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Automations are currently in private alpha and only available to a limited number of users. APIs might change before GA.To use the methods on this page, you must upgrade your Resend SDK:
npm install resend@6.10.0-preview-workflows.3
Contact us if you’re interested in testing this feature.

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Step properties

Every step in an automation has the following base properties:
​
ref
string
required
A unique reference identifier for the step. Used in edge definitions to connect steps.
​
type
string
required
The type of step. Possible values:
  • trigger
  • send_email
  • delay
  • wait_for_event
  • condition
  • contact_update
  • contact_delete
  • add_to_segment
​
config
object
required
The configuration object for the step. The shape depends on the step type.
Below is a list of all the possible step types and their configurations.

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trigger

The trigger step starts the automation when a matching event is received.
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config.event_name
string
required
The name of the event that triggers the automation.
{
  "ref": "trigger",
  "type": "trigger",
  "config": {
    "event_name": "user.created"
  }
}

​
send_email

Sends an email using a template.
​
config.template_id
string
required
The ID of the email template to send.
​
config.subject
string
The email subject line.
​
config.from
string
The sender email address.
​
config.reply_to
string
Reply-to email address.
​
config.variables
object
A key-value map of template variables.
{
  "ref": "welcome_email",
  "type": "send_email",
  "config": {
    "template_id": "062f8ef4-fbfa-44f1-b5e0-ff8e1e8ffa96",
    "subject": "Welcome!",
    "from": "hello@example.com"
  }
}

​
delay

Pauses execution for a specified duration.
​
config.seconds
number
required
The delay duration in seconds.
Example
{
  "ref": "wait_1_hour",
  "type": "delay",
  "config": {
    "seconds": 3600
  }
}

​
wait_for_event

Pauses execution until a specific event is received or a timeout is reached.
​
config.event_name
string
required
The name of the event to wait for.
​
config.timeout_seconds
number
The maximum time to wait in seconds before timing out.
​
config.filter_rule
object
An optional rule object to filter incoming events.
Example
{
  "ref": "wait_for_purchase",
  "type": "wait_for_event",
  "config": {
    "event_name": "purchase.completed",
    "timeout_seconds": 86400
  }
}

​
condition

Branches the workflow based on rules. Condition configs can be a single rule or a logical group (and/or) of rules.
​
config.type
string
required
The type of condition node. Possible values:
  • rule
  • and
  • or
For rule type:
​
config.field
string
required
The field to evaluate. Must use the event. or contact. namespace prefix (e.g., event.amount, contact.email).
​
config.operator
string
required
The comparison operator.Possible values:
  • eq: equals
  • neq: not equals
  • gt: greater than
  • gte: greater than or equal to
  • lt: less than
  • lte: less than or equal to
  • contains: contains a given value
  • starts_with: starts with a given value
  • ends_with: ends with a given value
  • exists: field exists
  • is_empty: field is empty
​
config.value
string | number | boolean | null
The value to compare against. Not required for exists and is_empty operators.
For and / or types:
​
config.rules
object[]
required
An array of nested condition config objects. Must contain at least one item.
Single rule example: 
{
  "ref": "check_plan",
  "type": "condition",
  "config": {
    "type": "rule",
    "field": "event.plan",
    "operator": "eq",
    "value": "pro"
  }
}
Use and or or to combine multiple rules into a single branch: 
{
  "ref": "check_plan_and_amount",
  "type": "condition",
  "config": {
    "type": "and",
    "rules": [
      {
        "type": "rule",
        "field": "event.plan",
        "operator": "eq",
        "value": "pro"
      },
      {
        "type": "rule",
        "field": "event.amount",
        "operator": "gte",
        "value": 100
      }
    ]
  }
}

​
contact_update

Updates a contact’s fields. Each field value can be either a hardcoded value or a dynamic variable reference using the { var: '...' } syntax. Variable references use dot-notation with one of these scopes:
  • event.* — references a field from the triggering event payload (e.g., event.firstName).
  • contact.* — references a field from the current contact (e.g., contact.last_name, contact.properties.company).
​
config.first_name
string | object
The contact’s first name. Accepts a hardcoded string or a variable reference (e.g., { "var": "event.firstName" }).
​
config.last_name
string | object
The contact’s last name. Accepts a hardcoded string or a variable reference (e.g., { "var": "contact.last_name" }).
​
config.properties
object
A map of custom contact properties to update. Keys correspond to your Contact Custom Properties. Each value can be a hardcoded value (string, number, boolean) or a variable reference.
Example
{
  "ref": "update_contact",
  "type": "contact_update",
  "config": {
    "properties": {
      "company": { "var": "contact.properties.company" },
      "vip": true
    }
  }
}

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contact_delete

Deletes the contact from the audience. This step does not require any configuration fields. Pass an empty object {} as the config.
Example
{
  "ref": "remove_contact",
  "type": "contact_delete",
  "config": {}
}

​
add_to_segment

Adds the contact to a segment.
​
config.segment_id
string
required
The ID of the segment to add the contact to.
Example
{
  "ref": "add_to_vip",
  "type": "add_to_segment",
  "config": {
    "segment_id": "83a1e324-26dc-47eb-9b28-ba8b6d1fe808"
  }
}

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Edge properties

Edges define connections between steps in the automation graph.
​
from
string
required
This is the ref of the origin step.
​
to
string
required
This is the ref of the destination step.
​
edge_type
string
The type of connection between the origin and destination steps. Most automations use the default edge type.Use a non-default edge_type only when the origin step can branch to multiple destinations:
  • For wait_for_event, use event_received or timeout.
  • For condition, use condition_met or condition_not_met.
Possible values:
  • default
  • condition_met
  • condition_not_met
  • timeout
  • event_received
Example
{
  "from": "trigger",
  "to": "welcome_email",
  "edge_type": "default"
}