Automations

The Automations Page

Go to Automations in the sidebar to see all your automations in a table. Each row shows:

Name -- Click to open the workflow designer
Trigger -- What kicks off the automation
Status -- Draft (gray), Active (green), or Paused (yellow)
Steps -- How many nodes are in the workflow
Created -- When the automation was created
Actions -- Toggle active/pause, Edit, or Delete

Click Create Automation to start building a new one.

The Workflow Designer

This is where the magic happens. The designer is a visual canvas where you drag, drop, and connect nodes to build your workflow. It has four main areas:

Top Bar

Across the top, you'll find:

Back arrow -- Returns to the automations list
Name field -- Type a name for your automation
Status dropdown -- Set to Draft, Active, or Paused
Re-entry checkbox -- If checked, subscribers can go through this automation more than once. If unchecked, each subscriber only goes through it once.
SMTP Connector -- Optionally override the default SMTP server for all emails in this automation
Save Workflow -- Saves your current design
Delete -- Removes the automation entirely (only visible for saved automations)
Exit -- Returns to the automations list without saving

The node palette lists all the building blocks you can add to your workflow. They're organized into three categories:

Triggers -- What starts the automation:

Node	Description
Trigger	A general-purpose trigger with many options (see Trigger Types below)
Incoming Webhook	Starts the automation when an external system sends data to a webhook URL

Flow Control -- Decision points and timing:

Node	Description
Condition	Checks a field value and branches into Yes/No paths
Delay	Waits a specified amount of time before continuing
Engagement	Checks subscriber engagement (opens, clicks) and branches into Yes/No paths

Actions -- Things that happen to subscribers:

Node	Description
Send Email	Sends an email using a template
Add Tag	Adds a tag to the subscriber
Remove Tag	Removes a tag from the subscriber
Add to List	Adds the subscriber to another mailing list
Remove from List	Removes the subscriber from a mailing list
Update Field	Changes a subscriber field value
Send Webhook	Sends data to an external URL
Add to Suppression	Adds the subscriber to a suppression list
Unsubscribe	Unsubscribes the subscriber from all lists or a specific list

To add a node, you can either double-click it in the palette or drag it onto the canvas.

Center -- The Canvas

This is the main workspace where you arrange and connect your nodes. Here's how to work with it:

Add nodes by dragging from the palette or double-clicking
Connect nodes by drawing a line from one node's output to another node's input
Click a node to select it and open its settings in the right panel
Move nodes by dragging them around the canvas
Zoom using the controls in the bottom-left corner: minus (-), a percentage display, plus (+), and a Fit button to auto-fit everything in view

When you click on a node in the canvas, its configuration panel appears on the right side. The options shown depend on the type of node you've selected. When nothing is selected, you'll see: “Click a node to configure it.”

Trigger Types

When you add a Trigger node and click on it, you can choose what event starts the automation:

Trigger	What Happens
Subscriber Joined List	Fires when someone is added to a specific mailing list
Tag Added	Fires when a specific tag is added to a subscriber
Tag Removed	Fires when a specific tag is removed from a subscriber
Campaign Sent	Fires when a specific campaign is sent to a subscriber
Campaign Opened	Fires when a subscriber opens a specific campaign
Link Clicked	Fires when a subscriber clicks a link in an email
Subscriber Inactive	Fires when a subscriber has been inactive for a specified number of days
Date Based	Fires based on a date in a custom field (e.g., birthday, anniversary), with an optional offset
Webhook Received	Fires when data arrives at the automation's webhook endpoint
Incoming Webhook	Similar to webhook received, with token-based authentication
Recurring Schedule	Fires on a repeating schedule

Configuring Action Nodes

Each action node has its own settings. Here are the key ones:

Send Email

Template -- Select which email template to send
Subject -- The email subject line
From Name / From Email -- Override the sender details
SMTP Override -- Optionally use a different SMTP connector just for this email

Add / Remove Tag

Choose the tag name to add or remove

Add to / Remove from List

Select the mailing list

Update Field

Choose the field to update (core fields like name, or custom fields)
Set the value mode: a custom value you type in, “now” (current date/time), “today” (current date), or “empty” (clear the field)

Send Webhook

URL -- The endpoint to send data to
Method -- POST or PUT

Add to Suppression

Select the suppression list

Unsubscribe

Choose to unsubscribe from all lists or a specific list

Condition and Engagement Nodes

Condition

A condition checks a subscriber field against a value and creates two branches:

Pick a field (any subscriber field)
Choose an operator: equals, not equals, greater than, less than, contains, or does not contain
Enter the value to compare against

The workflow then splits into a Yes path (condition is true) and a No path (condition is false).

Engagement

An engagement node checks whether a subscriber has interacted with your emails:

Choose a metric: opened, clicked, or sent
Pick an operator: “in last” or “not in last”
Set the time period: a number plus a unit (minutes, hours, or days)
Optionally toggle include bot activity

Like the condition, this creates Yes and No branches.

Delay Node

The delay node pauses the workflow for a specified amount of time before moving to the next step:

Set a duration and unit (minutes, hours, or days)
Optionally set a “wait until specific time” for more precise scheduling

For example, you might add a 3-day delay between a welcome email and a follow-up.

Incoming Webhook

The Incoming Webhook trigger is special -- when you add one, the node configuration will show:

A webhook endpoint URL with a copy button, so you can give it to external systems
Token-based authentication for security
The webhook expects JSON data with at least an email field to identify the subscriber

This is useful for connecting Punchmail to other tools like your website, CRM, or payment processor.

Automation Statuses

Status	Meaning
Draft	The automation is saved but not running. Use this while you're still building.
Active	The automation is live and processing subscribers. New subscribers who match the trigger will enter the workflow.
Paused	The automation is temporarily stopped. Subscribers already in the workflow won't progress, and no new subscribers will enter.

You can toggle between Active and Paused directly from the automations list page using the toggle button, or change the status in the designer's top bar dropdown.

Tips

Start simple -- A trigger, a delay, and a send email is a perfectly good first automation. You can always add more steps later.
Use conditions to personalize -- Branch your workflow based on subscriber data to send different content to different people.
Watch re-entry settings -- For a welcome series, you probably want re-entry off (each person only goes through once). For a recurring promo, you might want it on.
Test with your own email -- Add yourself to the trigger list to make sure everything works before going live.
Use delays between emails -- Nobody wants five emails in five minutes. Space things out with delay nodes.