Intro to Workflow Control

Video Placeholder Duration: 5-7 minutes Topics covered: Custom automations, triggers, conditions, actions, automation examples

What is Workflow Control?

Workflow Control (Custom Automations) lets you automate actions in your project based on triggers and conditions. When something happens, if certain conditions are met, Plane automatically performs actions.

The formula: When [trigger] happens, if [conditions] are met, then [actions] execute.

Why Automate Workflows?

Manual Process

Remember to update related items
Manually assign based on labels
Notify team members yourself
Risk of forgetting steps

Automated Process

Updates happen automatically
Assignments follow rules
Notifications sent consistently
No manual intervention

Automation Components

Triggers

Events that start the automation:

Work item created
Work item updated
State changed
Assignee changed
Comment added

Conditions

Optional filters that must be true:

Work item state equals X
Work item type is Y
Label includes Z
Priority is High
Creator is Person A

Actions

What happens when triggered:

Change property (state, priority, assignee, labels, dates)
Add comment
Send notification

Creating an Automation

Access Automations

Go to Project Settings
Navigate to Automations section
Click Create Automation

Step 1: Name Your Automation

Give it a clear, descriptive name:

"Auto-assign bugs to QA"
"Notify on high priority"
"Close stale items"

Step 2: Set the Trigger

Choose when the automation runs:

Trigger	When It Fires
Work item created	New item added
Work item updated	Any property changes
State changed	Status transitions
Assignee changed	Assignment updates
Comment added	New comments posted

Step 3: Add Conditions (Optional)

Filter which items the automation applies to:

Condition	Example
State equals	"In Progress"
Type is	"Bug"
Label includes	"urgent"
Priority is	"High" or "Urgent"
Assignee is	"Alice"
Created by	"Support Team"

Step 4: Define Actions

What should happen:

Action	Options
Change State	Move to any state
Change Priority	Set priority level
Change Assignee	Assign to person/team
Add Labels	Apply specific labels
Set Due Date	Relative or specific
Add Comment	Automated message

Step 5: Enable

Toggle the automation on to activate it.

Automation Examples

Auto-Assign Bugs

When: Work item created
If: Type = Bug AND Label includes "frontend"
Then: Assign to Frontend Team Lead

Priority Escalation

When: State changed to "In Progress"
If: Priority = Urgent
Then: Add comment "⚠️ High priority item started"

Stale Item Cleanup

When: Work item updated
If: State = "In Review" AND Last updated > 7 days ago
Then: Add comment "This item needs attention"

Auto-Labeling

When: Work item created
If: Title contains "bug" OR "fix"
Then: Add label "bug"

Team Notification

When: State changed to "Done"
If: Label includes "customer-facing"
Then: Add comment "✅ Ready for customer communication"

Stacking Conditions and Actions

Multiple Conditions

Conditions combine with AND logic:

Type = Bug AND
Priority = High AND
Label includes "security"

All must be true for the automation to run.

Multiple Actions

Stack multiple actions in one automation:

Change state to "In Review"
Assign to QA Lead
Add comment "Ready for testing"

Managing Automations

View All Automations

See all automations in Project Settings → Automations:

Name and description
Enabled/disabled status
Trigger and conditions summary

Edit Automations

Find the automation
Click Edit
Modify trigger, conditions, or actions
Save changes

Enable/Disable

Toggle automations on/off without deleting:

Test new automations
Temporarily pause
Troubleshoot issues

Delete

Remove automations you no longer need:

Find the automation
Click Delete
Confirm

Activity Panel

Monitor automation history:

When automations ran
What they did
Any errors or issues

Automation Best Practices

Start Simple

Begin with straightforward automations:

Single trigger
Few conditions
One action

Test Before Enabling

Create a test work item to verify:

Automation triggers correctly
Conditions filter properly
Actions execute as expected

Clear Naming

Name automations descriptively:

✅ "Assign security bugs to SecOps"
❌ "Automation 1"

Document Your Automations

Keep a reference of what each does:

Why it exists
What it affects
Who maintains it

Review Periodically

As processes change:

Update automations
Remove obsolete ones
Add new ones

Avoid Loops

Be careful not to create circular automations:

Automation A triggers Automation B
Automation B triggers Automation A
Infinite loop!

Key Takeaways

Workflow Control automates actions based on triggers and conditions
Triggers: item created, updated, state changed, etc.
Conditions: filter which items are affected
Actions: change properties, add comments
Access in Project Settings → Automations
Stack multiple conditions and actions
Enable/disable without deleting
Start simple and iterate

Next Steps

Track the status of projects themselves with Project States.

Next Lesson: Intro to Project States

Intro to Workflow Control ​

What is Workflow Control? ​

Why Automate Workflows? ​

Manual Process ​

Automated Process ​

Automation Components ​

Triggers ​

Conditions ​

Actions ​

Creating an Automation ​

Access Automations ​

Step 1: Name Your Automation ​

Step 2: Set the Trigger ​

Step 3: Add Conditions (Optional) ​

Step 4: Define Actions ​

Step 5: Enable ​

Automation Examples ​

Auto-Assign Bugs ​

Priority Escalation ​

Stale Item Cleanup ​

Auto-Labeling ​

Team Notification ​

Stacking Conditions and Actions ​

Multiple Conditions ​

Multiple Actions ​

Managing Automations ​

View All Automations ​

Edit Automations ​

Enable/Disable ​

Delete ​

Activity Panel ​

Automation Best Practices ​

Start Simple ​

Test Before Enabling ​

Clear Naming ​

Document Your Automations ​

Review Periodically ​

Avoid Loops ​

Key Takeaways ​

Next Steps ​