---
title: "Getting started"
space: "CRM"
url: "https://docs.frappe.io/crm/automations/getting-started"
updated: "2026-09-30"
---

This page explains the parts every automation is made of, then walks you through building your first one.

## Before you begin

- You need the **System Manager** role to create, edit, enable or test automations.
- Open **Settings > Automation & Rules > Workflow Automations** and click **New**.

![The Workflow Automations list in Settings](/files/crm-automations-list.png)

## What an automation is made of


| Part                | What it answers                                  | Example                        |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------ |
| **Document type**   | Which kind of record does this automation watch? | CRM Lead                       |
| **Trigger (event)** | When should it start?                            | A lead is created              |
| **Filters**         | Which records should it apply to?                | Source is *Website*            |
| **Steps**           | What should happen, and in what order?           | Wait 1 day, then send an email |
| **Run as**          | Whose permissions are the steps run with?        | Automation User                |
| **Status**          | Is it live?                                      | Enabled or Draft               |


### Document type

Every automation belongs to a document type, such as **CRM Lead**, **CRM Deal** or **CRM Task**. The record that starts a run is called the **trigger record**. Steps act on it by default.

### Trigger

The trigger is the event that starts a run: a record being created or updated, a field changing value, a prospect replying, a date arriving, a schedule, and more. See [Events](/crm/automations/events) for the full list.

### Filters

Filters narrow the trigger down to the records you care about. Click **Add Condition** to add a rule, for example *Status equals New* and *Annual revenue is greater than 100000*. Use **Add Condition Group** to combine rules with AND / OR.

For logic the filters cannot express, use the **Condition** field under **Conditions**. It takes a Python expression in which the record is available as `doc`:

```python
doc.source == "Website" or doc.annual_revenue > 100000
```

Both live in the trigger's side panel under **Conditions**, above the **Run As** setting:

![Filters, Condition and Run As in the trigger's side panel](/files/crm-automations-conditions-panel.png)



### Steps

Steps run from top to bottom. There are two kinds:

- **Blocks** control the flow: **If / Else**, **Wait** and **Wait for event**. See [Blocks](/crm/automations/blocks).
- **Actions** do the work: send an email, set a field, assign a user, convert a lead, call a webhook, and more. See [Actions](/crm/automations/actions).

An automation needs at least one action before you can enable it.

Each step can act on the trigger record or on a **related record**, such as the lead's organization, its contacts, or a deal created by an earlier step. Pick it in the step's **Record** field.

### Run as (permissions)

Automations run in the background, so you choose whose permissions they use. Every step still runs the normal permission checks for that user.


| Option                        | The steps run as                                                              |
| ----------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Automation User** (default) | A fixed user you pick. Defaults to Administrator.                             |
| **Triggering User**           | The user whose action started the run, such as the person who saved the lead. |
| **Document Owner**            | The user who created the trigger record.                                      |


> Pick the least powerful user that can still do the job. For example, an automation that only updates leads does not need Administrator.

### When a step fails

If a step fails, the run stops at that step and the steps after it do not run.

If an automation fails 10 times in a row, it is disabled automatically, the reason is shown on the automation, and its owner is notified. Fix the cause, then enable it again.

## Build your first automation

In this example, you send a welcome email to every new lead that comes from the website, then remind the lead owner if the lead is still *New* after two days.

1. Go to **Settings > Automation & Rules > Workflow Automations** and click **New**.
2. Give it a title, such as *Welcome new website leads*.
3. Click the trigger on the canvas. In the side panel, set **DocType** to **CRM Lead** and choose **Record is created**.
4. Under **Filters**, click **Add Condition** and add *Source Equals Website*.
5. Click **+** after the trigger and add **Email the Lead or Deal**. Pick your welcome **Email Template**.
6. Add a **Wait** block and set it to **2 Days**.
7. Add an **If / Else** block. Set its **Condition** to *Status Equals New*.
8. On the **True** branch, add **Notify in CRM**. Set **Recipients** to *Document owner* and write the notification, for example `{{ doc.lead_name }} has not been contacted yet`.
9. Click **Save**, then open **Test Run** and try it on an existing lead.
10. When you are happy with it, turn on **Enabled** and save again.

The finished automation looks like this:

![The finished welcome automation on the canvas](/files/crm-automations-builder.png)

## Test before you enable

Open the **Test Run** tab, pick a record under **Select a record** and click **Start test run**. The whole automation runs against that record, then every change is rolled back. Nothing is saved and no email is sent:

- **Wait** blocks are simulated, so you can see the steps that come after them.
- **Wait for event** takes the **Timed out** branch. Click **Run Event happened** under the block to test the other branch.
- **Call Webhook** reports the request it would have made, but does not send it.

The result shows how many steps ran, and marks each step that ran on the canvas. Steps on the branch that was not taken are greyed out.

![A test run: 2 of 4 steps ran, and the Timed out branch was taken](/files/crm-automations-test-run.png)

Save your changes before you test: a test always runs the saved version.

## Use record values in text

Most text fields in a step, such as a subject, a message or a field value, accept Jinja templates. Click **Insert field** under the box to pick a field, or wrap a value in `{{ }}` yourself:


| Write                           | To insert                                  |
| ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| `{{ doc.lead_name }}`           | A field of the record the step acts on     |
| `{{ trigger.name }}`            | A field of the record that started the run |
| `{{ payload.previous_status }}` | A value carried by the triggering event    |


For example, the subject `Welcome to Acme, {{ doc.first_name }}` becomes *Welcome to Acme, Priya*.

## Site-wide settings

A System Manager can adjust engine-wide behaviour in the desk under **Automation Settings**, such as pausing all automations at once, how many consecutive failures disable an automation, and how many times one automation may trigger another.