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Chaining Automations

The simplest pattern is to bridge the two automations through a field on a record. The first automation writes its result to a field with an Update Record Fields action, and the second automation reads that field.Set up the producer automation
  1. Add an Update Record Fields action at the end of the first automation.
  2. Point it at the record you want to use as the bridge (often the record the automation is running on).
  3. Map the value or variable you want to expose into a field on that record — a dedicated Text, Number, or JSON field works well.
Set up the consumer automationYou have two options, depending on when the second automation should run:
  • Fire automatically when the field changes — Configure the second automation with a Record is Updated trigger. Use Add Changed Condition to restrict it to changes on the bridge field so the automation does not run every time an unrelated field is edited. All fields on the updated record, including the bridge field, are available as variables in downstream actions.
  • Read the field on demand — If the second automation runs on its own schedule, from an Automation Button, or via webhook, have it look up the record with a Search Records action and reference the bridge field from the search result.
When to use this pattern
  • The two automations run under different triggers, schedules, or teams and should stay independent.
  • You want the output persisted and visible on the record for reporting, audit, or manual review.
  • The consumer may need to run more than once against the same producer output, or long after the producer finished.
If you want a single, synchronous call — where the caller waits for the callee and reads its outputs directly — use the Run Automation action against a helper automation that has an On-Demand Trigger. That avoids the round-trip through a record field, but couples the two automations into one execution. See Automation Chaining for the trade-offs.

Automation System

Overview of triggers, actions, and how automations run

Automation Triggers

Reference for every trigger, including Record is Updated

Automation Actions

Reference for every action, including Update Record Fields and Run Automation

Automation Best Practices

Patterns for composable, efficient automations