# Automations

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**Audience:** Administrators, Developers, Solution Architects

**Purpose:** Introduces <code class="expression">space.vars.automations</code> as the execution layer of the <code class="expression">space.vars.Kizen\_company\_name</code> platform, establishes a mental model for how they work, and prepares readers to progress into Core Concepts, Triggers, Execution, and API guidance.
{% endhint %}

## Overview

<code class="expression">space.vars.automations</code> are the mechanism through which <code class="expression">space.vars.Kizen\_company\_name</code> responds to events, processes logic, and takes action, such as connecting data changes, time-based conditions, and external signals to meaningful outcomes without requiring manual intervention each time. They operate asynchronously in the background, executing a configured sequence of steps against a specific <code class="expression">space.vars.entity</code> or globally across the platform.

<code class="expression">space.vars.automations</code> are designed to handle ongoing, event-driven <code class="expression">space.vars.workflows</code>, not to backfill historical data, replace reporting, or substitute for manual data entry and UI configuration. Understanding this distinction upfront helps you design <code class="expression">space.vars.automations</code> with accurate expectations about when and how they run.

### When to Use Automations

<code class="expression">space.vars.automations</code> are the right tool when you need <code class="expression">space.vars.Kizen\_company\_name</code> to respond to something and take action automatically. Common use cases include:

* Sending a follow-up communication when a <code class="expression">space.vars.entity</code> reaches a specific stage or a form is submitted
* Assigning ownership, updating fields, or creating related <code class="expression">space.vars.entities</code> based on data changes or incoming webhook signals
* Running a scheduled sequence of actions against a set of <code class="expression">space.vars.entities</code> on a recurring basis
* Coordinating multi-step <code class="expression">space.vars.workflows</code> across <code class="expression">space.vars.objects</code>, such as notifying a team, updating a status, and scheduling an <code class="expression">space.vars.activity</code>, without manual intervention at each step

***

## Automations Mastery Checklist

Explore the following topics to understand how <code class="expression">space.vars.automations</code> are configured and used in <code class="expression">space.vars.Kizen\_company\_name</code>.

**Core Knowledge**

* [ ] What an automation is and how it differs from manual processes and reporting **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] How automations fit into Kizen's overall platform as the execution layer **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] The Event → Steps → Execution → Completion mental model and how to apply it to a real workflow — see Core Concepts **(Coming Soon)**

**Automation Types & Initiation**

* [ ] The difference between record-scoped and global automations and when to use each — see Core Concepts **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] How to start an automation manually, from a record, in bulk, or from another automation — see Starting Automations **(Coming Soon)**

**Triggers**

* [ ] How triggers define when and why an automation starts — see Triggers **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] The difference between action-based, scheduled, and webhook triggers — see Triggers **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] How trigger timing, throttling, and async evaluation affect when an automation runs — see Triggers **(Coming Soon)**

**Conditions, Goals & Variables**

* [ ] How condition steps evaluate logic and route execution down a yes or no path — see Conditions **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] How goals differ from conditions and delays, and when to use them — see Goals **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] How variables are defined, evaluated, and used across steps — see Variables **(Coming Soon)**

**Actions**

* [ ] The full range of available action step types and how each behaves — see Actions **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] How action types vary by automation context and object type — see Actions **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] How to extend automation logic using code steps and AI/LLM action steps — see Code Steps and LLM/AI Action Steps **(Coming Soon)**

**Execution & Processing**

* [ ] What it means for automations to execute asynchronously and what that implies for data consistency — see Execution & Processing Model **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] How execution state, step history, and traceability work — see Execution & Processing Model **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] How delays interact with execution state and time-based behavior — see Delays & Time-Based Behavior **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] How execution statuses, step statuses, and system indicators are represented and interpreted — see Automation Status & Lifecycle **(Coming Soon)**

**Data Model**

* [ ] How automations, executions, and step history are structured and persisted — see Automation Data Model **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] How the data model maps to APIs and webhooks — see Automation Data Model **(Coming Soon)**

**Code Steps**

* [ ] How code steps execute within an automation and interact with variables and execution context — see [Automation Code Steps](https://developer.kizen.com/docs/concepts/automations/automation-code-steps)
* [ ] Available Python runtimes, execution limits, and pre-installed libraries — see Code Step Runtimes, Limits, and Libraries **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] How Kizen field values are encoded when passed into and out of code steps — see Kizen Data Types and Data Encoding **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] Best practices for writing reliable, maintainable, and debuggable code steps — see Code Step Best Practices **(Coming Soon)**

**LLM/AI Action Steps**

* [ ] How Call LLM, File Extraction, and Audio Transcription steps work and when to use each — see LLM/AI Action Steps **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] How to configure confidence thresholds, handle errors, and validate outputs from AI-driven steps — see LLM/AI Action Steps **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] When to use a code step instead of an LLM step for deterministic logic — see Code Step Best Practices **(Coming Soon)**

**Safeguards & Runtime Controls**

* [ ] How throttling works and what it means for execution timing — see Automation Safeguards & Runtime Controls **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] How infinite loop prevention works for Go To Step loops and cross-automation interactions — see Automation Safeguards & Runtime Controls **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] How the execution kill switch protects against runaway automations — see Automation Safeguards & Runtime Controls **(Coming Soon)**

**Permissions**

* [ ] How permissions interact with automations at design time and runtime — see Automation Permissions **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] Why runtime execution bypasses standard record permissions and what that means in practice — see Automation Permissions **(Coming Soon)**

**APIs & Webhooks**

* [ ] How to trigger and control automations programmatically via the API — see Automation APIs Overview **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] How to start, pause, resume, and cancel executions via API — see Start Automation on Record, Resume Paused Execution, Pause Execution, and Cancel Execution **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] How webhook triggers work and how to configure POST and GET webhook-based automations — see Webhook Trigger (POST) and Webhook Trigger (GET) **(Coming Soon)**

**Design Best Practices**

* [ ] How to design automations that are linear, observable, and maintainable — see Automation Design Best Practices **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] When to combine steps, reduce branching, and avoid cross-automation entanglement — see Automation Design Best Practices **(Coming Soon)**
* [ ] How to plan automations for scale and observability — see Automation Design Best Practices **(Coming Soon)**

***

## What's Next

Continue to <code class="expression">space.vars.automation</code> Core Concepts **(Coming Soon)** to build the foundational understanding you need before configuring <code class="expression">space.vars.automations</code>, designing execution strategies, or working with the API.&#x20;

<details>

<summary>Related Topics</summary>

* Automation Core Concepts **(Coming Soon)**
* [Automation Code Steps](https://developer.kizen.com/docs/concepts/automations/automation-code-steps)

</details>