# Automations

Canonical URL: https://docs.perisclaw.com/automations

An **Automation** is anything you want Perisclaw to do again and again: on a
schedule, when a message arrives, or as a multi-step sequence. You describe it
once and Perisclaw runs it.

A one-off nudge to yourself is a
[Reminder](/schedule-reminders-and-messages). A goal Perisclaw sees through to
the end is a [Mission](/missions). Anything recurring or rule-based is an
Automation.

## What you can automate

* **A repeating schedule:** *“Every weekday morning, summarize anything urgent
  in my client chats.”*
* **A new message or reaction:** *“React ✅ when someone says approved in the
  Finance group.”*
* **Something that needs judgment:** *“Watch the supplier chat and tell me
  when the conversation sounds stuck.”*
* **A sequence with waits:** *“Ask Ravi for the numbers Friday. If he has not
  replied by Monday, follow up. Tell me after the second miss.”*
* **Connected work:** *“Update the Sheet first, then send the briefing only if
  the update succeeded.”*

Simple rules run instantly. Work that needs judgment runs in the background.
Multi-step Automations remember where they are, so they never forget what they
were waiting for.

## Create one

Open **Automations** and choose a template, or describe the result in your
self-chat. Templates draft a normal WhatsApp request that you can change before sending.
There is no configuration language to learn.

![The New automation template picker, with recurring actions, briefs, message rules, and multi-step follow-through templates grouped by outcome](/images/automations-templates.png)

_Templates turn a familiar outcome into a request you can edit before it runs._

> **Describe the behavior in one message:** Every Friday at 4, ask Ravi for the weekly numbers. If he has not replied by Monday morning, ask again. If he still has not replied by Tuesday, tell me.

Perisclaw shows the important parts before anything sensitive goes live: what
starts it, what it will do, who it may message, how long it waits, when it
stops, and any connected-app changes. Automations that message another chat or
change an external service stay off until you confirm them.

**Info: Waits and retries are bounded**

  An Automation cannot quietly chase someone forever. Ask explicitly if you
  genuinely need an open-ended watch.

## The Automations page

The **Active** view keeps the three kinds of running behavior together:

* **Scheduled:** time-based work, including briefings and recurring actions.
* **Triggers:** rules waiting for a message, reaction, or condition.
* **Flows:** multi-step sequences with waits and decisions.

**Off** contains saved Automations that cannot start new work. A failed
Automation stays where it was, with the failure shown on its row and details
page. Reminders live on the separate **Schedule** agenda because they notify
you rather than perform work.

The details page adapts to the kind of work. Rules use a plain-language
**When** and **Do** view. Multi-step Automations show the full flow, current
step, saved state, recent events, failures, and earlier runs.

![A multi-step report automation in progress, showing the message that starts it, the current ten-minute wait, the summary step, and its success and failure outcomes](/images/automations-multi-step-run.png)

_A multi-step Automation shows exactly where it is and what it is waiting for._

Available controls depend on the Automation: edit its definition or name,
switch future starts on or off, pause or resume a run, cancel a run, or delete
it. Editing a multi-step definition affects future runs; an active run finishes
from the version it started with.

![The Run activity view for a waiting automation, showing its current step, start source, wait deadline, saved state, timeline, and pause and cancel controls](/images/automations-run-activity.png)

_Check why a run is waiting before you pause or cancel it._

## How Automations run

An Automation tells Perisclaw when to act and what to get done. It is not a
separate agent running all the time. A [Mission](/missions) is one goal
Perisclaw owns until it finishes or comes back to you.

You never have to pick between these: describe what you want in plain language
and Perisclaw sets up the right thing.

### [Hand off a whole outcome](/missions)

For a one-time goal that needs planning and follow-through, not a schedule.

### [Set a simple reminder](/schedule-reminders-and-messages)

When one timed nudge or message is all you need.

### [Connect your apps](/connecting-apps)

Let automations read and update Sheets, Notion, Slack, and more.