How to check whether an automation worked

Brain › Automations opens with a health line that names anything needing attention. Below it, each alert's Latest column describes its newest run, and each automation's panel keeps its Recent activity. Together they tell "nothing to report" apart from "not working".

If you are new to the page, start with What are automations?.

Before you start

The Automations page needs the Manage automations permission, which admins hold by default. It is set on Settings › Permissions, covered in How to set who can do what.

What does the health line say?

It sits at the top of the page. When all is well it reads Everything is running. Nothing needs a look.

Otherwise it reads One thing to look at. or a count, such as 2 things to look at., and lists each automation by name with an Open button beside it. The name is followed by one of these:

• failed its last run: and the reason it gave.
• skipped its last run and didn't say why.
• is overdue. It was due and a date, such as Aug 12: it should have run by now and has not.

An automation you switched off, or one paused because its module is off, never appears there. It is doing what it was told.

What if several are overdue at once?

Three or more overdue automations fold into one line, for example 3 automations haven't run on time. The scheduler that starts them may have stopped. Overdue means more than three hours past the time it was due.

When scheduled jobs stop running on time, the workspace owner also gets a Work › Inbox item such as 3 scheduled jobs have not run since Oct 20 14:00 UTC, which opens the Automations page. It comes back about once a day for as long as the jobs stay stopped.

Contact Tideswell when you see either one. The cause is on Tideswell's side, so changing your own settings will not clear it.

What does the Latest column say?

It describes each alert's newest run in words, followed by how long ago it ran, such as 5m ago or 2d ago. Using Low stock as the example:

• 3 products low, alert sent: it found three and told people.
• 3 products low, nothing new to send: it found three, but no alert went out this time.
• Nothing low: it ran and found nothing to report.
• Never run: it has not run yet. Switch it on and press Run now.
• Failed: and a reason: something went wrong, and the line names it.
• A reason in place of a result: the run was skipped, explained below.

When Also by email is on and emails went, the result ends with a count, such as 3 products low, alert sent · 2 emailed. A switched-off alert reads Off · last ran and how long ago.

Why does it say nothing new to send when something is still low?

Because each product, order or bill alerts once and stays quiet until it recovers. A product that has been low since Monday is not announced again on Tuesday.

So 4 products low, nothing new to send means four things are still low and everybody has already been told.

Wait between alerts can also hold an alert back, covered in How to choose who gets an alert and how often. A held alert goes out on the first run after the wait ends, as long as the product, order or bill is still there.

What is in Recent activity?

Click an automation's row to open its panel. Recent activity lists its last 20 runs, newest first, each in the same words as the Latest column with how long ago it ran. A new automation reads Never run yet.

Runs that said exactly the same thing in a row fold into one line, with a note such as 12 runs in a row, since 1h ago. The fastest jobs run every five minutes, so this keeps a quiet afternoon to one line.

If an alert went out while Also by email is on and no emailed count follows it, the email did not go. The Inbox item and the phone alert still went out.

What does a skipped run mean?

The automation ran, found it had nothing useful to do, and recorded why. The reason shows in place of a result, in Latest and in Recent activity. There are three usual reasons.

• A module it needs is switched off. The reason says the module is switched off for this workspace, and the panel reads Paused: with the module's name. Switch it back on in Settings › Modules and the next run picks up again, per How to switch parts of Tideswell on and off. The modules each alert needs are listed in How to set up the stock and order alerts.
• No signal, because the data source is not connected yet. Connect Shopify or Klaviyo, per How to connect your Shopify store and How to connect Klaviyo.
• Nobody to notify. Nobody on the alert's Who gets it list can receive it. The alert waits and goes out on the first run that has someone to tell.

A skipped run is not a failure. Fix the reason and the next run carries on.

How do you test one?

1. Click the automation's row to open its panel.
2. If it is off, switch it on with the switch at the top of the panel.
3. Press Run now at the foot of the panel. A short Run started. message confirms it.
4. Read the newest line under Recent activity.

Run now runs that one automation and nothing else. It never runs twice at once, even if its schedule comes round at the same moment.

Switch it on before you press Run now, because only switched-on automations run. The switch itself is covered in How to turn an automation on, off, or run it now.

Why has an alert stopped arriving?

Work down this list in order, because each check is quicker than the next.

1. Is the alert switched on? Its switch is at the end of its row in the Alerts list.
2. What do the health line and the Latest column say? A failure names its reason, a skipped run explains itself, and an overdue line means contacting Tideswell.
3. Are you on the list? Read the Who hears about it column. Only people holding See sales, inventory, reports and the daily brief can receive an alert, so losing that permission stops it. See How to choose who gets an alert and how often.
4. Is it reaching your Inbox but not your phone? Then the automation is working and a personal notification setting is stopping the push. See What are notifications?.

The Inbox tells you whether the automation worked. The phone tells you whether your own settings let it through.

Why an automation or workflow did not run walks the same path with the workflow cases added.