FAQ and troubleshooting
For anyone whose rule did not fire, whose customer did not get an email, or who found an automation doing something unexpected.
A rule did not fire
Check these in order:
- Is it on? A dimmed row with an Off badge is switched off. Use the switch on the row.
- Did it already run for this item? Rules set to Run once per item ignore items they have handled. Choose Clear run-once history from the ⋮ menu to reset. See Let a run-once rule fire again.
- Is it paused on the board? Open the board's Automations tab and check the Run on this board switches for template and organization rules. See Pause inherited rules on one board.
- Did the conditions match? Open the Run log and look for a Skipped run; the reason tells you which condition failed.
- Is it waiting? A Scheduled run is holding for a delay, business hours or a weekday. See Run statuses.
- Does the trigger apply? An item is added to a board does not fire for the items a new board starts with; The customer completes an item in the portal does not fire when your team completes it; due-date and inactivity triggers skip completed items and boards; A customer or prospect is created never fires for bulk imports.
The customer did not receive the email
Open the run and read the reason on the email action. The usual ones are the board has no linked customer, automated emails are paused for this customer, the contact opted out of email, a suppressed or Do-Not-Mail address, and automatic emails reach only your own addresses until your business is verified. See When an email is skipped.
An automation ran that I did not expect
Open the board's Automations tab and switch to Run log: the Automation column names the rule, and inherited rules carry an Organization or From template badge in the rules list. Pause them on this board with Run on this board, or edit the rule where it lives.
Why does a run say "Scheduled"?
The rule is waiting: waiting out the delay, waiting for business hours, waiting for a weekday or scheduled digest. It runs when the window opens and checks its conditions again first. You can Cancel run from the run detail.
What does "Needs attention" mean?
The rule refers to something that no longer exists or cannot be used, such as a deleted status, a departed team member, a deleted template or a paused webhook endpoint. Hover the badge for the reason, open the rule and pick a replacement. See Why a rule says "Needs attention".
Can one automation set off another?
Yes. A rule that sets a status can trigger a rule that watches for that status; the run log marks the second run chained. BlueHill stops after three chained runs with too many chained automations (loop guard), and the editor refuses rules that would trigger themselves directly.
Why can't an organization rule pick a specific item?
Organization rules run on every board, and boards built from different templates have different items. Organization rules can only act on This item (the one that triggered the rule). Put rules that name a particular item on the template or the board.
The recipe says "Map these first"
The recipe uses a status, category or template your workspace does not have, for example a status called Waiting on Customer. Create it (or rename yours to match) and open the recipe again. See Add a recipe.
My webhook keeps failing
The endpoint must be a public https:// URL that answers within five seconds with a 2xx status. Open the delivery under Recent deliveries to read the error and the Request body, fix the receiving side and click Redeliver. Failed deliveries retry on their own for about a day. A Paused endpoint holds deliveries until you Resume it. See Deliveries and retries.
Who is "Automation · rule name"?
That is how automations sign what they do: in an item's change history, on notes they add, on tickets they open and in the bell notification they send. On the organization's Activity page the same note shows a System chip.
Does deleting a rule delete its history?
No. The Delete automation? dialog says it: queued runs are cancelled, the log is kept.
Where are automations in the mobile app?
Open Settings → Automations for organization rules, or the Automations row on a board, template or form. The mobile app shows the same rules, run log, recipes and deliveries.
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