Workflow basics
How automations work in Project88 — node-based workflows you trigger from anywhere.
An automation is a node-based workflow that runs on demand or on a trigger. It's drawn in the same editor as an Agent's pipeline, but it stands alone — there's no agent attached and no conversational turn driving it.
When to use an automation vs. an agent
| You have | Use |
|---|---|
| A conversation that needs reasoning each turn | Assistant |
| Per-turn execution that must be deterministic | Agent |
| A standalone workflow on a schedule or webhook | Automation |
| A reusable step a chat agent might call | Automation |
You can also have an Agent delegate to an automation — an Automation is a first-class callable.
Anatomy
An automation is the same graph primitive as a pipeline:
- A trigger node fires when the automation starts (see Triggers).
- A chain of typed nodes — Prompt, Process, Tool Call, Delegate, Response, REST API Request, Code, Loop, Wait, Condition, Change Variable, plus first-class record and tag operation nodes (Insert Row, Update Row, Delete Row, Query Rows, Add Tag, Remove Tag).
- A Response node terminates the path (or several paths if you branched).
The automationNodes.js registry defines every node type; the
automationPalette.js controls what shows up in the + Add Node menu;
and buildAutomationPipeline.js derives the executable graph from the
saved JSON.
Building one
- Open the Automations mode.
- + New automation — creates an empty graph with a Start node.
- Drop in nodes from the palette (drag-and-drop or right-click to add).
- Connect handles to wire the flow.
- Bind inputs to variables, upstream outputs, and formula functions via the ƒ binding modal on any input.
- Test individual nodes with the Play icon to verify in isolation.
- Save — the workflow is persisted to Supabase.
Triggering
A saved automation needs a trigger to actually run. Triggers live inside the automation as nodes:
- Webhook trigger — receives an HTTP request and starts the flow
- Schedule trigger (planned) — runs on a cron schedule
- Delegate trigger — fires when another agent or automation delegates to it
See Triggers.
Running
The automation-executor Supabase Edge Function picks up runs, executes
each node, and writes the result + status + timing to a per-run record.
Logs are searchable per node in the editor's left panel.