> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://ona.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Configure Automations

> Configure triggers, steps, guardrails, and workflows

This guide covers Automation configuration in detail. For a quick walkthrough, see [Create your first Automation](/ona/create-first-automation).

<Tip>
  Automations work best with [projects](/ona/projects/overview). A project provides the Dev Container configuration, dependencies, and environment settings that your Automation runs against. We recommend setting up a project before creating Automations.
</Tip>

## Create an Automation

1. Navigate to **Automations** in the left panel.
2. Click **New**.
3. Choose **Start from scratch** or select a pre-configured template.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/gitpod-13c83c2b/4vgXCiQwLDATxcBd/images/automations/create-automation-landing.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=4vgXCiQwLDATxcBd&q=85&s=481ff63df36571a9f377c58883840e14" alt="Automations page" width="2518" height="1638" data-path="images/automations/create-automation-landing.png" />

## Name and description

To set or change the name and description, open the **⋯** menu on the Automation and select **Rename**. A dialog opens where you can edit both fields.

## Trigger type

* **[Manual](/ona/automations/triggers/manual)**: run on demand
* **[Pull request](/ona/automations/triggers/pullrequest)**: trigger on PR events
* **[Scheduled](/ona/automations/triggers/timebased)**: run on a schedule

Click the trigger node and then **Edit** to open the trigger configuration dialog.

## Runs on

Each trigger includes a **Runs on** setting that determines where the Automation runs:

| Scope                      | Description                                                                                                                                  |
| -------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Projects** (recommended) | Run on specific [projects](/ona/projects/overview). The Automation uses each project's Dev Container configuration and environment settings. |
| **Repositories**           | Run on repositories matched by explicit URLs or a search query. Use for large-scale migrations across many repos.                            |

See [Manual triggers](/ona/automations/triggers/manual) and [Pull request triggers](/ona/automations/triggers/pullrequest) for scope configuration details per trigger type.

## Guardrails

Control execution limits to prevent Automations from running excessively:

* **Max concurrent actions**: simultaneous runs
* **Max total actions**: total allowed per run

Maximum values depend on your plan. See [Plans and limits](/ona/automations/plans-and-limits) for per-plan caps and [Guardrails](/ona/automations/guardrails) for details.

## Run Automation as

The **Run Automation as** selector is at the bottom of the trigger configuration dialog.

| Option                                                     | When to use                            |
| ---------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| **Your user**                                              | Manual workflows, personal Automations |
| **[Service account](/ona/organizations/service-accounts)** | Scheduled or shared Automations        |

## Steps

Steps execute in sequence within the same environment. Each step can access files, environment variables, and context from previous steps.

### Step types

| Type                                       | Use when                                                                                    |
| ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Prompt**                                 | Flexible tasks requiring agent judgment: "analyze and improve", "update based on context"   |
| **Command**                                | Deterministic operations: `npm test`, `docker build`                                        |
| **Pull request**                           | Submit changes for review after making modifications                                        |
| **[Report](/ona/automations/report-step)** | Extract structured data from the execution: test coverage, dependency counts, build metrics |

### Example workflow

```
Step 1 (Prompt):    "Upgrade all dependencies to their latest versions"
Step 2 (Command):   npm test
Step 3 (PR):        Create pull request with summary
```

**Guidance:**

* Use prompts for context-aware tasks that vary by repository.
* Use commands for predictable, repeatable operations.
* Combine both: commands for validation, prompts for intelligent changes.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/gitpod-13c83c2b/00KFAvcXHAexvnrd/images/automations/create-automation-4.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=00KFAvcXHAexvnrd&q=85&s=4285b7a5a7b808949705275fd496b145" alt="Steps configuration" width="3624" height="1986" data-path="images/automations/create-automation-4.png" />

## Save and edit

Click **Save** to create the Automation. All settings can be modified after creation.

<Info>
  Pull request triggers require an event source: the [GitHub App](/ona/integrations/configure-github) (for GitHub.com) or a [webhook](/ona/automations/webhooks). See [Pull request triggers](/ona/automations/triggers/pullrequest) for details.
</Info>

## Enable and disable

Disable an Automation to stop it from running without deleting it. Disabled Automations keep their configuration, execution history, and triggers — but no new runs can start (manually or via triggers).

To toggle an Automation:

* **From the list**: open the three-dot menu on any Automation and select **Disable** or **Enable**.
* **From the details page**: use the toggle switch next to the Automation name.

Disabled Automations appear with muted styling in the list and show a "Disabled" status label. Use the **Enabled** / **Disabled** filter in the status dropdown to find them.

<Tip>
  Disabling is useful when you want to pause a scheduled or event-driven Automation temporarily — for example, during a code freeze or while debugging a failing workflow — without losing its configuration.
</Tip>

## Next steps

* [Run an Automation](/ona/automations/running-automations)
* [Troubleshooting](/ona/automations/troubleshooting)