Automations reference (JSON)

Every trigger, condition and action an automation can use, with copy-pasteable JSON, the limits, and what each error message means.

This is the full grammar for a Collection's automations document — what you see when you open ⋯ → Edit automations (JSON), and what your AI writes when you ask it for a rule. For the plain-English tour, start with Automations.

Everything below is a closed list. If a rule uses a word that isn't here, it won't save, and you'll be told exactly where.

The document

{
  "version": 1,
  "rules": [
    {
      "id": "close-out",
      "name": "Close out a finished task",
      "enabled": true,
      "when": { "changed": "done_1", "to": true },
      "if": { "all": [{ "key": "stage_3", "op": "neq", "value": "done" }] },
      "then": [
        { "op": "set", "key": "stage_3", "value": "done" },
        { "op": "set_now", "key": "completed_4" }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Key	Required	Notes
`version`	yes	Always `1`.
`rules`	yes	Up to 16.
`id`	yes	A short slug you choose — letters, digits, `-`, `_`, up to 36 characters. Must be unique in the document.
`name`	no	What you see in the undo toast. Up to 64 characters. Worth writing.
`enabled`	no	Defaults to `true`. Set `false` to park a rule without deleting it.
`when`	yes	Exactly one trigger.
`if`	no	An extra gate.
`then`	yes	1–8 actions.

The key in a condition or action is a binding key — the short name of a property on this Collection, like done_1 or stage_3. You can see them on the Collection's Properties tab.

Triggers (`when`)

Exactly one per rule.

`changed`

{ "changed": "done_1", "to": true }

Field	Notes
`changed`	The property to watch.
`to`	Optional. Only fire when the new value is this.
`from`	Optional. Only fire when the old value was this.

With neither to nor from, any change to that property fires the rule.

Dragging a card between board columns changes the property the board groups by, so this trigger covers board drags with nothing extra:

{ "changed": "stage_3", "to": "done" }

`created`

{ "created": true }

Fires once, when an entry is created, after its defaults are filled in. Takes no to or from.

Conditions (`if`)

Optional. Same grammar as conditional card styling, so there's one condition language to learn:

{ "if": { "all": [ { "key": "stage_3", "op": "neq", "value": "done" } ] } }

all — every condition must hold.
any — at least one must hold. Leave any out and it isn't checked.

You can use both; then all of all must hold and at least one of any.

Operator	Means	Needs a value
`eq`	is	yes
`neq`	is not	yes
`gt` `gte`	greater than / or equal	yes
`lt` `lte`	less than / or equal	yes
`contains`	text contains (ignores capitals)	yes
`empty`	has no value	no
`present`	has a value	no

A value is one plain thing: text (up to 64 characters), a number, or true/false. Never a formula.

Actions (`then`)

Between 1 and 8. They run in the order you write them.

Verb	Needs `value`	What it does
`set`	yes	Writes the value.
`set_now`	no	Stamps a date or datetime property with the current moment.
`clear`	no	Empties the property.
`toggle`	no	Flips a checkbox — anything not already ticked becomes ticked.
`increment`	no	Adds to a number. Optional `by` (default `1`, negative counts down). An unset number counts as zero.
`add_tag`	yes	Adds one tag, leaving the property's other tags alone.
`remove_tag`	yes	Removes one tag, leaving the others alone.

[
  { "op": "set",        "key": "stage_3", "value": "done" },
  { "op": "set_now",    "key": "completed_4" },
  { "op": "clear",      "key": "blocked_by_7" },
  { "op": "toggle",     "key": "done_1" },
  { "op": "increment",  "key": "attempts_9", "by": 1 },
  { "op": "add_tag",    "key": "tags_5", "value": "shipped" },
  { "op": "remove_tag", "key": "tags_5", "value": "blocked" }
]

Tag values are labels

Write the tag's name, not its id:

{ "op": "set", "key": "stage_3", "value": "done" }

A label that doesn't exist yet is created for you, with a colour picked automatically. Capitalisation doesn't matter when matching an existing one.

Limits

Limit	Value
Rules per Collection	16
Actions per rule	8
Conditions per `all` / `any` list	8
Text value length	64 characters
Rule name length	64 characters
How far a cascade runs	3 steps
Whole document size	16 KB

What happens when it can't save

Nothing is written — not part of it, none of it — and you get a list of exactly what's wrong, each pointing at the spot:

rules[0].then[0].op: "notify" is not an action
  (expected set | set_now | clear | toggle | increment | add_tag | remove_tag)

Common ones:

Message	Means
`names no trigger`	The `when` has neither `changed` nor `created`.
`is required for "set"`	That verb needs a `value`.
`not allowed for "set_now"`	That verb takes no `value`.
`duplicate rule id`	Two rules share an `id`.
`…completes a cycle back to a rule that triggers on it`	Rule A sets off rule B which sets off rule A. Break the loop, or gate one with an `if`.
`is not a property reference`	The `key` isn't a valid binding key. Check the Properties tab.

Rules of thumb

A rule fires at most once per edit. It can't set itself off, even indirectly.
A rule that would change nothing does nothing — no toast, no write. Setting Stage to done when it's already done is silently skipped.
Rules run on your own edits, on any of your devices. Your AI's edits in a chat don't set them off.

Automations reference (JSON)

The document

Triggers (when)

changed

created

Conditions (if)

Actions (then)