Your First Automation

Build a simple automation in 10 minutes to learn the basics of Flow.

What You'll Build

A simple automation that:

1. Triggers manually when you click Run
2. Sets a variable with a greeting message
3. Logs the result with a Function step

Step 1: Create the Automation

Navigate to Automations

1. Log in to flow.work.studio
2. Click Automations in the sidebar

Create New

1. Click + New Automation
2. Name it: My First Automation
3. Description: A simple test automation
4. Click Create

You're now in the visual workflow builder.

Step 2: Add a Trigger

Every automation needs a trigger to start.

Add Manual Trigger

1. Click Add Trigger
2. Select Manual
3. Keep the default settings

Your canvas now shows:

┌─────────────────┐
│  Manual Trigger │
└────────┬────────┘
         │
         ▼
      [+ Add]

Step 3: Add a Variable Step

Set a variable to store a greeting message.

Add the Step

1. Click the + button below the trigger
2. Select VARIABLE from the step palette

Configure the Variable

Step 4: Add a Function Step

Use a Function step to process and log data.

Add Function Step

1. Click the + button below the Variable step
2. Select FUNCTION from the step palette

Write the Code

// Access the variable we set earlier
const message = context.var.greeting;

// Log it
console.log("Automation executed successfully!");
console.log("Message:", message);

// Return a result
return {
  status: "success",
  message: message,
  timestamp: new Date().toISOString()
};

Your workflow now looks like:

┌─────────────────┐
│  Manual Trigger │
└────────┬────────┘
         │
         ▼
┌─────────────────┐
│  Set Variable   │
│  (greeting)     │
└────────┬────────┘
         │
         ▼
┌─────────────────┐
│  Function       │
│  (process)      │
└─────────────────┘

Step 5: Save and Test

Save Your Work

1. Click Save in the top-right corner
2. You'll see a "Saved" confirmation

Test the Automation

1. Click the Test button
2. A test panel opens on the right
3. Click Run Test

View Results

Watch the execution in real-time:

• ✅ Manual Trigger — Completed
• ✅ Set Variable — Completed
• ✅ Function — Completed

Click on the Function step to see its output:

{
  "status": "success",
  "message": "Hello from Flow! This is my first automation.",
  "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z"
}

Step 6: Activate Your Automation

Once tested, activate it for real use:

1. Toggle the Active switch
2. Your automation is now live
3. Click Run anytime to execute manually

What's Next?

Now that you've built your first automation, explore more:

• Email Notifications → — Send dynamic emails using CONNECTOR
• Slack Notifications → — Post messages to Slack
• Scheduled Reports → — Run automations on a schedule

Troubleshooting

Automation Won't Save

• Check for red validation errors on any step
• Ensure all required fields are filled

Test Fails

• Click on the failed step to see the error message
• Check your expressions for typos
• View the input data to verify it matches expected format

Step 6: Activate Your Automation

Your automation is currently a draft. Let's make it live.

1. Toggle the Active switch in the top bar
2. Confirm activation

Your automation is now live and ready!

Congratulations!

You've built your first Flow automation. You learned how to:

• Create an automation
• Add a manual trigger
• Configure actions
• Test your workflow
• Activate for production

Next Steps

Ready to learn more?