If you’re spending chunks of your day on repetitive tasks, like moving items between groups, sending reminders, or updating statuses, you’re working harder than you need to. But monday.com automations exist to handle these tasks for you.
This guide walks you through everything you need to know to start building automations, even if you’ve never created one before.
Do you want to watch the tutorial? Check out the full video below.
What Are Automations, Really?
Think about setting a timer on your oven. You put something in to bake, set the alarm, and walk away. You don’t need to watch the clock or remember to check because the timer handles it automatically.
The automations in monday.com work the same way. Any repetitive process in your workflow can be automated:
- Sending reminders before deadlines
- Moving tasks to different groups when their status changes
- Creating notifications when something needs attention
- Generating new items based on specific triggers
Instead of remembering and manually executing these actions, you set up the automation once, and monday takes care of the rest.
How Automations Work: Triggers and Actions
Every automation in monday.com follows a simple formula:
Trigger → Action
A trigger is something that happens, such as a date arrives, a status changes, a column gets updated. That trigger then causes an action to occur, like an item moves, a notification sends, a new task gets created.
Here’s an example:
- Trigger: When a task’s status changes to “Done”
- Action: Move that task to the “Completed” group
Once you understand this trigger-action relationship, you understand the foundation of every automation.
You can also add conditions (sometimes called qualifiers) to make automations more specific.
For instance: “When status changes to Done, but only if the item is in the Open Tasks group, move it to Completed.”
Creating Your First Automation Using Templates
To start building automations, open any board and look for the Automate button in the top right corner. Clicking this opens the Automation Center.
Accessing the Automation Center
In this center, you will see two main sections:
- Create automations: Where you build new automations using templates or custom recipes
- Manage automations: Where you view, edit, and control your existing automations
Clicking on the option “Create” will take you to a library of preset automation recipes, organized by category.
You’ll find these categories on the left side of the Automation Center, things like status changes, date-based triggers, notifications, and more.
Example: Moving Completed Tasks Automatically
Let’s say you want tasks to automatically move to a “Completed Tasks” group when marked as done. Here’s how:
Step 1: In the Automation Center, search for “status” in the search bar.
Step 2: Find the template that reads: “When status changes to something, move item to group.”
Step 3: Click the template. You’ll notice some parts are grayed out, which are the fields you need to customize.
Step 4: Click each grayed-out section to fill in your specifics:
- Select your status column (probably named “Status”)
- Choose the status value that triggers the move (in this case, “Done”)
- Select the destination group (“Completed Tasks”)
Step 5: Click Create Automation.
Your automation is now live. Every time a task’s status changes to “Done,” it’ll automatically move to your Completed Tasks group.
Managing Your Automations
Once you’ve created automations, they appear in the Manage section of the Automation Center.
Here’s what you can do from this view:
View options: Switch between compact view (condensed list) and classic view (larger, more detailed cards).
Toggle on/off: Use the switch next to any automation to enable or disable it without deleting it entirely.
Three-dot menu: Click the three dots on any automation to access additional options:
- Edit the automation
- Mark its importance level (minor, major, or critical)
- Duplicate it
- Save it as a template for future use
- View run history (see when it ran, whether it succeeded, any errors)
- Delete it
- Transfer ownership to another team member
You’ll also see helpful stats for each automation, like how many times it has run, its success rate, and when it was last updated.
At the top of the Manage section, you can review:
- Run history: A log of when your automations executed
- My connections: Any third-party tools linked to your automations (like Gmail)
- Account usage: How much of your automation capacity you’re using
Building Custom Automations
Templates are great for common scenarios, but sometimes you need something specific. That’s where custom automations come in.
Click the “Create automation” button on the top-right corner of the Automation Center, and you’ll see the basic building blocks:
- When this happens (your trigger)
- Then do this (your action)
Example: Deadline Reminder Notification
Let’s build an automation that notifies the assigned person one day before a task is due.
Step 1: Click on “When this happens” and search for “date.”
Step 2: Select “When date arrives.”
Step 3: Configure the trigger:
- Click “when” and select “one day before”
- Choose your date column (e.g., “Due Date”)
Step 4: Click on “Then do this” and select a notification action.
Step 5: Customize the notification:
- Write your message (e.g., “This item is due tomorrow”)
- Choose who receives it — yourself, a specific team member, subscribers, a team, or someone from a people column
Step 6: Click Create Automation.
Now, one day before any task’s due date, the assigned person will automatically receive a reminder.
Adding Conditions to Your Automations
What if you only want that deadline reminder to apply to tasks that are still open? You don’t want notifications about tasks that are already completed.
This is where conditions come in.
While building (or editing) an automation, click the plus button (+) to add a condition.
Select “Only when item is in group” and choose “Open Tasks.”
Your automation now reads: “When due date arrives, only when item is in Open Tasks group, notify the person.”
Conditions let you fine-tune exactly when automations should (and shouldn’t) run.
Testing Your Automations
Building automations is only half the job. You need to verify they actually work as expected.
For the status-change automation we built earlier, testing is straightforward:
- Go to your board
- Find a task in your Open Tasks group
- Change its status to “Done”
- Watch it automatically move to Completed Tasks
Some automations, like date-based notifications, are harder to test immediately since you’re waiting for a specific date. In those cases, you can:
- Temporarily set a due date to today or tomorrow
- Check the run history after the trigger date passes
- Verify the notification appeared as expected
Important: As your automations get more complex, thorough testing becomes critical. Automations that move items between boards, for example, involve column mapping that can get confusing. Always test before assuming everything works.
When to Consider Workflows
There is a feature called Workflows, which is essentially automations with advanced capabilities.
Workflows let you:
- Create if/then logic branches
- Add delays between steps
- Build more complex multi-step processes
If you’re just getting started, stick with the standard Automation Center. Master the basics of triggers, actions, and conditions first. Once you’re comfortable and find yourself needing more sophisticated logic, explore Workflows as your next step.
Ready to Automate Your Workflows?
Building automations is just the beginning. If you want to fully integrate monday.com into your business without trial-and-error, Simpleday can help. Our team specializes in setting up workflows that actually fit how you work. Get in touch and let’s build a system that runs itself.
