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Version: v2.0

Create an automation

An automation runs an agent without anyone typing in the chat. It starts in one of two ways:

  • On a schedule. For example, every weekday at 9:00.
  • When something happens in an app you have connected. For example, when a new issue is opened in GitHub.

To learn how automations work, see Automations.

Get the agent ready​

An automation cannot answer the agent's questions, so the agent has to know the job before it runs.

Open the agent and describe the job in the chat: what to do and where to find the information. The agent writes this into its own instructions and adds the tools it needs.

Create the automation​

Go to Sidebar > Automations and click New automation.

1. Give it a name​

Type a name, or leave it empty. An empty name is filled in from the schedule and the agent, for example Weekdays at 09:00 UTC — Support digest.

2. Pick the agent​

Under Agent, choose the agent you prepared.

3. Choose when it runs​

Click Runs when and choose one of the two options at the top:

  • On a schedule runs the agent at the times you set.
  • When something happens runs the agent each time a chosen event happens in a connected app.

On a schedule​

A new automation runs every weekday at 9:00 UTC. To change it, choose a Cadence:

  • Hourly: every 1 to 12 hours, at the minute you pick.
  • Daily: every day, at the times you pick.
  • Weekly: on the weekdays you pick, at the times you pick.
  • Monthly: on the days of the month you pick, at the times you pick.
  • Cron: a cron expression, for schedules the other options cannot express.
note

Times are in UTC, not your local time. In summer, 9:00 UTC is 11:00 in Berlin and 5:00 in New York.

When something happens​

The panel lists the apps you have connected. An automation can only watch one of these apps.

To add an app, click Connect another app…, search for the app, click it, and click Connect. When the connection is done, open Runs when again. The app is now in the list.

Click the app, then click the event to watch, such as "issue opened". Some events need details before they can run, such as which repository to watch. Fill them in and click Done.

4. Write the message​

Under Instruction, write the message the agent receives on every run, as you would type it in the chat. Say what to do and where to put the result. For example:

Summarize support tickets from the previous day and post the digest to #ops.

5. Create it​

Click Create automation. The automation's page opens, and the automation appears in Sidebar > Automations.

Check the automation's history​

Agenta saves every run with the full conversation the agent had. To see them, open the automation from Sidebar > Automations and click the Run history card.

  • Automations explains how to prepare an agent for work that runs without anyone in the chat.
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