An automation is a job you describe in natural language and Yellow compiles into a deterministic plan, to run later without you at the keyboard. There is one kind of thing, with four ways of being triggered:

Triggered… Name Where it lives Example
On save of a record Actions At the model (or at one record) "When a contract becomes Signed, create the first invoice."
On validate of a record Validations At the model "The amount must be consistent with the number of hours; if not, explain why."
By the clock Routines At the tenant "Every Monday at 8, propose the renewal of contracts due soon."
By a user's click on a record Commands At the model "Generate this client's welcome letter."

What you write is the source file (a .md): what the job means, step by step, using the real names of models and properties. What runs is the compiled plan (a .yaml): concrete steps with identifiers, no ambiguity, readable, and unchanged until you recompile. Between the two sits the compiler, which can hand back questions when the source is not clear enough, and warnings when the plan it could produce is fragile.

Where to find them

The Automations panel in the sidebar lists every automation in the tenant: each model's and the tenant's routines, with a filter by kind. Each entry shows its kind, scope, trigger and status:

  • Compiled — the plan is valid and current with the source.
  • Recompile pending — you saved the source after the last compile.
  • Has questions — the compiler needs something cleared up before the plan can be trusted.
  • Failed — the last compile did not produce a valid plan.
  • Not compiled — there is a source but no plan yet.

The detail has three tabs: the source (editable; saving recompiles it), the compiled plan (read-only) and the runs, with every firing, its outcome, duration and a link to the transcript. Validations leave no transcript and have no runs.

Source files can also be edited as ordinary files from the explorer, in the model's or the tenant's folder. When the file is an automation, the editor shows an Open in Automations button to jump to the panel, where the same file has its status, questions and runs.

How to create them

  • From the chat. Ask in words: "Create a routine that every Friday…". The assistant writes the source, compiles it, reads the verdict and repeats until it compiles clean, then summarises it and tells you where it is.
  • From the panel. The new-routine button creates a blank source from a template; actions, validations and commands are created as files in the model's folder.
  • With «Improve». An editing assistant beside the source: it answers the compiler's questions, proposes a fuller source and shows it as a diff you accept or not.

What they do with data

An automation acts with real permissions when it fires. Actions, validations and commands run as the person who saved, validated or clicked. A private routine runs as its creator; a routine shared with the team runs as an application of the organisation, with whatever permissions it holds.

Writes made by an automation follow the model's write policy: if the model asks for review, the changes wait as proposals in the inbox instead of being applied. An automation can also propose explicitly instead of writing, when the source asks for it.