Workflows
When a record changes, run the next steps automatically: send, wait, branch, update, notify.
A workflow starts from a trigger — a contact tagged, a deal changing stage — and then walks a graph of steps: send an email, wait three days, branch on a field, update the CRM, create a task, notify someone, call a webhook. Runs are durable, so a wait of a week survives deploys and restarts.
You build it on a canvas. Editing changes a draft; nothing runs until you publish a version and enable the workflow, and a run always executes the version that was live when it started.
How to
- 1
Create a workflow from a starter, or blank.
It is created as a draft. Drafts can be incomplete; only publishing validates.
- 2
Add a trigger, pick its event, and narrow it with conditions.
Conditions are ANDed rows such as "after.tag is VIP". No trigger means the workflow only runs when started by hand.
- 3
Drag steps on and connect them from the handle at the bottom of each node.
Each handle leads to exactly one next step, so connecting again replaces the old link. A branch has one handle per condition plus "otherwise".
- 4
Fix anything ringed in coral — the problems list under the canvas names each one.
- 5
Publish, then Enable. Use Run now to try it without waiting for a trigger.
- 6
Open Runs to see each run on the canvas, with what every step actually sent and returned.
Ask Smooth Operator
- “When a contact is tagged VIP, send them a welcome email”
- “Which workflows are live, and when did each last run?”
- “Why did the last run of this workflow fail?”
If something goes wrong
- Publish says you lack a permission even though you can edit workflows.
- Publishing needs every permission the steps use — a workflow that sends email needs "send email". Ask an admin for it, or have someone who holds it publish.
- Publish is greyed out.
- The draft has problems: a step nothing leads to, a link to a deleted step, or a loop with no wait in it. Hover the button or read the list under the canvas.
- You edited the workflow but runs still behave the old way.
- Runs use the published version. Save only updates the draft — publish again to make the change live. Runs already in flight finish on the version they started with.
- Enable and Run now are unavailable.
- The workflow has never been published. Publish a version first.