classify whether the event payload satisfies the condition. This is a yes/no classification, not a generation task. The exact model ID lives in `condition-evaluator.ts`.

- Empty or missing condition = unconditional (always fires).
- Results are memoized (SHA-256 of condition + payload) with a 5-minute TTL and 500-entry LRU cache.
- Payload is truncated to 4000 characters before sending to Haiku.
- On API failure, the condition evaluates to `false` (safe default -- skips the automation).

## The `web-request` Tool and Keys

Automations use the `web-request` tool for outbound HTTP. It supports `${keys.NAME}` placeholders in the URL, headers, and body. These are resolved server-side after the agent emits the tool call -- the raw secret value never enters the agent's context.

- Keys are ad-hoc secrets created by the user via the settings UI or the `/_agent-native/secrets/adhoc` API.
- Each key can have a URL allowlist that restricts which origins the key can be sent to.
- `resolveKeyReferences()` resolves placeholders, falling back from user scope to workspace scope.
- `validateUrlAllowlist()` checks the resolved URL against per-key allowlists (origin-level matching).
- Automation definitions, examples, event payloads, and prompts must not
  hardcode real API keys, webhook URLs, tokens, private Builder/internal data, or
  customer data. Use `${keys.NAME}` and synthetic `example.com` identities.

## UI

The full-page Agent surface's **Automations** tab is the primary management
surface for scheduled and event-triggered automations. Users can view status,
enable/disable, inspect, and delete automations there. Its URL remains
`/agent#jobs` for compatibility even though the visible tab is Automations.
Creation typically happens through the agent chat.

## Example

User: "When someone books a meeting with a @example.com email, message me in Slack."

Agent flow:

1. Calls `manage-automations` with `action=list-events` to find `calendar.booking.created`.
2. Confirms the plan with the user.
3. Calls `manage-automations` with `action=define`:
   - `name`: `slack-on-example-booking`
   - `trigger_type`: `event`
   - `event`: `calendar.booking.created`
   - `condition`: `attendee email ends with @example.com`
   - `mode`: `agentic`
   - `domain`: `calendar`
   - `body`: `Send a Slack message to #sales with the booking details. Use the web-request tool to POST to ${keys.SLACK_WEBHOOK}.`

## Key Files

| File                                           | Purpose                                          |
| ---------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| `packages/core/src/triggers/types.ts`          | `TriggerFrontmatter` interface                   |
| `packages/core/src/triggers/actions.ts`        | Agent tools (define, list, update, delete, test)  |
| `packages/core/src/triggers/dispatcher.ts`     | Event subscription and agentic dispatch          |
| `packages/core/src/jobs/background-automation-runner.ts` | Shared schedule/event execution lifecycle |
| `packages/core/src/triggers/condition-evaluator.ts` | Haiku condition classification with caching |
| `packages/core/src/event-bus/`                 | Event bus (register, emit, subscribe)            |
| `packages/core/src/tools/fetch-tool.ts`        | `web-request` tool with key substitution         |
| `packages/core/src/secrets/substitution.ts`    | `resolveKeyReferences()` and `validateUrlAllowlist()` |

## Related Skills

- `recurring-jobs` -- schedule-triggered automations reuse the same scheduler
- `secrets` -- ad-hoc keys and `${keys.NAME}` substitution
- `actions` -- automations can call any registered action via the agent loop
- `delegate-to-agent` -- agentic mode runs a full `runAgentLoop`