# Build an automation step by step in SkedX Flow > In SkedX Flow (Automation → Workflows) you can build an automation by hand. A new automation shows two cards, “When this happens…” and “Then do this…”; Ask (the chat) opens beside them, and “Build it step by step yourself” closes it. Click “When this happens…” to pick what starts it from a list of modules (Inbox, Audiences, Contacts, Schedule, Another system); then a + on a line or on a reply opens the Add list (Messages, Decide & wait, Contacts, Automations & team, Another system). Every step is numbered (branches by letter: A1, A2) and every message card shows the message as the customer sees it, with a row under it for each reply — Otherwise for anything else typed, and a line for no reply — and its safety nets (asks again, reminder, then hand to your team). The count line at the foot says how many steps, cards and things to fix there are. Run up to here tests a step with a real chat and sends nothing. A new automation is saved as a draft the moment it has a start (picked, or placed by Ask), so there is no Save button. Turn on makes it live; with nothing to start it yet it asks you to pick what starts it. A refusal says “Not on yet — N things to fix” and Open goes to the first one. While it is live, your edits are saved but the automation keeps running the published version until you click Publish; Turn off stops new people entering. Product: SkedX Flow · Topic: Automation · Verified in the live product on 2026-10-30 So that a 3–20-person team can build its own WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger automations — every message drawn as the customer will see it, every reply wired — without a consultant. ## Step 1: Start a new automation Go to **Automation -> Workflows** and click **New Workflow**. The canvas shows **When this happens…** and **Then do this…**. Ask opens beside them; to build it yourself click **Build it step by step yourself**. Open it directly: https://flow.skode.ai/automation ## Step 2: Pick what starts it Click **When this happens…**. The panel lists the modules that can start an automation — Inbox, Audiences, Contacts, Schedule, Another system. Open one and pick the moment, or search every module. Picking it saves the automation as a draft — from then on it is in Workflows and keeps saving as you change. ## Step 3: Add a step Click a **+** — on a line, on a reply under a message, or on **Then do this…**. The panel shows where the step goes and **What happens next? Pick a module**: Messages, Decide & wait, Contacts, Automations & team, Another system. Pick a module, then the step. ## Step 4: Read a card Every step has a number; a branch’s steps are lettered, A1, A2. A message card shows the message as the customer sees it, its safety nets — asks again, a reminder, then who takes over — and a row for each reply with **Otherwise** for anything else they type. The count line says how many steps and cards there are, and how many things are left to fix. ## Step 5: Test a step Open a step and click **Run up to here**: it runs with a real chat up to that step and sends nothing. **Where next** shows where each reply goes; **Remove step** takes the step out. ## Step 6: Turn it on Click **Turn on**. The bar says **Live** and the next customer who reaches it gets it. If nothing starts it yet, Turn on says **Pick what starts this automation first** and opens the list. ## Step 7: When it says “Not on yet” If something is missing, **Turn on** does not turn it on. The note says how many things are left and the first one; click **Open …** to go to that step and fill it, then turn it on again. ## Step 8: Change it while it is live Edit any step while it is live — your changes save as you go, and the bar says **Live · changes not published**. The customers keep getting the published version until you click **Publish**. ## Step 9: Turn it off Click **Turn off**. Nobody new enters it; those inside finish. The bar says **Draft** and the button is **Turn on** again. ## Common questions ### A message step says Instagram and Messenger only let automations message someone within 24 hours. Why? The step comes after a wait of a day or more, or starts from a quiet or closed chat, so the person may have last written more than 24 hours earlier. Instagram and Messenger refuse an automation’s message then. Move the step before the wait, or send it on WhatsApp with a template. On WhatsApp the step asks you to pick a template for after 24 hours. In **Runs**, a message that did not go out shows **Not sent** with the reason. ### Do my changes reach customers as I type? No. While an automation is live your edits are saved, but customers keep getting the published version until you click **Publish**. A half-finished change never reaches anyone. ### What does the count line mean? How many steps the automation has, how many are drawn as cards (saves and endings are drawn as small ticks), and how many things are left to fix. “0 lines at rest” means no line crosses a card. ### How do I zoom? Pinch on a trackpad, or use the − 100% + pill at the bottom right; click 100% to go back. ⌘ + and ⌘ − work over the canvas. ### Can I still describe a step instead? Yes — click **Ask** in the top bar and say what the step should do. See [Set up an automation by asking](https://skode.ai/help/flow/automation/set-up-an-automation-step-by-asking/). ### Is there a Save button? No. A new automation is saved as a draft the moment it has a start — picked from the list or placed by Ask — and from then on it is in **Workflows** and saves as you change. Before it has a start there is nothing to save yet; **Turn on** asks you to pick one. ### Does Turn off stop people who are halfway? No. Nobody new enters it; people already inside finish the steps they are on. ### Can an automation start when my team sends a message? Yes. Under **Inbox**, pick **Message sent**. It starts when someone on your team sends from the **WhatsApp Business app** or the **Skode inbox**; tick **Automation** under **Sent from** only if an automation’s own sends should count too. Under **Only when**, add **Message** · **contains** and the words — for example “Your order has been dispatched” — then add **Change the chat** -> **Set the stage** -> **Purchased**. To mark a sale without an automation, list the line under your stages instead: see [Set a customer’s stage](https://skode.ai/help/flow/inbox/set-a-customers-stage/). ## Useful links - Workflows in SkedX Flow — where every automation is built: https://flow.skode.ai/automation Videos and screenshots © 2026 SkedX, with sample data only. Share and link to them freely; copying the SkedX product or its design is not allowed. Terms: https://skode.ai/terms/ ## Related guides - See and change a customer’s stage from their contact, and edit your stages: https://skode.ai/help/flow/inbox/set-a-customers-stage/ - Set up a message step and its buttons: https://skode.ai/help/flow/automation/set-up-a-message-step-and-its-buttons/ - Find a step in a long automation: the steps list and its search: https://skode.ai/help/flow/automation/find-a-step-in-a-long-automation/ - Save what a customer says to their contact: https://skode.ai/help/flow/automation/save-what-a-customer-says-to-their-contact/ - Set the rules for a whole automation: https://skode.ai/help/flow/automation/set-the-rules-for-a-whole-automation/ - Search automations by name or anything inside: https://skode.ai/help/flow/automation/search-automations-by-name-or-anything-inside/ - Build a SkedX CRM automation step by step: https://skode.ai/help/automate/getting-started/build-a-crm-automation-by-hand/ - See where customers stop in an automation: https://skode.ai/help/flow/automation/see-where-customers-stop-in-an-automation/ - See the orders and revenue an automation brings, and where buyers came from: https://skode.ai/help/flow/automation/see-orders-and-revenue-from-an-automation/ - Set up a step in a SkedX CRM automation by asking: https://skode.ai/help/automate/getting-started/set-up-a-crm-automation-step-by-asking/ Source: https://skode.ai/help/flow/automation/build-an-automation-step-by-step-in-skode-flow/