Automations - Notifuse Documentation

Marketing automations let you create event-driven workflows that automatically engage contacts based on their behavior and lifecycle events. Instead of manually sending emails, automations trigger actions when specific events occur—like a contact subscribing to a list, opening an email, or completing a custom event. Key Benefits:

Automated nurturing: Welcome sequences, onboarding flows, re-engagement campaigns
Triggered emails: Send the right message at the right moment based on contact actions
Behavioral responses: React to email opens, clicks, bounces, and custom events

Automation Lifecycle

Automations have three states that control their behavior:

Status	Description
Draft	Building and testing mode. No contacts are enrolled.
Live	Active automation. Contacts are enrolled when trigger events occur.
Paused	Stops new enrollments. In-progress journeys continue to completion.

Workflow:

Create automation in Draft mode
Configure trigger and add nodes
Activate to go live and start enrolling contacts
Pause when needed—active contacts continue their journey
Delete performs soft-delete with recovery capability

Triggers

Triggers define when contacts enter an automation. They’re based on events that appear in the contact timeline.

Trigger Frequency

Frequency	Behavior
`once`	Contact enters only on the first occurrence of the event
`every_time`	Contact can re-enter each time the event occurs

Event Types

Automations can trigger on any of these timeline events:

Contact Events

Event	Description
`contact.created`	New contact added to workspace
`contact.updated`	Contact fields modified
`contact.deleted`	Contact removed from workspace

List Events

Event	Description
`list.subscribed`	Contact subscribed to a list
`list.unsubscribed`	Contact unsubscribed from a list
`list.confirmed`	Contact confirmed subscription (double opt-in)
`list.resubscribed`	Previously unsubscribed contact resubscribed
`list.bounced`	Email to contact bounced
`list.complained`	Contact marked email as spam
`list.pending`	Contact in pending confirmation state
`list.removed`	Contact removed from list

List events require selecting a specific list in the trigger configuration.

Segment Events

Event	Description
`segment.joined`	Contact matched segment criteria
`segment.left`	Contact no longer matches segment criteria

Email Events

Event	Description
`email.sent`	Email was sent to contact
`email.delivered`	Email was delivered
`email.opened`	Contact opened email
`email.clicked`	Contact clicked a link in email
`email.bounced`	Email bounced
`email.complained`	Contact marked as spam
`email.unsubscribed`	Contact unsubscribed via email link

Custom Events

Event	Description
`custom_event`	User-defined event sent via API

Custom events require specifying the event name (e.g., purchase, trial_started).

Field-Specific Triggers

For contact.updated events, you can filter by specific fields that changed: Core Fields: first_name, last_name, phone, external_id, timezone, language, photo_url Address Fields: address_line_1, address_line_2, country, state, postcode Custom Fields:

String: custom_string_1 through custom_string_5
Number: custom_number_1 through custom_number_5
Date: custom_datetime_1 through custom_datetime_5
JSON: custom_json_1 through custom_json_5

Conditional Triggers

Add segment conditions to filter which contacts enter the automation. For example:

Trigger on list.subscribed but only for contacts where country = "US"
Trigger on contact.updated but only when custom_number_1 > 100

Node Types

Nodes are the building blocks of automation workflows. They’re divided into action nodes (linear flow) and branching nodes (multi-path).

Action Nodes

Node	Purpose	Key Configuration
Trigger	Entry point for the automation	`event_kind` (required), `frequency`, `conditions`
Delay	Pause execution for a duration	`duration` (1-365), `unit` (minutes/hours/days)
Email	Send a template to the contact	`template_id` (required), `subject_override`, `from_override`
Add to List	Subscribe contact to a list	`list_id`, `status` (subscribed/pending)
Remove from List	Unsubscribe contact from a list	`list_id`
Webhook	Send HTTP POST to external URL	`url` (required), `secret` (optional Bearer token)

Branching Nodes

Node	Purpose	Key Configuration
Filter	Route based on conditions (Yes/No)	`conditions`, paths for matching and non-matching
A/B Test	Split contacts for testing	2-4 `variants` with weights (must sum to 100%)
List Status Branch	Route by list subscription status	`list_id`, 3 paths: not in list, active, non-active

Node Details

Delay Node

Pauses the contact’s journey for a specified duration before continuing to the next node.

Duration: 1 to 365
Unit: minutes, hours, or days

Example: Wait 24 hours after signup before sending welcome email.

Email Node

Sends an email template to the contact.

Template ID: Required. Select from workspace templates.
Subject Override: Optional. Replace template subject line.
From Override: Optional. Replace sender email/name.

Email nodes require a list to be selected on the automation. This ensures contacts have proper subscription context.

Filter Node

Routes contacts based on segment conditions. Contacts matching the conditions continue on the “Yes” path; others take the “No” path or exit. Uses the same condition builder as segments—supports contact fields, custom events, and complex AND/OR logic.

A/B Test Node

Splits contacts into variants for testing different paths.

Variants: 2 to 4 variants (A, B, C, D)
Weights: Each variant has a weight (1-100%), must sum to 100%
Deterministic: Same contact + node always gets the same variant (uses FNV-32a hash)

Example: Test two email templates with 50/50 split.

List Status Branch Node

Routes contacts based on their subscription status in a specific list:

Path	Condition
Not in List	Contact is not subscribed to the list
Active	Contact has `active` status in the list
Non-Active	Contact has `pending`, `unsubscribed`, `bounced`, or `complained` status

Webhook Node

Sends contact and automation data to an external URL via HTTP POST.

URL: Required. Must start with http:// or https://
Secret: Optional. Sent as Authorization: Bearer {secret} header

The payload includes contact data, automation context, and execution metadata.

Visual Flow Editor

The visual flow editor provides a drag-and-drop canvas for building automation workflows.

Building Workflows

Start with Trigger: Every automation begins with a trigger node
Add Nodes: Use the node palette or floating ”+” buttons on unconnected outputs
Connect Nodes: Drag connections between nodes
Configure: Click a node to open its configuration panel

Contact Journeys

Each contact’s progress through an automation is tracked as a “journey” with full execution history.

Journey States

Status	Description
`active`	Currently progressing through the automation
`completed`	Reached a terminal node (finished the flow)
`exited`	Left early due to filter, unsubscribe, or deletion
`failed`	Error after maximum retries

Exit Reasons

When a contact exits early, the reason is recorded:

Reason	Description
`completed`	Normal completion at terminal node
`filter_rejected`	Failed filter condition with no alternate path
`unsubscribed`	Contact unsubscribed from the automation’s list
`automation_paused`	Automation was paused while contact was active
`manual`	Manually removed by admin

Timeline Events

Automation activity is recorded in the contact timeline:

automation.start — Contact enrolled in automation
automation.end — Contact completed, exited, or failed

Execution Engine

Automations run on a background scheduler that processes contacts through their workflows.

How It Works

Polling: Scheduler runs every 10 seconds
Batching: Contacts are processed in batches for efficiency
Fair Distribution: Round-robin across workspaces

Node Processing

Multi-node execution: Up to 10 nodes processed per tick (prevents runaway loops)
Crash recovery: State is persisted after each node
Delay handling: Delay nodes schedule future execution at scheduled_at time

Retry Logic

When node execution fails:

Increment retry count
Schedule retry with exponential backoff: 1min, 2min, 4min, 8min…
After max retries (default: 3), mark as failed

Statistics

Track automation performance with built-in statistics.

Automation-Level Stats

Stat	Description
Enrolled	Total contacts that entered the automation
Completed	Successfully finished all nodes
Exited	Left early (filter, unsubscribe, etc.)
Failed	Errors after max retries

Node-Level Stats

Each node tracks:

Entered: Contacts that reached this node
Completed: Successfully processed
Failed: Encountered errors
Skipped: Bypassed (e.g., wrong branch)

Best Practices

Start simple: Begin with trigger → delay → email, then add complexity
Use filters wisely: Segment contacts within flows for targeted messaging
Test before going live: Use a small test list before activating for production
Monitor statistics: Review enrolled, completed, and failed counts regularly
Check execution logs: Debug issues using the contact journey history
Name meaningfully: Use descriptive automation names for easy identification
Consider frequency: Choose once vs every_time based on your use case

​Automation Lifecycle

​Triggers

​Trigger Frequency

​Event Types

​Contact Events

​List Events

​Segment Events

​Email Events

​Custom Events

​Field-Specific Triggers

​Conditional Triggers

​Node Types

​Action Nodes

​Branching Nodes

​Node Details

​Delay Node

​Email Node

​Filter Node

​A/B Test Node

​List Status Branch Node

​Webhook Node

​Visual Flow Editor

​Building Workflows

​Contact Journeys

​Journey States

​Exit Reasons

​Timeline Events

​Execution Engine

​How It Works

​Node Processing

​Retry Logic

​Statistics

​Automation-Level Stats

​Node-Level Stats

​Best Practices

Automation Lifecycle

Triggers

Trigger Frequency

Event Types

Contact Events

List Events

Segment Events

Email Events

Custom Events

Field-Specific Triggers

Conditional Triggers

Node Types

Action Nodes

Branching Nodes

Node Details

Delay Node

Email Node

Filter Node

A/B Test Node

List Status Branch Node

Webhook Node

Visual Flow Editor

Building Workflows

Contact Journeys

Journey States

Exit Reasons

Timeline Events

Execution Engine

How It Works

Node Processing

Retry Logic

Statistics

Automation-Level Stats

Node-Level Stats

Best Practices