Skip to main content
Automations let you run workflows across multiple repositories without manual intervention. Update dependencies across 50 repos while you sleep. Migrate API calls organization-wide. Run security scans on every new pull request.

​
What you’ll build

A simple automation that updates dependencies and creates a pull request - the foundation for more complex workflows.

​
Create the automation

  1. Go to Automations in Ona (or visit app.ona.com/automations)
  2. Click New Automation
Automations page with New Automation button
  1. Choose Start from scratch or pick a template
New automation dialog showing start options

​
Configure basics

  • Name: “Weekly dependency updates”
  • Description: “Updates npm dependencies and creates PR for review”
  • Run as: Your user (or a service account for scheduled runs)
Basic configuration form

​
Choose a trigger

Pick when the automation runs:
TriggerBest for
ManualOne-time migrations, testing automations
Pull RequestCode review, security checks, test runs
Time-basedScheduled maintenance, recurring updates
For this example, select Manual so you can test it immediately.

​
Add steps

Steps run in sequence. Add these three: Step 1 - Prompt: 
Update all dependencies to their latest compatible versions.
Run the test suite and fix any breaking changes.
Step 2 - Shell script: 
npm test
Step 3 - Pull Request: Create a PR with the changes for review. Steps configuration

​
Set guardrails

Guardrails prevent runaway executions:
  • Max concurrent: 5 (for testing)
  • Max total: 20
You can increase these once you’re confident the automation works.

​
Save and run

  1. Click Save
  2. Select target repositories
  3. Click Run
Watch the automation execute - it starts an environment, runs your steps, and creates pull requests.

​
What’s next

Now that you have your first automation: See Automations overview for the complete reference.