Automations

Automations are long-lived contact journeys: a trigger enrolls a contact, then ordered steps run over time (wait, action, branch, halt). Install the Automations native app under Team settings → Apps to use the dashboard and MCP tools.

They are not:

• Campaigns — oneshot blasts to an audience
• Agent settings → Automations — shortcuts, alerts, flows, and Hooks that fire a single immediate action (no enrollment)

Overview

• Enroll contacts from a prop, segment, manual run, or webhook (inbound Hook)
• Steps: wait, warp (any action, including contact messages), branch, halt
• One enrollment per automation + contact; marketing opt-out is checked at enroll
• Graph cannot change while enrollments are active — disable or wait until idle to edit steps
• Live enrollment cards over the team websocket; milestones on the contact timeline
• Message steps surface as the usual agent approval card in chat

Install

1. Team settings → Apps → install Automations
2. Open Automations in the sidebar
3. Agents only see automation MCP tools when the app is installed

Creating in the UI

1. Open Automations → New automation
2. Choose a trigger (prop, segment, manual, or webhook)
3. Add steps in order — waits, warps, branches, halt
4. For contact messages, pick the contact-message action and map inputs (message, integration, …)
5. Enable when ready; use Run for a one-contact manual enroll
6. Watch enrollments on the automation card (live updates)

Webhook triggers need an agent (inbound delivery is /agents/{uuid}/hooks). JoAi creates a system-owned Hook tied to the automation — manage it from the automation, not the editable Hooks list.

How they work

Piece	Behavior
Trigger	Contact prop (e.g. onboarding-stage = done), segment match, manual, or webhook — not marketing tags. Several webhook automations can share one source; each gets its own Hook and all matching Hooks run.
Enrollment	Unique per automation + contact; skips marketing opt-out at enroll. Missing address / pending consent are checked when a warp step resolves integration (and can re-enroll once fixed).
Action	Step type warp: pick any action and map inputs from contact.* / enrollment.* (Hook-style mapper). Contact messages use warpId joai-contact-message-send with inputs message, integration, recipientId, contactId (and subject / html when needed). Prior-step warp outputs are not wired yet — steps fire asynchronously.
Branch	branch with when[] conditions (same operators as Hooks) and jumps to thenPosition / elsePosition
Scheduler	Each wait queues a delayed advance; an every-minute sweeper also picks up due enrollments
Steps	Wait stores delayMinutes (0 = immediate) and stays first-class (not a warp)
Audience preview	Opt-out sendable vs skipped (channel readiness is evaluated when steps run)
Delete	Allowed when no enrollments are active; otherwise disable with update_automation

Hooks stay separate. Agent settings → Automations → Hooks map inbound/internal events to one immediate action. A webhook automation trigger links the two: the system Hook enrolls the mapped contact into this journey.

MCP / agents

Requires the Automations native app installed on the team. Discover live schemas with tools/list. Warp steps that need approval follow the usual auto-mode / check_warp_executions flow.

Tool	Purpose
create_automation	Create with triggerType, triggerConfig, actions, optional agentId / enabled
list_automations	List team automations
automation_stats	Team automation stats
update_automation	Update name / enabled / trigger / agentId
set_automation_actions	Replace ordered actions (wait / warp / branch / halt)
list_automation_enrollments	Paginated enrollments (page, perPage)
retry_automation_enrollment	Clear enrollment error and resume
run_automation	Manually enroll one contact
preview_automation_audience	Opt-out sendable count + skip reasons + sample IDs
delete_automation	Delete when no active enrollments

Example create payload:

{
  "name": "Hollabrunn · B2B welcome",
  "triggerType": "prop",
  "triggerConfig": { "propKey": "onboarding-stage", "propValue": "done" },
  "actions": [
    { "type": "wait", "config": { "delayMinutes": 4320 } },
    {
      "type": "warp",
      "config": {
        "warpId": "joai-contact-message-send",
        "inputs": {
          "contactId": { "source": "contact", "path": "contact.id" },
          "message": { "source": "literal", "value": "Hallo {{name}}" },
          "subject": { "source": "literal", "value": "Kurz zu hollabrunn.digital" },
          "integration": { "source": "literal", "value": "email" },
          "recipientId": { "source": "contact", "path": "contact.email" }
        }
      }
    },
    { "type": "halt", "config": {} }
  ]
}

Tips

• Install Automations before expecting MCP tools or the sidebar entry
• Prefer joai-contact-message-send for contact messages — there is no first-class “send” step type
• Prefer prop or segment triggers for recurring journeys; use webhook when an external system should enroll
• Disable (enabled: false) instead of delete when enrollments are still active
• Webhook automations need an agent with inbound Hooks; oneshot blasts belong in Campaigns
• Agent settings → Automations (shortcuts / hooks) is a different surface — see Shortcuts and Webhooks

Related

• Native apps — install Automations on the team
• Campaigns — oneshot blasts (separate install)
• Contacts — CRM; segments are managed in Campaigns
• Webhooks — Hooks vs webhook enrollment triggers
• Shortcuts — Agent settings → Automations (not this app)
• MCP