How automations work
One rule: something happens, dmrabbit replies. The parts, and what makes one run.
An automation is a single rule made of four parts. Only the first and last are required.
| Part | What it decides |
|---|---|
| Trigger | What kind of thing has to happen. Required. |
| Posts | Which of your posts it watches. Comment automations only. |
| Conditions | Which words have to appear, or not appear. |
| Actions | What gets sent, and whether a follow is required first. Required. |
Draft and live
A new automation is a draft. It is saved as you go, it appears in your automations list, and it does nothing. Publishing makes it live.
A live automation also has a switch. Turning it off pauses the automation without deleting it, which is what you want when something is misbehaving and you are not ready to throw it away.
So an automation runs only when it is live and switched on. Both. If yours is not replying, check this first.
Drafts count towards your limit
Your plan allows a number of automations, and unfinished drafts are counted. If you cannot create a new one, delete a draft you are not going to finish.
Building one
The builder has four steps, and it saves after each one. Two of them appear only when they are relevant: the Posts step is for comment automations, and the Conditions step is skipped for story mentions, which carry no text to match on.
The one thing to know before you build a second
Only one automation answers any given comment or message. This surprises almost everyone, and it has its own page. Read it before you build automations that could overlap.