Automations

Copera Board Automations let you define "when this happens, do that" rules that execute automatically on your board data — eliminating repetitive manual work. Every automation combines one of six trigger types (Column Changed, Column Not Empty, Column Just Changed, Select Added, Select Removed, and Recurrence) with one or more of eight action types (Change Column Value, Add Value, Copy Column Value, Set Current Date, Create Row, Send Notification, Send Email via Gmail, Send Email via Outlook). You can reference dynamic column values in notifications and email bodies, configure advanced recurrence patterns (including AI recurrence generation from plain language), and the built-in recursion guard prevents infinite loops.

How Automations Work

Every automation has two parts:

1. Trigger (When) -- The event or condition that starts the automation.
2. Action (Then) -- What happens when the trigger fires.

When a row is created or updated, Copera evaluates all active automations for that table. If a row matches an automation's trigger conditions, the corresponding actions execute automatically. The automation runs as the Copera AI bot user, and the action is recorded in the row's activity history.

Trigger Types

Copera supports six trigger types that cover a wide range of workflow scenarios:

Trigger	Description	Use Case
Column Changed	Fires when a column value matches a set of filter conditions (using AND logic).	Run automation when a row matches a complex multi-field condition.
Column Not Empty	Fires when a previously empty column receives a value for the first time.	Notify the team when an assignee is first set on a task.
Column Just Changed	Fires whenever a specific column's value changes from one value to another.	Track status transitions or log when priority changes.
Select Added	Fires when a specific option is added to a select/label column.	Trigger when "Approved" label is added to a row.
Select Removed	Fires when a specific option is removed from a select/label column.	Alert when "Priority" label is removed from a task.
Recurrence	Fires on a recurring schedule with flexible patterns.	Create recurring check-in rows or periodic report entries.

Trigger Conditions

For the Column Changed trigger, you can define sophisticated filter conditions using the same operators available in Filters & Sorting. Conditions use AND logic, meaning all conditions must be true for the trigger to fire.

Advanced Recurrence

The Recurrence trigger supports flexible scheduling patterns that go far beyond simple daily or weekly repeats. When you select a recurrence trigger, the advanced recurrence editor lets you configure:

• Frequency --- Choose from hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly.
• Interval --- Set how often the pattern repeats (e.g., every 2 weeks, every 3 months).
• Specific days --- For weekly frequency, pick which days of the week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, etc.).
• Specific hours --- For hourly or daily frequency, choose which hours the automation should run.
• Monthly patterns --- Choose specific days of the month (e.g., the 1st and 15th), or relative patterns like "the second Tuesday of every month."
• Yearly patterns --- Select which months and day patterns for annual automations.
• Week start day --- Set which day your week begins (Monday, Sunday, etc.).
• End conditions --- Optionally set the automation to stop after a certain number of occurrences or after a specific date.

A preview section shows the next scheduled dates so you can verify the pattern is correct before saving.

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You can also use the AI recurrence generator to describe your schedule in plain language (e.g., "every other Friday at 9 AM") and have it automatically create the recurrence pattern for you.

Execute Settings

Some triggers support execute settings that let you schedule the action relative to a date column value:

• On Date --- Execute the action on the exact date in the column.
• Before --- Execute a specified number of minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months before the date.
• After --- Execute a specified number of minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months after the date.

This is useful for reminders (e.g., "3 days before the due date, notify the assignee") and follow-up actions (e.g., "1 week after completion, send a satisfaction survey").

Action Types

When a trigger fires, one or more actions are executed. Copera supports the following action types:

Action	Description
Change Column Value	Set one or more column values on the triggering row. Define static values or reference other columns.
Add Value	Append a value to a column without replacing the existing content. Useful for adding labels, tags, or users to multi-value fields.
Copy Column Value	Copy a value from one column to another within the same row.
Set Current Date	Stamp the current date/time into a date column, useful for tracking when events occurred.
Create Row	Create a new row in the same table or a different table. Map column values statically or dynamically from the trigger row.
Send Notification	Send an in-app notification to specific people with a custom subject and message.
Send Email (Gmail)	Send an email via a connected Gmail account. Compose subject and body with dynamic column references.
Send Email (Outlook)	Send an email via a connected Outlook account. Compose subject and body with dynamic column references.

Send Notification Action

The Send Notification action lets you alert specific team members when a trigger fires without leaving Copera. Configure:

1. Subject --- A brief title for the notification. Supports dynamic placeholders.
2. Body --- The notification message. Supports dynamic placeholders and rich text formatting.
3. Recipients --- Choose specific workspace members, or reference a Users column to dynamically notify whoever is assigned to the row.

For example, you can create an automation that says: "When status changes to Done, notify the person in the Assignee column with the message 'Your task {Task Name} has been completed.'"

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Use the Send Notification action instead of email when your team primarily works inside Copera. Notifications appear instantly in the recipient's notification center without requiring email account connections.

Add Value Action

The Add Value action is different from Change Column Value in an important way: instead of replacing the current value, it appends to it. This is particularly useful for:

• Adding a label or tag to a multi-select column without removing existing labels.
• Adding a person to a Users column without unassigning the current assignees.
• Appending an option to a dropdown that supports multiple selections.

Dynamic Column References in Actions

Actions that involve text content (like notification messages, email subject, and email body) support dynamic column references. You can insert placeholders that are replaced at runtime with actual values from the triggering row:

• Board name --- The name of the board containing the row.
• Table name --- The name of the table containing the row.
• Any column value --- Insert the value of any column from the triggering row.

These placeholders appear as labeled chips in the text editor, making it easy to see which dynamic values are included.

Creating an Automation

Follow these steps to set up a new automation:

1. Open your board and navigate to the table you want to automate.
2. Click the Automations button in the board toolbar.
3. Click Create Automation to open the automation builder.
4. Name your automation -- Give it a descriptive name like "Notify assignee on completion" or "Auto-stamp completion date."
5. Configure the trigger -- Select the trigger type and define the conditions. For column-based triggers, choose the column and set the matching criteria. For recurrence triggers, set up your schedule pattern.
6. Configure the action(s) -- Select the action type and define the details. You can add multiple actions to a single automation by clicking the + button below the action list.
7. Save and activate -- Save the automation. It becomes active immediately and will evaluate on every future row change (or on schedule for recurrence triggers).

Managing Automations

Enabling and Disabling

Each automation has an on/off toggle. Disabling an automation preserves its configuration but prevents it from firing. This is useful for temporarily pausing automations during bulk data imports or maintenance.

Automation Execution Feedback

When an automation fires, Copera sends a real-time update to all users viewing the board, showing which automation ran and who triggered it. This provides immediate visibility into automated changes.

Email Automation Logs

For email automations, Copera records detailed history entries:

• Success -- The email was sent successfully, and the details (recipients, subject, body) are logged in the row history.
• Failure -- If the email fails (e.g., invalid connection token), the automation owner receives a notification explaining the failure, and the error is logged.

Recursion Protection

Automations include built-in recursion guards. When a "Change Column Value" action modifies a row, Copera compares the new values against the existing values and skips updates where the value has not actually changed. This prevents infinite loops where an automation's action re-triggers the same automation.

Task Activity and Comments

Every task (row) in your board has an Activity Panel where you can see the full history of changes, automation actions, and comments. The activity panel uses a chat-style interface that makes discussions on tasks feel like natural conversations.

Commenting on Tasks

1. Open any task by clicking on it.
2. The Activity Panel appears on the right side.
3. Type your message in the input field at the bottom and press Enter to send.
4. Comments appear in a chat-like timeline alongside automated activity entries.

Activity Features

• Rich text --- Format your comments with bold, italic, lists, and more.
• File attachments --- Drag and drop files directly into the comment input.
• Reactions --- React to comments with emoji reactions.
• Edit and delete --- Edit or delete your own comments after posting.
• History toggle --- Switch between showing only comments or the full activity history (including automated field changes, email logs, and approval decisions).
• Resizable panel --- Drag the left edge of the activity panel to adjust its width.

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Automation actions appear in the activity history with clear labels showing which automation ran and what changed. This gives your team full transparency into automated workflows.

Best Practices

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Name automations descriptively so team members understand their purpose at a glance. For example, "Notify PM when task blocked" is much clearer than "Automation 1."

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Test with a single row first before activating an automation on a board with many rows. This lets you verify the trigger conditions and actions work as expected.

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Use the Send Notification action for internal team alerts. It is faster to set up than email (no account connection required) and notifications appear instantly inside Copera.

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Use advanced recurrence for periodic tasks like weekly status reports, monthly billing checks, or quarterly reviews. The AI recurrence generator makes it easy to describe complex patterns in plain language.

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Connect email accounts in your user settings before creating email automations. Both Gmail and Outlook are supported through secure connections.

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Monitor automation history in the task activity panel to verify automations are working as expected.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I have multiple actions on a single automation?

Yes. Click the + button below the action list to add additional actions. All actions execute in order when the trigger fires.

What happens if a notification action fails?

In-app notifications are delivered through Copera's notification system and are highly reliable. If a recipient has left the workspace, the notification is silently skipped.

Can I reference a Users column as the notification recipient?

Yes. When configuring the Send Notification action, the recipient field lets you select a Users column from your table. The notification will be sent to whoever is assigned in that column for the triggering row.

How do I stop a recurrence automation?

You can either disable the automation using its on/off toggle, or configure an end condition in the recurrence settings (stop after N occurrences or after a specific date).

What is the difference between "Change Column Value" and "Add Value"?

Change Column Value replaces the current value entirely. Add Value appends to the existing value, which is useful for multi-select, labels, or users columns where you want to add without removing what is already there.

Related Features

• Filters & Sorting --- The same filter operators used in automation trigger conditions.
• Formulas --- Create computed values that can complement your automations.
• Board Permissions --- Control who can create and manage automations.