Automations

Automations

Automations let Kairo respond to events in your workspace without you asking. Set up triggers, and Kairo takes action when they fire.

How Automations Work

1. Trigger — An event happens in your workspace
2. Condition (optional) — Check if criteria are met
3. Action — Kairo executes a tool or runs custom logic

Triggers

File Events

• File created — When a new file is added to a drive
• File updated — When content changes
• File moved — When files change location
• File starred — When someone marks a file as important

Example: "When a bug report doc is created in the Bugs drive, create a task in the sprint board"

Task Events

• Task created — New task added to a board
• Status changed — Task moves to a new column
• Assigned — Task gets an owner
• Due date approaching — Reminders for upcoming deadlines

Example: "When a task moves to Done, notify the team in #releases"

Channel Events

• New message — Keyword detection in channels
• Thread started — New conversation thread
• Member joined/left — Channel membership changes

Example: "When someone says 'urgent' in #support, create a high-priority task"

Calendar Events

• Event created — New meeting scheduled
• Event starting — Reminders before meetings
• Event ending — Post-meeting actions

Example: "When a standup ends, create notes with the transcript summary"

Actions

Built-in Actions

• Create task — Add to any taskboard
• Send message — Post to channel or DM
• Create file — Generate notes, docs, or sheets
• Update file — Modify existing content
• Schedule event — Create calendar events

Custom Logic

For complex workflows, use the code execution action to run JavaScript:

// Example: Calculate sprint velocity
const tasks = await tools.search_tasks({ 
  taskboardId: "sprint-12",
  status: "done"
});
const velocity = tasks.length * 5;
await tools.create_note({
  title: `Sprint 12 Velocity: ${velocity}`,
  body: `Completed ${tasks.length} tasks`
});

Creating Automations

From Kairo Chat

Ask Kairo to create an automation:

"When a task moves to Done in the Engineering board, send a message to #engineering with the task name"

Kairo will set up the trigger and action for you.

From Settings

1. Go to Settings → Automations
2. Click New Automation
3. Select a trigger type
4. Configure conditions (optional)
5. Choose an action
6. Test with the "Run Now" button

Automation Limits

• Rate limits — Automations throttle to prevent spam
• Permissions — Automations run with your permissions
• Audit log — All automation runs are logged

Best Practices

Do

• Start simple: one trigger, one action
• Use descriptive names for your automations
• Test with "Run Now" before enabling
• Set up error notifications

Don't

• Create infinite loops
• Over-automate: not everything needs a robot
• Forget to disable old automations

Examples

Sprint Management

Trigger: Task moves to "Done"
Action: Update sprint velocity note

Content Pipeline

Trigger: Doc created in "Drafts" drive
Action: Create task in "Editorial Calendar" board

Support Triage

Trigger: Message contains "bug" or "broken" in #support
Action: Create high-priority task and notify @oncall

Meeting Notes

Trigger: Calendar event ends
Action: Create notes file with transcript link