Getting Started

Create and test your first automation, using an email automation as a simple example.

This guide walks you through creating your first automation from start to finish. We'll use an email automation as an example, since it's the simplest to set up and test.

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Before You Begin

Make sure you have:

Requirements Checklist

• ✅ Pro or Enterprise plan — Automations are not available on Starter plans

• ✅ At least one folder — Create a folder if you don't have one yet

• ✅ Manager or Admin role — Contributors cannot create automations

If you need to upgrade your plan or adjust permissions, contact your workspace administrator.

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Creating Your First Automation

Follow these steps to create a simple email automation that notifies you when recordings arrive in a folder.

1

Navigate to folder settings

Open the folder you want to automate. You can do this from:

• Folders page — Click on the folder card

• Dashboard — Select the folder from your folder list

• Recording detail page — Click the folder name at the top

Once in the folder view, click the Settings gear icon in the top right corner.

2

Open the automations tab

In the folder settings modal, you'll see several tabs:

• Details

• Triage Rules

• Automations ← Select this tab

• Permissions

Click the Automations tab to view all automations configured for this folder.

3

Create new automation

Click the Add Automation button in the top right of the Automations tab.

You'll see a modal with all available automation types:

• Email — Simple email notifications

• Webhook — Send data to any URL

• Slack — Post to Slack channels

• Linear — Create Linear issues

• Jira — Create Jira tickets

• GitHub — Create GitHub issues

• Trello — Add Trello cards

For your first automation, select Email.

4

Configure email settings

You'll now see the email automation configuration form:

Recipients (required): Enter one or more email addresses, separated by commas:

[email protected]

Subject Template: Leave the default or customize:

New recording in {{folder.name}}: {{recording.title}}

Additional Options:

• ☑️ Include video preview (recommended)

• ☑️ Include recording link (required)

• ☐ Include console errors

• ☐ Include system information

The defaults work well for most use cases. You can adjust these later.

5

Test the automation

Before saving, click the Send Test Email button at the bottom of the form.

Within 30 seconds, check your inbox for an email from [email protected]. The test email will contain:

• Subject line with placeholder data

• Recording preview (if enabled)

• Direct link to a sample recording

• Metadata fields you selected

Didn't receive the email?

• Check your spam folder

• Verify the email address is correct

• Try sending another test

6

Save and activate

Once you've verified the test email looks correct:

1. Click Save to create the automation

2. The automation is now enabled by default

3. You'll see it listed in the folder's Automations tab

From this point forward, every recording or capture added to this folder will trigger an email notification to the addresses you specified.

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Testing the Live Automation

To verify the automation works in real conditions:

1. Add a test recording to the folder:

   • Upload a test recording directly, or

   • Move an existing recording into the folder

2. Check your email within 60 seconds

3. Verify all fields populated correctly

4. Click the recording link to ensure it works

If the email doesn't arrive, check the Troubleshooting Guide.

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Alternative Setup Paths

You can also create automations from other locations:

From Account Settings

1

Open account settings

Click your avatar in the top right corner and select Account Settings.

2

Navigate to automations

In the left sidebar, click Automations.

3

Create automation

Click Create Automation button. You'll first select the trigger folder, then configure the automation type.

This method is useful when setting up multiple automations across different folders.

From Automation Templates

Quick Setup with Templates

Screendesk provides pre-configured templates for common scenarios:

• Notify QA Team — Alert QA engineers about new bugs

• Forward to Helpdesk — Send recordings to support email

• Alert Engineering Team — Notify developers of technical issues

Templates include pre-filled settings you can customize.

To use a template:

1. In the automation creation modal, look for the Templates section

2. Click on a template card

3. Adjust the pre-filled settings as needed

4. Test and save

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Managing Automations

Once created, you can manage automations from the folder settings:

Enable/Disable

Toggle the automation on or off without deleting:

1. Open folder Settings → Automations

2. Find the automation in the list

3. Click the toggle switch next to its name

4. Disabled automations won't fire but remain configured

Temporary Disabling

Use the toggle to temporarily disable automations during:

• Testing periods

• Maintenance windows

• High-volume events

• Team vacations

Re-enable with one click when ready.

Edit Settings

Modify automation configuration:

1. Open folder Settings → Automations

2. Click the automation card or the Edit button

3. Update any settings

4. Click Send Test to verify changes

5. Click Save to apply

Changes take effect immediately for new recordings.

Delete Automation

Remove an automation permanently:

1. Open folder Settings → Automations

2. Find the automation in the list

3. Click the Delete icon (trash can)

4. Confirm deletion

Deletion is Permanent

Deleted automations cannot be recovered. You'll need to recreate them from scratch. Consider disabling instead if you might need the automation again.

View Execution History

Check automation activity:

1. Open folder Settings → Automations

2. Click on the automation name

3. View the Execution Log tab

The log shows:

• When the automation ran

• Success or failure status

• Full request/response details

• Error messages if failed

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Next Steps

Now that you've created your first automation, explore other integration types:

Next Step

Slack Integration Post real-time notifications to Slack channels

Guide

Next Step

Create Issue Tracker Auto-create tickets in Linear, Jira, or GitHub

Guide

Next Step

Custom Webhooks Integrate with any system that accepts HTTP requests

Guide

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Common Questions

Can I have multiple automations on one folder?

Yes! A folder can have unlimited automations. All enabled automations execute when content is added to the folder.

For example, a "Critical Bugs" folder might have:

• Email to [email protected]

• Slack message to #critical-bugs

• Linear issue creation with P0 priority

• Webhook to PagerDuty

All four automations would fire for each recording added to the folder.

Do automations trigger when I move recordings between folders?

Yes. Moving a recording into a folder triggers all automations configured for that destination folder.

This is intentional behavior that works well with triage workflows.

Can I test an automation without adding a real recording?

Yes. Every automation type includes a Send Test or Test button that sends a sample payload without requiring a real recording.

Always test before activating to verify configuration.

What happens if an automation fails?

Failed automations are logged in the execution history with full error details. Screendesk will automatically retry failed automations with exponential backoff:

• 1st retry: after 1 minute

• 2nd retry: after 5 minutes

• 3rd retry: after 30 minutes

• 4th retry: after 2 hours

• 5th retry: after 12 hours

After 5 failed attempts, the automation is marked as permanently failed for that recording. You can manually retry from the logs.

Can automations trigger other automations?

No. Automations only trigger when content is directly added to a folder. They do not create cascading triggers.