> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.reallyquickemails.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Automations

> Flows that run themselves: what starts them, which steps you can chain, and how they branch on a condition.

An automation is a flow that runs on its own when something happens. You send a campaign; an automation sends itself, once per contact that matches the trigger.

The classic case: someone subscribes → gets the welcome email immediately → two days later, a second email only if they didn't open the first.

***

## The trigger

Every flow starts with exactly one trigger. It's what makes a contact enter.

**From your contacts**

| Trigger                                | When the contact enters                        |
| -------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| A new contact is created               | On signup                                      |
| A tag is assigned                      | When they get that tag                         |
| A contact enters a segment             | When they start matching the segment's rule    |
| They engage (or don't) with a campaign | Based on opens, clicks, or the absence of them |
| A custom event occurs                  | When your system reports that event            |
| Someone replies to an email            | On receiving a reply                           |
| A contact becomes highly engaged       | On accumulating enough interaction             |

**From Shopify** (requires a connected store)

| Trigger                               | When the contact enters            |
| ------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| A customer abandons their cart        | When a checkout is left incomplete |
| A customer makes their first purchase | On their first order               |
| An order is created                   | On every order                     |
| A product is back in stock            | On restock                         |
| A customer reaches N purchases (VIP)  | On hitting the number you set      |
| They leave a checkout without buying  | On abandoning without purchase     |

**From your system**: an event arrives by webhook.

<Note>
  A segment trigger also supports **enroll now** for the people already inside, instead of waiting for new ones to enter.
</Note>

***

## The steps

On top of the trigger you chain steps:

| Step              | What it does                                                                       |
| ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Send email        | Sends a template                                                                   |
| Wait              | Pauses the flow for as long as you set before the next step                        |
| Split flow        | Branches on a condition (below)                                                    |
| A/B split         | Branches at random by percentage, to compare two versions                          |
| Loop              | Repeats a stretch                                                                  |
| Manage contact    | Adds or removes tags, updates their data                                           |
| Single-use coupon | Issues a one-time code in Shopify and makes it available to the email that follows |
| API call          | Notifies your system                                                               |

## Branching on a condition

The **Split flow** step routes the contact down one branch or another. Available conditions:

* **Email engagement**: opened, clicked, replied, bounced
* **Tag**: has or doesn't have a tag
* **Event received**: your system reported a given event
* **Compare variable**: a contact field against a value
* **Shopify**: product purchased, order value, first purchase, repeat customer

This is what turns a send into a sequence: *"wait two days; if they didn't open, send the reminder; if they opened and didn't buy, send the testimonial"*.

***

## Editing a live automation

<Warning>
  Changes to an active flow are **not autosaved**, and once published, contacts already running through it see the new flow from their next step onward. There's no undo for that.
</Warning>

If the change is substantial, pause the flow, edit it, and reactivate — rather than operating on it live.

## Before you activate

* **Every email node needs its template.** A flow with an email node missing a template won't activate.
* **The trigger goes to exactly one path.** If it has more than one outgoing connection, remove the extra.
* **Don't end in nothing.** A trigger wired straight to an end node is a flow that does nothing.