Todoist Automations is where you can connect your favorite apps and build workflows that handle repetitive tasks for you. Build an automation through a step-by-step chat session either from scratch in plain language, or through a ready-made template you can customize right away. Whichever the approach, you have the tools to set up powerful automations, no coding knowledge required.
Connect your apps
Most automations need to connect with at least one third-party app. Each app offers one or both of these connection types:
- Connection for actions: lets the automation perform tasks in that app, like creating a task or sending a message.
- Connection for updates: lets the automation monitor changes, like a new email or calendar event.
Some apps support only one connection type, while others support both. Click the specific app page to see which connection type is available to use for your automation.
To get started, link your app accounts using the Automation setup, or connect them in advance through the Connections page in the sidebar. To set up an app connection right away:
- Select Connections in the sidebar.
- Find and click the app you want to set up as a connection.
- Click Connect beside the connection type you need for the automation.
Create an automation from scratch
Use this option when you want to describe a specific workflow in mind directly in the Automation setup:
- Click New automation in the sidebar. The Automation setup window will open from the bottom of your screen.
- Type your request or describe the workflow in plain language directly into the chat bar (for example: “Every morning, reschedule my overdue tasks to today").
- Manage any connection requests that appear as the automation is put together. For example, you’ll be asked to authorize an external service the automation needs to work with.
- Review the Automation preview. If something looks off, describe the adjustment in the chat bar. The Automation setup will update it.
Once everything’s built, the Automation setup will describe what it does and goes live automatically.
Create an automation from a template
If you’d rather start from a ready-made workflow, templates cover popular use cases that you can adjust to fit your needs:
- Select Templates in the sidebar.
- Browse templates by app, like Todoist, Gmail, or GitHub. You can also use the search bar to find a specific template.
- Click a template to see a preview of what it does, when it runs, and which apps it works with.
Depending on the template, you’ll see one of two buttons:
- Install now: installs the automation and turns it on right away. Click All Automations in the sidebar afterwards, and open the automation to customize it.
- Set up in chat: opens the Automation setup window with the template loaded as a draft. It checks what’s already connected, prompts you to connect anything missing, and finishes building the automation with you.
Install now appears on templates that are set up to install in one click. Every other template opens in the Automation setup instead, so you can connect any missing apps and adjust the automation before it goes live.
Manage your automations
Once your automations are live, you’ll find them any time in the All Automations page in the sidebar. Use the All, Enabled, and Disabled filters to narrow the list down.
From there, you can turn an automation on or off, run it on demand, change what it does, duplicate it, fix a broken connection, review its run history, or delete it. See Manage an existing automation for the full rundown.
Get in touch
Ready to put your time back where it belongs? Use this guide to build your first automation with confidence, whether it’s a small repeating task or a multi-step workflow connecting half your stack. Open Todoist Automations to give it a try.
If you have any trouble setting up your first automation, get in touch with us.