Creating automations for your app

Run backend work automatically, on a schedule or when data changes.

Use automations when you want to take work off your plate, such as sending summary emails, generating reports, syncing or cleaning up data, or running recurring maintenance tasks.

When building an app in Base44, automations help you run backend functions automatically, on a schedule, when data changes, or when a connected integration sends an event through a connector. You create and manage automations using the AI chat in your app’s dashboard.

What can I use automations for?

You can use automations for any backend work you want to happen automatically. Common examples include:

• Sending emails or messages, such as daily welcome emails or weekly newsletters.
• Generating reports or summaries, for example a daily revenue report.
• Checking conditions and alerting only when something changes, such as low inventory.
• Reacting to changes in your data, such as sending admins a message when a new product is added.
• Scheduling posts on social media.
• Running recurring maintenance or housekeeping tasks, like archiving old records or refreshing caches.
• Backing up your app’s data (e.g. to Google Drive) every week.
• Sending notifications to external tools when something happens, for example posting salon booking updates into a Slack channel when calendar events change.

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How automations work

When you create an automation, you choose how it starts. It can run on a schedule you define, in response to a data event such as a record being created, updated, or deleted, or when a connected integration sends an event using a connector. Each automation runs a backend function in your app and records the run so you can see what happened.

Every automation has logs so you can always see when it ran, whether it succeeded, and any errors that occurred. This keeps everything transparent and easy to debug.

Important:

• You must have a Builder plan or higher to use automations.
• Each time an automation runs, it uses 1 integration credit.
• Each automation run can last for a maximum of 3 minutes. If it takes longer, the run fails. For example, if your automation sends 1,000 emails but can only send 600 within 3 minutes, only the first 600 are sent and the rest are not processed.
• The minimum interval between automation runs is 5 minutes.

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Types of automations

There are 3 types of automations you can create. When describing what you want to the AI chat, it helps to know which type fits your use case.

Scheduled automations

Scheduled automations run at a time or interval you define. Use these for recurring tasks like daily digests, weekly reports, or regular maintenance jobs.

Example prompts:

• Send me a daily summary of all new orders to my email every morning at 8:00.
• Archive trip records that have been completed for more than 30 days, every Sunday at midnight.

Data event automations

Data event automations run in response to changes in your app’s data, such as a record being created, updated, or deleted. Use these to react to activity in real time.

Example prompts:

• Send a push notification whenever I add a new WishlistPlace and write any needed backend function for me.
• Send the admin an email whenever a new booking is created.

Connector automations

Connector automations run when a connected integration sends an event, such as a new email arriving in Gmail or a calendar event being updated in Google Calendar. Use these to keep your app in sync with external tools.

Example prompts:

• When a new email arrives in Gmail with the subject "Book appointment", parse it and add a new booking to my app.
• When a Google Calendar event is cancelled, update the booking in my app and post a message in the #salon-general Slack channel.

Connector automations are currently available for Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft OneDrive.

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Creating an automation

You can create automations in two ways: by choosing from suggestions that Base44 generates based on your app, or by describing what you want directly in the AI chat.

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Using a suggestion

When you click New Automation, Base44 shows you a list of suggested automations based on your app’s context. Each suggestion includes a short description of what it does. Clicking one sends a pre-filled prompt to the AI chat, where you can review and adjust it before the AI sets it up.

To create an automation from a suggestion:

1. Click Dashboard in your app editor.
2. Click Automations.
3. Click New Automation.
4. Browse the suggestions under Suggested for you.
5. Click a suggestion to send it to the AI chat as a pre-filled prompt.
6. Review the prompt, make any changes, and send it.
7. The AI sets up the automation and adds it to your Automations list.

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Using the AI chat directly

If none of the suggestions fit what you need, describe your automation directly in the AI chat. You can ask for any type of automation: scheduled, data event, or connector.

To create an automation using the AI chat:

1. Click Dashboard in your app editor.
2. Click Automations.
3. Click New Automation.
4. In the AI chat, describe the automation you want. For example: Set up recurring email reminders to my email [e-mail] for my tasks on my to-do list every Sunday at 17:00.
5. The AI creates the automation and adds it to your Automations list. You can view it and make changes as needed.

If you need a new backend function for your automation, just mention it in your prompt and the AI will write it for you.

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Managing automations

After you start using automations, you can control when they run, change their settings, trigger them on demand, or clean up automations you no longer need. You can pause automations without deleting them, and you can duplicate an existing automation when you want a similar setup with small changes.

When you turn an automation off, Base44 stops scheduling future runs, but existing logs stay available. You can turn the automation back on at any time.

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Turning an automation on or off

Pause an automation at any time if you want to stop it running, and turn it on again when you need it.

To turn an automation on or off:

1. Click Dashboard in your app editor.
2. Click Automations.
3. Click the toggle on the left of the automation name to turn it on or off.

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Editing an automation

Make changes to an automation at any time. The changes affect future runs only.

To edit an automation:

1. Click Dashboard in your app editor.
2. Click Automations.
3. Click the More Actions icon on the automation.
4. Click Edit automation.
5. Update the automation details.
6. Click Save.

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Duplicating an automation

Easily create new automations by duplicating existing ones and editing the new automation.

To duplicate an automation:

1. Click Dashboard in your app editor.
2. Click Automations.
3. Click the More Actions icon on the automation.
4. Click Duplicate.
5. Update the new automation’s details if needed, and click Save.

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Running an automation immediately

Run an automation right away when you want to trigger its backend function on demand. This helps you test changes, confirm that your configuration works, or handle something urgent between scheduled runs.

Run now triggers the backend function one time in addition to any schedule or data event you configured. The run appears in the automation logs.

To run an automation:

1. Click Dashboard in your app editor.
2. Click Automations.
3. Click the More Actions icon on the automation.
4. Select Run now.

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Archiving an automation

If you do not need an automation anymore, you can move it to Archive to keep your active list clean.

To archive an automation:

1. Click Dashboard in your app editor.
2. Click Automations.
3. Find the relevant automation in the list.
4. Click the More Actions icon on the automation.
5. Click Archive.

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Monitoring runs and using logs

Every automation keeps its own log so you can see when it ran, how long it took, and whether it succeeded. When something goes wrong, logs help you understand what failed and where to look in your backend code, without guessing.

Use logs to confirm that new automations are running at the right time after you first set them up.

To view logs for an automation:

1. Click Dashboard in your app editor.
2. Click Automations.
3. Click the automation you want to inspect.
4. Click the Logs tab.
5. Review the list of runs, including the timestamp, duration, and status of each run.

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FAQs

Click a question below to learn more.

How do I investigate a failed automation run?

When an automation fails, you see a Failed label in the Last run column and a Fix with AI option on the same row.

To fix a failed run:

1. Click Dashboard in your app editor.
2. Click Automations.
3. Click Fix with AI on the failed automation.
4. In the AI chat, review the explanation of what went wrong and how it affects your automation. Accept the suggested fix so the AI can update your code or automation configuration.
5. When the AI finishes applying the fix, use the Run now action from Automations and check the logs to confirm the automation succeeds.

For more detail about what happened, open the automation, go to the Logs tab, and review the failed run entry. You can also ask the AI in your dashboard to explain any error messages that appear.

Which connector events can I use in connector automations?

The available events depend on which connector you are using. Here is a full list:

Connector	Event	Description
Gmail	mailbox	New emails arriving in your mailbox
Google Calendar	events	Any calendar event change, including created, updated, and deleted
Google Drive	changes	Any change in the drive, including files added, modified, or deleted
Google Drive	file	Any change to a specific file (requires a file ID)
Google Drive	file.update	File content or properties changed (requires a file ID)
Google Drive	file.trash	File moved to trash (requires a file ID)
Google Drive	file.untrash	File restored from trash (requires a file ID)
Google Drive	file.delete	File permanently deleted (requires a file ID)
Microsoft Outlook	created	A new email, calendar event, or contact is created
Microsoft Outlook	updated	An email or calendar event is updated
Microsoft Outlook	deleted	An email or calendar event is deleted
Microsoft OneDrive	updated	Any file or folder change, including created, modified, and deleted

Make sure the connector is connected and configured in Integrations in your app’s dashboard before creating a connector automation.